WCA July 2014

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8 Wire & Cable ASIA – July/August 2014
Industrynews
Joining of the continents❍ An artist’s impression of the tunnels underneath the Istanbul Strait
Graphics bigstockphoto.com Artist Eky Studio
LA FARGA is supplying the cables for
the railway electrification of the
Marmaray project, a new 76km rail link
between Halkali and Gebze (Turkey).
Part of the new rail link is above
ground, while the other part consists of
tunnels underneath the Istanbul Strait.
This revolutionary railway project is
already up and running.
The rail link between Halkali (European
side) and Gebze (Asian side) is
evidence of a firm commitment to
providing the country with an improved
rail network, making it more accessible
through new, innovative, modern and
fast rail infrastructures.
This is a large-scale project, perhaps
one of the largest in terms of railway
transport infrastructures. There is
approximately 76km of new rail tracks,
including a 1.4km long immersed tube
tunnel at a depth of 56m.
The project also consists of three new
underground stations and the
improvement and refurbishment of 27
existing stations. The maximum
operational speed of the train is
100km/hour, while the time between
trains is estimated at 120-600
seconds, which requires a fleet of 440
new trains.
La Farga is one of the key suppliers in
this huge railway project, unique in the
world, entrusted with the task of
carrying out the railway electrification
of the 76km of rail tracks. Since 2013 it
has been supplying the project with
high-performance copper contact wire
and bronze cables.
The notion of constructing a railway
tunnel under the Istanbul Strait was
first raised in 1860. At this time the
idea was to construct a floating tunnel
supported on pillars constructed on
the seabed. As the years went by the
project was perfected.
The technique used in the Marmaray
Project to cross the Istanbul Strait (the
immersed tube tunnel technique) was
developed in the late 19th century.
The wish to construct a public rail link
from west to east in Istanbul and under
the Istanbul Strait was gathering
momentum in the early 1980s. During
this period various technical and
demographic feasibility studies of the
project were carried out.
In 1999 the project began to take
shape from a financial perspective and
the entire process is now up and
running; the underwater tunnel has
been inaugurated and is operational.
Currently, a journey from Halkali to
Gebze takes approximately three
hours, including the ferry crossing from
Sirkeci to Haydarpasa. With the new
Marmaray railway, the journey time will
be one hour and forty-five minutes.
The railway is currently used by 10,000
passengers and this number is
expected to rise to 75,000 with the
new project.
La Farga Lacambra and La Farga
Rod – Spain
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