The Deliktaş Tunnel ( tr, Deliktaş Tüneli), a.k.a. Kangal-Deliktaş Tunnel, is a

railway tunnel Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

near Deliktaş village between Ulaş and

Kangal Kangal is a town and a district of Sivas Province in Turkey. The current mayor is Ahmet Kürşad Apaydın from the Great Unity Party (BBP). As Kaymakam was appointed Erinç Demir. Demographics The town is populated by Sunni Kurds ug:كۇر� ...

districts of

Sivas Province Sivas Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey. It is largely located at the eastern part of the Central Anatolia region of Turkey; it is the second largest province in Turkey by territory. Its adjacent provinces are Yozgat to the west, Kays ...

Central Anatolia The Central Anatolia Region ( tr, İç Anadolu Bölgesi) is a geographical region of Turkey. The largest city in the region is Ankara. Other big cities are Konya, Kayseri, Eskişehir, Sivas, and Aksaray. Located in Central Turkey, it is borde ...

, Turkey. It was built to shorten and to ease the ramp on the railway line connecting

Sivas Sivas (Latin and Greek: ''Sebastia'', ''Sebastea'', Σεβάστεια, Σεβαστή, ) is a city in central Turkey and the seat of Sivas Province. The city, which lies at an elevation of in the broad valley of the Kızılırmak river, is ...

with

Malatya Malatya ( hy, Մալաթիա, translit=Malat'ya; Syro-Aramaic ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ku, Meletî; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a large city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city h ...

and

Erzincan Erzincan (; ku, Erzîngan), historically Yerznka ( hy, Երզնկա), is the capital of Erzincan Province in Eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The ...

. The construction began on November 15, 1973, however its progression was quite slow until 2003 when the

Turkish State Railways The State Railways of the Republic of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryolları), abbreviated as TCDD, is a government-owned national railway company responsible with the ownership and maintenance of railway infrastructure in Turkey ...

(TCDD) took over the project. Although the works at the tunnel were completed in 2006, works for the infrastructure on the railway line around the tunnel began only in 2009. At the end of 2011, all construction works were finished. Following the installation of signalization facilities, and completing the test runs with freight trains, the tunnel was put into service in late 2012. The tunnel was drilled by the

New Austrian Tunnelling method The New Austrian tunneling method (NATM), also known as the sequential excavation method (SEM) or sprayed concrete lining method (SCL), is a method of modern tunnel design and construction employing sophisticated monitoring to optimize various wa ...

(NATM). With its length of , the Deliktaş Tunnel is Turkey's longest

single track Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

railway tunnel. The tunnel is wide and has a clearance of . It is also the only railway tunnel of the country, which features built-in

lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylig ...

ventilation Ventilation may refer to: * Ventilation (physiology), the movement of air between the environment and the lungs via inhalation and exhalation ** Mechanical ventilation, in medicine, using artificial methods to assist breathing *** Ventilator, a m ...

and firefighting facilities. The automated lighting system controls tunnel lights installed at every through motion detectors. According to official records, a total of 5,330 people worked for the construction that lasted 39 years, while eight workers died in accidents during this time. The Deliktaş Tunnel serves also to contribute to the transportation of iron ore from Divriği mine to steel works in a more economic way. The tunnel helped to reduce the travel time of

railbus A railbus is a lightweight passenger railcar that shares many aspects of its construction with a bus, typically having a bus (original or modified) body and four wheels on a fixed base, instead of on bogies. Originally designed and developed d ...

service between Sivas and

Divriği Divriği (formerly Tephrike, Greek: Τεφρική) is a small town and district of Sivas Province of Turkey. The town lies on gentle slope on the south bank of the Çaltısuyu river, a tributary of the Karasu river. The Great Mosque and Hospit ...

from five hours to two hours and 16 minutes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deliktas Tunnel Railway tunnels in Turkey Transport in Sivas Province Tunnels completed in 2012 Turkish State Railways