The M3, officially referred to as the M3 Kirazli–Basaksehir Metro Line ( tr, M3 Kirazlı-Başakşehir Metro Hattı), is a , 9-station

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...

line of the

Istanbul Metro The Istanbul Metro ( tr, İstanbul metrosu) is a rapid transit railway network that serves the city of Istanbul, Turkey. It is operated by Metro Istanbul, a company (formerly known as ''İstanbul Ulaşım A.Ş.'' before 2016), a public enterpris ...

system on the European part of

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. It operates between Kirazlı-Bağcılar, extending the service of the M1B line from Yenikapı, to

Başakşehir Başakşehir is one of the 39 second-level districts in Greater Istanbul, Turkey. The population of Başakşehir is 311,095 as of 2012. It is in the European part of Istanbul. History Former name of the area was Azatlık. The area specialized ...

-Metrokent. The M3-line is colored light blue on station signs, route signs and the official rapid transit network map.

Construction

The construction of the line began in 2006 following the signing of the related contract in May of that year. By March 2009, the tunnels were completed. The

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...

was delivered in January 2010, and in December of the same year, the first test run of the trains was accomplished. The line's operation rights were transferred from the İETT bus authority to Istanbul Ulaşım company in June 2011. After the line signalization system was completely installed in March 2012, test runs began in June 2012. On 11 September 2012 the M3-line started operating unofficially. The M3-line went into service officially on 14 June 2013. The Ikitelli-Olimpiyat branch was converted into the M9 in May 29, 2021. Ziya Gökalp Mahallesi Station is the only underground station bored in situ without removing the ground above, while all other underground stations on the line are built by cut-and-cover method, constructed in a shallow trench and then covered over. The line's tunnels are twin tubes. The line between Kirazlı and MetroKent was constructed by

tunnel boring machine A tunnel boring machine (TBM), also known as a "mole", is a machine used to excavate tunnels with a circular cross section through a variety of soil and rock strata. They may also be used for microtunneling. They can be designed to bore throu ...

(TBM) while the line between İkitelli and Olympic Stadium was built using 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).

Technical features

The M3 line is long, serving 9 stations in total. The operation control center of the M3-line is situated in MetroKent Terminal. The rolling stock and maintenance depots are located in Olimpiyatköy beyond Olimpiyat Parkı Terminal, stretching over an area of (). The rolling stock depot is capable of holding 180 cars. The maintenance workshop occupies a covered area of . The rolling stock was delivered by the French company

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...

. The fully air-contioned cars, costing each 1.149 million, feature seats covered with

antibacterial An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention of ...

textile material. It is possible to pass from one car to another in a train to enable a homogeneous distribution of the passenger crowd. A total of 80 cars, 20 sets of four-car trains, are able to transport up to 70,000 passenger per hour per direction between the operating hours from 6:00 h in the early morning to 0:00 h in the midnight. The ride between the terminals Kirazlı and MetroKent takes 20 minutes. The trains run every five minutes during rush hours.

Safety

All the stations are equipped with closed-circuit video system for continuous monitoring of the platforms. High-level

fire safety Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce the destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the development and eff ...

systems, which include automatic

fire extinguisher A fire extinguisher is a handheld active fire protection device usually filled with a dry or wet chemical used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergencies. It is not intended for use on an out-of-control fire, such as one which ha ...

s and

fire exit An emergency exit in a structure is a special exit for emergencies such as a fire: the combined use of regular and special exits allows for faster evacuation, while it also provides an alternative if the route to the regular exit is blocked. ...

s, are installed in the metro line, where

non-flammable A combustible material is something that can burn (i.e., ''combust'') in air. A combustible material is flammable if it ignites easily at ambient temperatures. In other words, a combustible material ignites with some effort and a flammable mat ...

and

fireproofing Fireproofing is rendering something (structures, materials, etc.) resistant to fire, or incombustible; or material for use in making anything fire-proof. It is a passive fire protection measure. "Fireproof" or "fireproofing" can be used as a n ...

materials were used. Power supply of the line is provided at two different points. In case of power cut at both supply points, an

emergency power system An emergency power system is an independent source of electrical power that supports important electrical systems on loss of normal power supply. A standby power system may include a standby generator, batteries and other apparatus. Emergency p ...

that becomes operational within 15 seconds, ensures running of the trains until the next station. If the backup generator system fails, an

uninterruptible power source An uninterruptible power supply or uninterruptible power source (UPS) is an electrical apparatus that provides emergency power to a load when the input power source or mains power fails. A UPS differs from an auxiliary or emergency power system ...

(UPS) supplies energy for

emergency light An emergency light is a battery-backed lighting device that switches on automatically when a building experiences a power outage. In the United States, emergency lights are standard in new commercial and high occupancy residential buildings, ...

ing and the electronic devices at the operations control center up to three hours. The signalization of the metro line as well as at the depots and

railroad switch A railroad switch (), turnout, or ''set ofpoints () is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another, such as at a railway junction or where a spur or siding branches off. The most common ty ...

es, also the vehicle drive-control systems are fully automated. However, they can be handled manually when needed.

Stations

Rolling stock

This line is operated by Alstom trains which are visually similar to the

AM5-M2 and AM4-M4 The AM5-M2 and AM4-M4 are two series of Alstom Metropolis heavy rail rolling stock that operate on lines M2 and M4 of the Budapest Metro. Since 2009, 22 AM5-M2 sets have been constructed for use on Line M2 with delivery to be completed by 20 ...

trains also built by Alstom that operate on the

Budapest Metro The Budapest Metro ( hu, Budapesti metró) is the rapid transit system in the Hungarian capital Budapest. It is the world's oldest electrified underground railway system, and the second oldest underground railway system with multiple stations, ...

. The main difference is that the Istanbul units are equipped with pantographs for overhead line operation only while the Budapest units are equipped with shoegear for third rail operation only. M3 İstanbul

References

External links

* {{Public Transport in İstanbul Istanbul Metro Bağcılar Başakşehir Railway lines opened in 2013 2013 establishments in Turkey