Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan welded the first rail of the Marmaray Project by pressing the button of a machine in Ayrılıkçeşme. Emphasizing that Marmaray is not a project exclusive for Istanbul, but an intercontinental project, Erdoğan stated that 40 stations were constructed on Asian and European sides and said, “Out of the line of 76.3 kilometres, 13.6 kilometres are constructed underground and underwater. 75 thousand passengers will be commuted per hour in one direction. The train will be able to move on these lines once every 2 minutes. Once the project has been completed, it will be possible to go from Üsküdar to Sirkeci in 4 minutes, from Söğütlüçeşme to Yenikapı in 12 minutes, from Bostancı to Bakırköy in 37 minutes and from Gebze to Halkalı in 105 minutes”. Erdoğan went on to state that Marmaray will be a milestone in the 150-year-old dreams of Turkey.