Havaray seen as cure for Istanbul traffic

A new transportation project Havaray (air rail), launched by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has begun as the environmental impact assessment phase of the Sefaköy-Halkalı-Başakşehir segment of the project was completed.

The new monorail is the Istanbul municipality's latest bid to relieve the city's heavily congested traffic and will be introduced for the first time in the country.

The air rail project will carry 200,000 passengers every day. Every air rail vehicle, at 28- 48 meters long, will have a capacity of up to 485 people, 340 standing.

The 15-kilometer-long line will cost 861 million Turkish lira (290 million dollars).

There will be 17 stations on the line. The construction will be completed in 2019.