Today in History – 29 May

The Ankara-Kayseri railway line was inaugurated

When the government of the Republic chose Ankara as its capital, the center had no railway connection to important cities such as Sivas, Samsun, Erzurum, Kayseri, Malatya, Diyarbakır and other parts of the country except the West. Creating a railway web in and out of Ankara was thus given primacy and the construction of the Ankara-Kayseri line (380 km) began in 1923. Prioritized due to the strategic importance of Kızılırmak (ancient Halys), this line also constituted the first step taken towards the East of the country.

The Ankara-Kayseri railway line was inaugurated on 29 May 1927 by Prime Minister İsmet Pasha, who made the following remarks at the opening:

We are living a day of national joy. My fellow citizens of Kayseri have been waiting, for thirty years, for the railway line to reach this lovely land. They have appealed to every possible medium to bring this line to Kayseri. By a twist of fate, their wish has been granted with the birth of the Republic.