The Deliktaş Tunnel (), a.k.a. Kangal-Deliktaş Tunnel, is a
railway tunnel
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
Ulaş
Ulaş ( Kurdish: ''Tecer'') is a town in Sivas Province of Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It ...
and
Kangal
Kangal is a town in Sivas Province in Turkey. It is the seat of Kangal District.İlçe Beledi ...
districts of
Sivas Province
Sivas Province () is a province of Turkey. It is located in the eastern part of the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. Its area is 28,164 km2 (the second largest province after Konya), and its population is 634,924 (2022). Its adjacent prov ...
in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It was built to shorten and to ease the ramp on the railway line connecting
Sivas
Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...
with
Malatya
Malatya (; ; Syriac language, Syriac ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city has been a human settlement for thousands of y ...
and
Erzincan
Erzincan (; ), historically Yerznka (), is the capital of Erzincan Province in eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The city is majority Turkish Sunni w ...
. 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 (), abbreviated as TCDD, is a government-owned national railway company responsible for the ownership and maintenance of railways in Turkey, as well as the planning and construction of new lines. TCDD ...
(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 (NATM). With its length of , the Deliktaş Tunnel is Turkey's longest single track 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 daylight. ...
,
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
*** Respirator, a ma ...
and
firefighting
Firefighting is a profession aimed at controlling and extinguishing fire. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter or fireman. Firefighters typically undergo a high degree of technical training. This involves structural fir ...
motion detector
A motion detector is an electrical device that utilizes a sensor to detect nearby motion (motion detection). Such a device is often integrated as a Electronic component, component of a system that automatically performs a task or Security alarm, ...
s. 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
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...
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 with an automotive engine. It shares many aspects of its construction with a bus, typically having a bus (original or modified) body and four wheels (2 axles) on a fixed base instead of on bogies. O ...
service between Sivas and
Divriği
Divriği (; ) is a town of eleven thousand people in Sivas Province, Turkey, and is the district capital of Divriği District.