The density of the road network provides information on the fragmentation of wildlife habitats and natural landscapes by active transport. Environmental risks such as traffic-related pollution and noise are also important factors. In this respect, the indicator is a pressure indicator.
In 2020, the numberof active airports open to civil air traffic was 56 and the total length of airline routes in our countrywas 74,640 km. Turkey has a total of 403 coastal facilities and the number of internationally operating ports is 182. At the end of 2020, the length of the highway network (state roads and highways) was 68,663 km and the length of the railway network (conventional and high-speed lines) was 12,830 km in 2019.[74]
TABLE 28- HIGHWAY AND RAILWAY NETWORKS BY YEARS (km)
|
YEARS |
2002 |
2005 |
2010 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
|
Highway Network Length (km)) |
63,082 |
63,606 |
64,865 |
66,437 |
67,161 |
67,620 |
68,034 |
68,231 |
68,633 |
|
Railway Network Length (km) |
10,948 |
10,973 |
11,940 |
12,532 |
12,532 |
12,608 |
12,740 |
12,803 |
- |
Source:
Compared to highways, rail transport emits fewer greenhouse gases into the atmosphere thanks to more efficient energy consumption. It also plays an important role in the conservation of the natural environment, as less land is needed for railway construction. On the other hand, rail transport also helps reduce respiratory and other diseases caused by air pollution.
In Turkey, the length of highways per 100,000 inhabitants is 82 km and the length of the main railway line is 12 km. In the EU-28 countries, these figures average 400 km and 41 km, respectively. In terms of area, the length of highways per 1000 km2 in Turkey is 88 km and the length of the railway main line is 13 km. In the EU-28 countries, these figures are 461 km and 48 km, respectively. It is expected that Turkey’s road network will reach 70,000 km in length by 2023, and the rail network will reach 17,527 km.[75,76,77]
