China aims to upgrade its railway through Turkey, enabling goods delivery to Europe while bypassing Russia.

China is considering upgrading Turkey's railway network, which European freight shippers might view as a way to bypass Russia amid the ongoing war with Ukraine.

Investment could reach approximately $60 billion, as revealed by Burak Daglioglu, president of Invest in Turkiye, who is involved in investment matters, in an interview with the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

China aims to utilize the Turkish railway to enhance freight shipments to and from Europe, according to Jayant Menon, a senior fellow at a leading Singapore research center focused on Southeast Asia.

European suppliers, he notes, while still able to send freight trains through Russia, are trying to avoid these routes. Consequently, the route through Turkey is seen as a faster connection within the China-Europe Railway system.

However, Turkey, although used for supplies alongside Azerbaijan and Georgia, remains a "weak link" without necessary development, says Menon:

“Just one breakdown on the route – and the entire network fails to function.”

According to Daglioglu, the improvement plans include electrification, new domestic routes, a bridge in Istanbul, and a high-speed line connecting it to the capital, Ankara.

The Chinese manufacturer CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive already has a factory in Turkey, and last year the company launched the "fastest metro train" in the country in Istanbul.

Other contractors are expected to participate in the investments as part of a tender that will take place soon, Daglioglu told SCMP in the corridors of the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong.