Turkish infrastructure operator TCDD has put out to tender the construction of an extension to the Yolcati – Diyarbakır – Batman – Kurtalan railway line to Siirt. The 34 km new line, designed for speeds of up to 160 km/h, will include stations at the airport, Siirt University and the city centre, as well as six tunnels with a total length of 15.6 km, 12 service and rescue tunnels with a length of 11.7 km, two tunnels built using the open construction method with a length of 1.5 km and two viaducts with a total length of 600 m. Bids must be submitted by 17th June 2025. Completion is scheduled within 1,800 days of contract signing. The line is also to be electrified. The Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, also confirmed that the electrification and modernisation of the existing line from Yolcati to Kurtalan will be pushed ahead. In addition, a new line from Diyarbakır to Mazıdağı is planned as the first step for the planned Diyarbakır – Mardin corridor.
