"2014 will be the year of records for Turkey's high-speed trains (HST)," said Turkish Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs & Communication Lutfi Elvan on Sunday. Speaking to AA in an exclusive, Elvan stated that the high-speed trains in Turkey transported almost 4.5 million passengers in 2013, adding that the figure would exceed 20 million in 2014 once the high-speed train line under construction between Istanbul and Turkish capital Ankara was completed. Elvan praised the HST system as fast, comfortable, economic and one of the safest means of transport, reminding their first introduction in Turkey in 2009 with Ankara-Eskisehir line. Turkish minister of transport asserted that the ministry would invest a total of USD45 billion in rail systems until 2023, and construct 10,000 km of HST line and another 4,000 km of new conventional lines. He also named the new lines to be opened soon as Ankara-Izmir, Ankara-Bursa, Ankara-Sivas-Erzincan HST lines, respectively.