Haydarpaşa Solidarity made a statement following the news that the piles on the ground of the historical station were lost during the restoration.
During the press statement, a congratulatory banner was opened for Left Party member Elif Eralp, who successfully won the election in Berlin, the capital of Germany.
In the press release read by United Transportation Union (BTS) Legal Counsel Hasan Bektaş, transparency was emphasized and it was stated that "In a process where public money and our common history are at stake, accessing information is not a privilege, but a citizen's right."
"HOW DID THE 800 PILES OF HAYDARPAŞA STATION DISAPPEAR?"
Haydarpaşa Solidarity statement is as follows:
"Today, we would like to pose some questions to the Minister of Culture and Tourism about the wooden piles and ground reinforcement works that have come to the agenda again within the scope of the restoration of Haydarpaşa Train Station.
According to the statement of the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, dated September 23, 2026; Approximately 1,000 wooden piles were used in the first construction of Haydarpaşa Train Station. The lengths of these piles vary between 8 and 21 meters, and their diameters vary between 50 and 90 centimeters. The Ministry says that in the georadar study, approximately 200 piles were in place and approximately 800 piles could not be found.
And from here he comes to the following conclusion: 80 percent of the piles have disappeared over time! We are asking a very simple question: How was it proven that 800 piles that were not seen on georadar had disappeared? I wonder why, when he said that the piles were undergoing restoration, it was not said to the public that 800 piles could not be found in georadar, but it is being said now?
"LET THE REPORTS BE ANNOUNCED"
In fact, not being able to detect a stake in georadar is not the same as the fact that that stake has actually disappeared. If it has been proven by scientific methods that these 800 stakes have rotted away, you are obliged to disclose those reports to the public!”
The statement, which also stated that different figures have been heard about Haydarpaşa's piles for years, continued as follows:
"ARE THERE 381 OR 200 PILES LEFT?"
"In 2016, restoration project consultant architect Vahit Okumuş announced that 381 wooden piles were detected in the georadar study, but it has not yet been determined whether they are damaged or not. In 2025, Culture and Tourism Museums General Director Birol İnceciköz announced that '381 of approximately 1,700 piles remain'. It is said that approximately 200 stakes remain today.
If 80 percent of the piles on which Haydarpaşa stands have disappeared, how can the building survive? What is being done now is a discourse of covering up the mistakes made from the beginning.
So we ask: How many piles were there in the foundation of Haydarpaşa Train Station? 1,700? 1,000? What is the number of piles left without rotting? 381? 200? Explain the difference between these numbers with scientific documents!”
In the statement, regarding the ground condition of the historical station, "The Ministry stated that the Haydarpaşa ground is loose, saturated with water and liquefiable; He explains that there is a risk of subsidence and lateral spread. These risks should of course be investigated from an engineering perspective. However, we make a very important distinction here: It is one thing for the ground to be risky, but it is another thing for 80 percent of the wooden piles to disappear. We do not accept these being presented as evidence of each other. We also want to ask: Did you think of checking the ground of Haydarpaşa Train Station after 10 years?
VENICE EXAMPLE
The statement ended as follows:
"On the other hand, we know that wooden piles can be preserved for a very long time in water-saturated and oxygen-free environments. Venice is one of the best-known examples of this. However, scientific research shows that wooden piles in Venice also have varying degrees of deterioration. Therefore, for Haydarpaşa, one should start from scientific data, not from memorization.
As Haydarpaşa Solidarity, we are not against restoration. We are not against necessary ground reinforcement. What we want is very simple: TRANSPARENCY! Describe the original foundation project. Explain the plan of the piles. Explain the georadar report. Explain the scientific method by which the conclusion '800 piles disappeared' was established. Explain soil studies, liquefaction analyses, and reinforcement projects.
"In a process where public money and our common history are at stake, accessing information is not a privilege, but a citizen's right."
"WE WANT TRANSPARENCY"
"And finally, we say this: Protecting Haydarpaşa is not just about protecting the facade and roof of the building. It means preserving Haydarpaşa's railway identity, its public character and its place in Istanbul's transportation history. We do not want Haydarpaşa to be separated from the railway by gentrifying it with art, turning it into a museum, turning it into a tourist area, but to keep it alive as a station. We want scientific restoration. We want transparency. We want a public Haydarpaşa."
