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A railway tunnel underneath the Bosphorus Strait is due to open in Turkey, creating a new link between the Asian and European shores of Istanbul.  The tunnel is the world's first connecting two continents, and is designed to withstand earthquakes.   It is being opened on the 90th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey.    Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has for years championed the undersea engineering project, first conceived by an Ottoman sultan in 1860.  Work began in 2004 but archaeological excavations delayed construction.  The underwater section runs for 0.8 miles (1.4 km), but in total the tunnel is 8.5 miles (13.6 km) long. It is scheduled to be inaugurated at 13:00 GMT.

Reha Muhtar in Vatan: "It is a miraculous project that tells something about the horizons of this country and its people… Today, two continents are being united under the sea. This is a first in the world."

Suleyman Solmaz, from the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects, in Radikal: "Firstly there are no safety wagons; secondly, there is no electronic security system. The tunnel about to open doesn't have a safety control centre."

Taha Akyoll in Hurriyet: "Let us make the opening of a historically great project like Marmaray, on the 90th anniversary of the Republic, a symbol of overcoming polarisation. In the inauguration of this work, which was constructed with the taxes of 75 million people, the government should use an inclusive tone."

Japan invested $1bn of the $4bn (£3.4bn) total cost of the project, named Marmaray, which is a conflation of the nearby Sea of Marmara with "ray", the Turkish word for rail.    The BBC's James Reynolds in Istanbul says the Turkish government hopes the new route under the Bosphorus will eventually develop into an important trading route.  In theory it brings closer the day when it will be possible to travel from London to Beijing via Istanbul by train.   The Marmaray project will upgrade existing suburban train lines to create a direct link joining the southern part of the city across the Bosphorus Strait.    Istanbul is one of the world's biggest cities, with about 16 million people. Some two million, according to the AFP news agency, cross the Bosphorus every day via just two bridges, causing severe traffic congestion.    The rail service will be capable of carrying 75,000 people per hour in either direction.