( CNN ) -- Istanbul 's new transcontinental train tunnel under the Bosphorus Strait had a bumpy first day of operation , a day after Turkey 's Prime Minister called it a `` project for whole humanity '' at an inaugural ceremony . On Wednesday , Turkey 's state railway confirmed reports there had been a power outage in the tunnel system . `` Emergency situation procedures '' were also carried out multiple times , the agency said in a statement posted online , because passengers hit emergency buttons aboard the trains . Turkish journalists complained of being barred from entry into the railway system after the breakdowns took place . `` Security personnel told journalists filming video , 'We received orders . It is not allowed to film anymore , ' `` Turkish news agency DHA reported Wednesday . Amateur video posted on YouTube showed scores of passengers leaving a stopped train and walking down the long tube that has been constructed underneath the rushing waters of the Bosphorus Strait , effectively linking the European and Asian halves of Turkey 's largest city . Turkey 's Marmaray project : An ambitious plan to link Europe and Asia . Because of an unexpectedly large volume of curious first-time passengers , the railway agency also said it had decided to skip one of the stops on the train 's transcontinental route . The Marmaray Tunnel is part of a $ 4.5 billion , 76-kilometer ( 47-mile ) megaproject launched by the Turkish government in 2004 . Speaking at a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Japan 's Prime Minister , Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the project `` connects history and future , past and future ; as well as connecting continents , Marmaray connects people , nations and countries . '' The rail system , built by a Turkish-Japanese consortium , is expected to have a capacity of 1.5 million people a day , connecting the two continents in about four minutes . The 13.6-kilometer ( 8.5-mile ) tunnel -- the deepest of its kind -- passes under the Bosphorus Strait , one of the busiest shipping arteries in the world . The world 's spectacular infrastructure projects . The financial capital of Istanbul , with a population of nearly 15 million people , is often snarled with traffic , with about 2 million residents making the crossing between continents on a daily basis . Beyond the size of such an undertaking , digging for the Marmaray uncovered about 40,000 artifacts and helped archaeologists trace Istanbul 's history back 8,500 years , 2,500 more than ever believed before . However , the discoveries delayed the project for four years , which frustrated the Prime Minister who , analysts and businessmen say , wants to put a permanent imprint on Turkey 's financial capital . The project also had to account for Turkey 's long history of violent earthquakes and the tunnel 's position parallel to a major fault line . Transport minister Binali Yildirim has outlined the precautions , saying the tunnel allows movement and is designed to handle a quake of 9.0 magnitude . Connecting continents amid earthquakes . The Turkish government has also begun construction of a third suspension bridge across the Bosphorus Strait . It also plans to build a third airport for Istanbul and dredge a canal to run parallel to the Bosphorus . The massive government-backed development projects have become a politically polarizing issue in Turkey . Anti-government protests erupted last summer after the government announced plans to bulldoze a park in central Istanbul and replace it with a shopping mall . As government officials and crowds of supporters applauded the Marmaray tunnel 's inauguration Tuesday , in other parts of Istanbul , riot police clashed with demonstrators protesting the Turkish government . The world 's spectacular infrastructure projects . CNN 's John Defterios contributed to this report .
Turkey 's state railway confirms reports there had been a power outage in the tunnel system . Passengers hitting emergency buttons prompted `` emergency situation procedures , '' it says . Passenger volume caused train to skip one of the stops on its transcontinental route .