Passing through the Nur Mountains, near the east end of the Amanian Gate, it will carry passenger and freight trains along with high-speed trains, as part of the Mersin-Adana-Gaziantep high-speed railway.

[2] The Nurdağı Tunnel will also relive a cumbersome bottleneck caused by the original alignment of the Baghdad Railway.

Trains passing through the Nur Mountains use the Ayran Tunnel to Fevzipaşa, where the junction with the Fevzipaşa-Kurtalan railway is.

However the alignment of the tracks only allows access from the south; meaning trains must stop at Fevzipaşa and the locomotive must reverse directions before continuing north through the junction.

Since the construction of a wye or loop is not possible, due to the steep terrain, the maneuvers at Fevzipaşa greatly hamper transit times on Turkey's busiest freight corridor.