ISTANBUL - For Ahmet Cankoyu, a freshman at a university in Ankara, the high-speed railway linking the Turkish capital with the country's most populous city of Istanbul is a boon that lifts him out of a dilemma.

The problem of accommodation started to haunt the 19-year-old and his family when he was enrolled into Hacettepe University in Ankara last year as he could not afford the expensive apartments in the city.

For him, it was not easy to find roommates or live with his uncle's family of four in a small apartment and he found the dormitories either costly or uncomfortable.