Turkey - General Information
Country Name
Turkey (Türkiye)
National Railway System
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryolları. The state railway is normally abbreviated as TCDD, which in translation means State Railways of the Republic of Turkey.
Official Website
www.tcdd.gov.tr (in Turkish);
www.tcdd.gov.tr/tcdding/index.htm (in English)
Language
Turkish. Modern Turkish script is based on Latin script. However, some special characters are used for language specific sounds. Turkish is the only official language although the Turkish government accepts the language rights of the Jewish, Greek and Armenian minorities. Kurdish, spoken by 6% of the population, is not recognised as an official language.
Outside the large cities and main tourist areas, knowledge of a foreign language is rare. German and English are the languages most likely to be encountered.
Currency
Turkish Pound (Türk Lira)
UIC code
numeric 75; alpha TR
Timetable
Journey Planner
- Ankara - Eskişehir high speed service: www.hizlitrenbileti.com
- Domestic travel: A much improved journey planner is now available. This is intended primarily as a ticket purchasing service, but fortunately functions as a journey planner as well. If no service is found for the journey & date specified a small pop-up window saying "Kriterlerinize Uygun Sefer Bulunmamaktadır" will appear near the top of the screen. If a service is found a further screen will appear. Click on the Train Name to bring up a pop-up window giving the full stopping pattern and timings of the train. The departure and arrival stations requested are highlighted in yellow. Only direct trains are shown: potential passengers appear to be expected to work out their own possible connections.
The other tabs on the home page are only in Turkish and bring up the relevant pages (e.g. Bölgesel Trenler = regional services) from the existing TCDD website.
- Trains to Europe: www.tcdd.gov.tr/tcdding/avrupa_ing.html gives details of trains to/from Bucharest and Sofia.
- Trains to the Middle East: www.tcdd.gov.tr/tcdding/ortadogu_ing.html gives details of trains to/from Tehran.
Downloadable Timetable
Bölgesel Yolcu Trenleri then select the appropriate "Bölge" (Region) and click on the ">>" symbol.
Printed Timetable
There is no longer an official printed timetable in Turkey. Usually, train departures (and sometimes arrivals) are shown on station boards with the terminating station and the train name often being the only information. Intermediate timings etc. are frequently not given. Timetables change irregularly and without prior notice to the public but, as the timetable structure is fairly static, they at least give an indication of service frequency. The only exception is international traffic between İstanbul and Bulgaria, where timetables appear to change in line with European practice, to which BDŽ adheres. The standard symbols indicating days of operation (such as crossed hammers for Mondays to Saturdays) are not used; days are shown by abbreviations of the Turkish names.
Engineering Information
None available.
Maps
Printed Maps
- "World Rail Atlas Vol. 8 The Middle East and Caucasus" by Neil Robinson (ISBN-10: 954-12-0128-8; ISBN-13: 978-954-12-0128-2)
- European Railway Atlas by M.G. Ball (2008 onwards)
Web-based Maps
- An excellent map of the TCDD network is available on the TCDD website. It gives distances for each location but is slightly out of date and does not show all triangles clearly.
- Thorsten Büker's Map of Turkey.
Ticketing
The new Turkish Railways reservation system became operational on 1 February 2014. The system will book most long distance domestic trains within Turkey, including seats, couchettes and sleepers. You print out your reservation details and pick up the tickets in Turkey. The best guide on how to do this is on the Man in Seat 61 site > How to buy tickets. Note that sleepers and couchettes must be reserved in advance; they cannot be acquired on the train even if spare berths are available.
TCDD offers its own good value network ticket Tren Tur Karti, valid for 30 days. There are two versions: Ekspres (valid on all services except sleepers) and Yatakli (an additional ticket valid on sleepers). It can be purchased at stations equipped with computer terminals and it is no longer necessary to create a system identity containing your personal details beforehand.
Gauge
Standard.
Electrification
25kV 50Hz
The following lines are electrified: İstanbul to Kapıkule; İstanbul to Ankara; Ankara suburban lines; İskenderun - Toprakkale - Fevzipaşa - Malatya - Çetinkaya - Divriği, İzmir suburban lines (Aliağa - Menderes).
Rule of the road
Right. However 95% of the network is single track.
Private Railways
None
Tourist Lines
None
Metro
Ankara, İstanbul
Tram/LRT-systems
Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Bursa, İstanbul, İzmir, Kayseri, Samsun. A new system opening soon in Gaziantep.
Recent and future changes
A cut-off between Tecer and Kangal, south east of Sivas, opened probably in September 2012 - 39 years after the project started. It incorporates the 5367 m Deliktaş tunnel, the longest in Turkey. Although the very tortuous old alignment was expected to fall out of use, it continued in use by one local train each way until new trains were introduced via the new main line from 23 February 2014.
On 19 March 2012, the İstanbul - Kapikule line between Çerkezköy and Pehlivanköy was closed for engineering work from 07:00 - 19:00 each day Monday - Thursday. The line was open to traffic all day Friday - Sunday. On these days, trains 81721 and 81722 (Kapikule – Istanbul and v.v.) did run. Trains 81031 and 81032 (the Bosphorus Express) were replaced by buses between İstanbul Serkeci and Kapikule every day of the week. Trains 81601 and 81602 (İstanbul - Çerkezköy and v.v.), 81731 and 81732 (Alpullu – Kapikule and v.v.) and 81741 and 81742 (İstanbul - Uzunköprü and v.v.) are all cancelled with no replacement bus. On 1 March 2013 Halkali - Yedikule was also closed for construction work. Suburban services between İstanbul Sirkeci and Yedikule continue to run.
The İstanbul Haydarpaşa suburban service was curtailed further from 29 April 2012 when the outer terminus was cut back further from Gebze to Pendik.
The main line from İstanbul Haydarpaşa closed completely on 1 February 2012 between Gebze (in the İstanbul suburbs) and İzmit. All long-distance services were either cancelled or curtailed. The three overnight services between Haydarpaşa and Anakara (Anadolu Ekspresi, Ankara Ekspresi and Fatih Ekspresi) and the Meram Ekspresi to/from Konya were withdrawn. The İçanadolu Mavi to/from Adana and the Bogazici Treni stopping train to/from Eskişehir now run to and from Arifiye in lieu of Haydarpaşa. All long distance services to and from the East (Doğu Ekspresi, Vangölü Ekspresi, Kurtalan Expresi, Güney Ekspresi and Trans-Asya Ekspresi) were withdrawn between Haydarpaşa and Anakara. There appear to be no road replacement services between Arifiye and Haydarpaşa, although suburban services continued between Haydarpaşa and Gebze, a line now isolated from the rest of the system. This situation will last until early 2014, when (at least according to the plan) high-speed trains to Ankara are due to start running from Pendik, 25km east of Istanbul.
It is possible that similar withdrawals will be put in place on the Sirkeci side, with the international train terminating on the outskirts of Istanbul for a road connection forward.
Services on the 32 km line between Muratli (about half way between Erdine and Istanbul) and Tekirdag on the Sea of Marmara, opened as recently as 1 September 2010, were suspended from 22 December 2011 owing to lack of patronage.
As at November 2011, a number of lines have no passenger trains although services may resume in the future:
- Narli - Gaziantep. Understood to be closed for engineering work. The Toros Ekspresi is not running at present.
- Irmak - Cankiri. The track is in poor condition but the line is still open for freight. TCDD has recently let a contract for route overhaul, so it is hoped it will reopen to passenger traffic eventually.
- Usak - Afyon. The track is in poor condition. Manisa – Usak is also in poor condition, although passenger services are still running.
The 112 km high speed line from Polatlı, on the Ankara - İstanbul line, to Konya opened to public traffic on 24 August 2011.
Ankara suburban services (Sincan - Ankara - Kayas) were withdrawn on 1 August 2011 owing to construction of the new high speed line into Ankara from the west. All long-distance trains now use the suburban tracks between Ankara and Sincan.
The first stage of the 533 km İstanbul - Ankara high speed line, signalled to ETCS level 1 and with a design speed of 250 km/h, was opened to public traffic on 14 March 2009 between Sincan and Inönü, west of Eskişehir. The second phase between İnönü and Köseköy, extends to Gebze at the end of the İstanbul suburban area, and utilises the 15km section avoiding İzmit city centre (operational since August 1999). It was scheduled to open in 2008 but this will be delayed for many years.
A 466 km high-speed line between Ankara and Sivas via Kirikkale, Yerköy and Yozgat has been put out for tender. A feasibility study for an eastward extension to Kars via Erzincan and Erzurum was started in 2006.
Plans for a 606 km high speed line from Izmir to Ankara have been approved. The line will pass though Afyon and meet the Ankara - Istanbul line near Polatlı. It was originally planned to be finished by 2013 but works are now expected to start in 2019.
Plans for a Mustafakemalpaşa (off the Balikesir-Bandirma line) – Bursa – Bilecik link, a conventional 160/200 km/h passenger/freight line, have been revived and this project will probably be put out for tender in 2011.
The biggest project of all is the Bosphorus crossing (Marmaray project) which will connect the European and Asian networks. This consists of a 13.6 km double track tunnel from Yenikapı to Haydarpaşa, including a 1.4 km immersed-tube tunnel (the the world's deepest), and also modernisation of the Sirkeci - Halkali and Haydarpaşa - Gebze suburban lines. The Marmaray tunnel was completed on the 23 September 2008. Completion of the entire project has been repeatedly delayed, largely due to the discovery of a Byzantine-era archaeological find on the proposed site of the European tunnel terminal in 2005. As of December 2009, completion was expected in October 2013. However, the contract with Alsthom (part of a local consortium) has been cancelled and the outstanding work on the project is to be re-tendered.
In May, 2008 talks started between Iran and Turkey about replacing the Lake Van train ferry with a double track electrified railway but this seems most unlikely to happen.
Special Notes
Many trains run every day of the week but some Ekspresi (Express) services run only every other day. Suburban services are usually subject to a different weekend schedule.
Trains can be very crowded. For all main line express trains, especially during weekends and during the school holiday period July - September, reservations are recommended. For express services on the main routes, each station served has a fixed allocation of tickets and no more are normally sold once this is exhausted. Some İstanbul - Ankara express trains generally require reservation. Reserved seats are not marked as such.
Punctuality of long distance trains is often low, and with the exception of a few dedicated connecting services, trains would usually not wait for possible late running feeder services. The operational practice appears to be that a train - once running late - has a lower priority than other trains still on time.
At present, Turkish visas can be obtained on arrival. However, from 10 April 2014 electronic visas must be obtained in advance by means of the e-Visa Application system.
