The Eastern Express is an overnight passenger train operated by Turkish State Railways. The train runs from Ankara Railway Station to Kars Railway Station in Kars. The train was the first overnight service east of Ankara. The Eastern Express stops in 7 provincial capitals: Ankara, Kırıkkale, Kayseri, Sivas, Erzincan, Erzurum and Kars. The first train ran in 1936 from Istanbul's Haydarpaşa Terminal to Çetinkaya.
Balıkesir is a city in the Marmara region Turkey. It is the seat of Balıkesir Province, which is also a metropolitan municipality. As of 2022, the population of Balıkesir Province is 1,257,590, of which 314,958 in the city proper. Between 1341 and 1922, it was the capital of Karasi.
The Turkish State Railways (TCDD) started building high-speed rail lines in 2003. TCDD has branded its high-speed service as Yüksek Hızlı Tren (YHT) which currently operates on three lines: the Ankara–Istanbul high-speed railway and the Ankara–Konya high-speed railway and the Ankara-Sivas high-speed railway. YHT is the only high-speed rail service in Turkey, with two types of EMU train models operating at speeds of up to 250 km/h (155 mph) (HT65000) or 300 km/h (186 mph) (HT80000).
Ankara railway station is the main railway station in Ankara, Turkey, and is a major transportation hub within the city. The station is on the rail corridor which connects east and west Turkey, which is high speed between Istanbul and Sivas. Ankara station is also a hub for YHT high-speed trains, with its own exclusive platforms and concourse. TCDD Taşımacılık also operates intercity train service to Kars, Tatvan and Kurtalan as well as Başkentray commuter rail service.
The State Railways of the Republic of Turkey, abbreviated as TCDD, is a government-owned national railway company responsible with the ownership and maintenance of railway infrastructure in Turkey, as well as the planning and construction of new lines. TCDD was formed on 4 June 1929 as part of the nationalisation of railways in Turkey.
Basmane railway station is an intercity and regional railway terminal and rapid transit station in İzmir, Turkey. Along with Alsancak station, Basmane is one of two railway terminals in the city. All TCDD Taşımacılık trains terminate at this station, with intercity service to Ankara, Bandırma and Konya as well as regional service to Denizli, Söke, Tire and Ödemiş. The name originated from the Turkish phrase Basma hane.
The Ankara Express is a daily overnight intercity passenger train, operated by TCDD Taşımacılık, between Istanbul and Ankara, with major stops at İzmit and Eskişehir. The train makes the 610.3 km (379.2 mi) long journey in about 8 and-a-half hours.
The Bosphorus Express, also known as the Trans Balkan Express, is an international passenger train running between Istanbul, Turkey and Bucharest, Romania. It runs together with the Istanbul-Sofia Express as far as Dimitrovgrad upon entering Bulgaria, where the latter continues to Sofia. The train is jointly operated by three national railways: the TCDD Taşımacılık (TCDD), the Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ), and the Romanian State Railways (CFR). The train serves several important cities including Istanbul, Edirne, Stara Zagora, and Bucharest.
The 9th of September Express was an overnight train, operated by the Turkish State Railways, from Basmane Terminal, İzmir to Ankara Central Station, Ankara. The name of the service refers to 9 September 1922, the date on which the Greek occupation of İzmir ended after World War I.
The Balkan Express was an international overnight passenger train that ran between Istanbul, Turkey and Belgrade, Serbia, via Sofia, Bulgaria. The train began operations in 1991 from Istanbul to Budapest, Hungary, but was cut back to Belgrade after 2000. Service was discontinued in March 2013, when Sirkeci station closed for the construction of the Marmaray commuter rail network. In 2017, the Istanbul-Sofia Express was inaugurated as a successor to the Balkan Express, although the route was shortened to Sofia.
The Taurus Express is a passenger train operating daily between Konya and Adana. In the past it was a premier overnight passenger train operated by Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits between Istanbul and Baghdad. After 1972, passengers could travel down to Basra via connection to the Express 2 made at Baghdad Central Station. However, service was suspended in 2003, due to the outbreak of war in Iraq. In 2012, the State Railways renewed service between Eskişehir and Adana and will once again service Istanbul when track work in the city is complete. There is a chance that the train may continue to its former terminus in Baghdad in the future, but the possibility remains low for the time being.
Yüksek Hızlı Tren or YHT is a high-speed rail service in Turkey, operated by TCDD Taşımacılık, and is the railway's premier intercity train service. As of 2022, the network spans 1,385 km (860.6 mi) and services major cities like Istanbul, Ankara, Eskişehir, İzmit, Konya and Sivas. Expansion of the system is underway and the network is expected to reach Edirne, Afyonkarahisar, Adana and İzmir in the 2020s.
Balıkesir station is the main railway station in Balıkesir, Turkey. The station was built in 1912 by the Smyrna Cassaba Railway as part of their railway from Manisa to Bandırma. TCDD Taşımacılık operates four daily intercity trains, two of which terminate at Balıkesir. The stations consists of one side platform and one island platform serving two tracks. A freight yard is adjacent to the platforms, but will be decommissioned and the station ground will be used solely for passenger trains.
İzmir is a transportation hub for western Anatolia. İzmir has an extensive bus system, a developing metro, commuter rail system and a large urban ferry network. The city has highways connecting it to Çeşme, Menemen, Istanbul, Bursa and Aydın as well as a beltway. Mass transportation is operated by four separate public agencies all owned by the İzmir Municipality.
The TÜVASAŞ 2000, more commonly known as TVS2000, is a series of intercity railcars built by TÜVASAŞ for the Turkish State Railways between 1993 and 2005. They were built in order to revive TCDD's failing image in the early 1990s, for use on the Capital Express. Today they are the most common railcars in Turkey.
The Capital Express was one of the six daily intercity trains operating between Istanbul and Ankara on the Istanbul-Ankara railway before the Yüksek Hızlı Tren high-speed train service replaced all intercity trains on the line. The Capital Express was the fastest of the six trains, making limited stops only in large cities. The train would complete its journey in just over four hours and in the Eskişehir Province, trains would reach conventional speeds of 150 km/h (93 mph), which still hold the record for fastest conventional train service in Turkey. When the high-speed rail service was opened between Ankara and Eskişehir on 13 March 2009, the Capital Express, along with the other five intercity trains, were cut back between Istanbul and Eskişehir. During this period two more daily intercity trains were added, the Sakarya Express and Eskişehir Express, increasing daily intercity service to eight trains.
The Aegean Express, numbered as B31, is a passenger train operating daily between Basmane railway station in İzmir to Eskişehir. The train operates as a local service on the route, calling at more stations than its counterpart, the Karesi Express; which also operates between İzmir and Balıkesir.
TCDD Transport is a government-owned railway company responsible for the operations of most passenger and freight rail in Turkey. The company was formed on 14 June 2016, splitting off from the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) to take over railway operations, while TCDD would continue to administer railway infrastructure. TCDD Taşımacılık officially began operations on 1 January 2017.
Akhisar railway station is a station in Akhisar, Turkey. TCDD Taşımacılık operates four trains, both from Izmir, that stop at the station: the Izmir Blue Train to Eskişehir, the Karesi Express to Balıkesir as well as the 6th of September Express and the 17th of September Express to Bandırma. As of 26 March 2020, all passenger train service has been temporarily suspended, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Lake Van Express or Van Lake Express, operated by TCDD Transport is an overnight train consisting of pullman, couchettes, sleeping and dining wagons, which runs twice a week on the Ankara-Tatvan route of over 1,300 km.
