The Eastern Express is an overnight passenger train operated by TCDD Taşımacılık. The train runs from Ankara to 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.
The Baghdad railway, also known as the Berlin–Baghdad railway, was started in 1903 to connect Berlin with the then Ottoman city of Baghdad, from where the Germans wanted to establish a port on the Persian Gulf, with a 1,600-kilometre (1,000 mi) line through modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. Jean-Pierre Filiu, in his 2022 History of the Middle East (p201), summing up the situation on the eve of the First World War, says of this (projected) railway, 'The British ensured that the last stretch of the railway line, linking Baghdad to the port of Basra on the Persian Gulf, was reserved for them.' The current line from Baghdad to Basra was not opened until 2014.
Haydarpaşa station is a railway station in Istanbul, that was, until 2012 the main city terminal for trains travelling to and from the Anatolian side of Turkey. It used to be Turkey's busiest railway station. The station building still houses the headquarters for District 1 of the State Railways but since a fire in 2010 the station has not been in use and its future remains uncertain.
Iraqi Republic Railways Company is the national railway operator in Iraq.
The Republic Express was a passenger train operated by the Turkish State Railways. The train ran between Haydarpaşa Terminal in Istanbul and Ankara. After the Yüksek Hızlı Tren was put into service in 2009, the route of the Republic express was cut from Ankara to Eskişehir. On 31 January 2012, the Republic Express was discontinued due to the rehabilitation of the railway between Istanbul and Arifye and replaced with high speed service.
Turkey has a state-owned railway system built to standard gauge which falls under the remit of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. The primary rail carrier is the Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryolları (TCDD) which is responsible for all long-distance and cross-border freight and passenger trains. A number of other companies operate suburban passenger trains in urban conurbations.
Rail transport in Lebanon began in the 1890s as French projects under the Ottoman Empire but largely ceased in the 1970s owing to the country's civil war. The last remaining routes ended for economic reasons in the 1990s. At its peak Lebanon had about 408 kilometres (254 mi) of railway.
General Establishment of Syrian Railways is the national railway operator for the state of Syria, subordinate to the Ministry of Transportation. It was established in 1956 and was headquartered in Aleppo. Syria's rail infrastructure has been severely compromised as a result of the ongoing conflict in the country.
The Adapazarı Express officially listed as the Haydarpaşa-Adapazarı Regional was a regional rail service, that ran between Istanbul and Adapazarı. For the majority of its time in service, it was the second-busiest route of the Turkish State Railways, after the Adana-Mersin Regional. Trains served a heavily populated region on the north-east shores of the Sea of Marmara and the Sakarya plain. Service was frequent with 12 trains daily in each direction in 2012. The Regional service also passed through important districts of Istanbul such as Kadıköy, Maltepe, Kartal, Pendik, Tuzla as well as Gebze, İzmit and Adapazarı. Because of the cities, the train service earned the nickname Metropolitan Express. The train used to service Coşkunoğulları station until the TOE factory was closed in 1991. It also serviced Acısu, Tepetarla and Kurtköy stations until 1998. Due to the construction of the Istanbul-Ankara high-speed railway, the Haydarpaşa-Adapazarı Regional service was discontinued on 1 February 2012 in order to upgrade the existing railway line. On 5 January 2015 service between Arifiye and Pendik was reopened with a new, faster regional service known as the Ada Express.
The Friendship Express, was an international InterCity train jointly operated by the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) and TrainOSE from July 2005 to February 2011, linking Istanbul's Sirkeci Terminal, Turkey and Thessaloniki, Greece. Eastbound trains departed daily at 19:48 from Thessaloniki arriving to Istanbul at 08:07. Westbound trains departed at 20:30 from Istanbul, arriving to Thessaloniki at 09:33.
The Chemins de Fer Ottomans d'Anatolie, founded on 4 October 1888, was a railway company that operated in the Ottoman Empire. The company was headquartered in Istanbul.
The State Railways of the Republic of Turkey, abbreviated as TCDD, is a government-owned national railway company responsible for the ownership and maintenance of railways 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.
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 Anatolian Express was one of the four direct train services operating between Istanbul and Ankara. The train was an overnight train consisting of eight sleeping cars and one dining car. The train was the first non-international train to consist of a sleeping car in Turkey. The train was operated by the CIWL from 1927 to 1950. From 1950 on, TCDD operates the train.
Pozantı railway station is a railway station in the town of Pozantı, Turkey. Situated in the Taurus Mountains, Pozantı is the northernmost station in the Adana Province. Due to its geographical location near the Cilician Gates, the station was historically a resting stop for trains crossing the mountain range. The station was originally opened on 21 December 1912 by the Baghdad Railway.
TCDD Transport or Turkish State Railways 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 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.
The Boğaziçi Express was a named passenger train operated between Istanbul and Ankara until 2012, when it was shortened between Arifiye and Ankara then later Arifiye to Eskişehir. The train was discontinued on 24 July 2014 and replaced by high-speed YHT trains.
Ulukışla railway station is a railway station in Ulukışla, Turkey. The station is located in the southern part of the town and consists of one side platform serving four track. A small freight yard is also present as the line sees heavy freight traffic. Ulukışla station is the northern starting point of the railway through the Cilician Gates, and thus historically played an important role in helping trains pass through the Taurus Mountains.
The Konya–Yenice railway is a 344.7 km (214.2 mi) long, partially electrified railway in southern Turkey. The railway is a major route connecting Turkey's Mediterranean coast to the Anatolian interior as well as the only railway line through the Taurus Mountains. The line begins in Konya and runs southeast through Karaman until turning south at Ulukışla and joining the Adana–Mersin railway at Yenice. The section between Konya and Karaman is classified as a High-standard railway, while the rest of the route is classified as a Conventional railway.
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.
