Turkey has a state-owned railway system built to standard gauge (1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)) which falls under the remit of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. The primary rail carrier is the Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryolları (TCDD) (Turkish State Railways) 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.
Native railway industry extends to the production of locomotives, passenger vehicles and freight wagons; some vehicles are also produced through licensing agreements and cooperation with foreign countries.
Rail transport in Turkey began in 1856 with the start of construction of the 130 kilometres (81 mi) İzmir–Aydın Railway.
The state corporation that manages the Turkish railway system, Turkish State Railways, subdivides the history into the Pre-Republic period (Ottoman period), the Republic period (which extends from 1923 to 1950) and the period after 1950.[4] During the first period, railways were built and operated by foreign concerns with permission from the state. In the second, the state took over its own railways and expanded them in support of Turkish financial interests. In the third period, attention turned from rail travel to highways, and the expansion of railways dramatically slowed.
Construction of the first railway line in Turkey began in 1856, being constructed by a British company that had gained permission from the Ottoman Empire. Later, French and German companies also constructed lines – the motivation was not only economic, the region had a strategically important position as a trade route between Europe and Asia.[5]
As with other countries, rapid expansion followed; by 1922 over 8,000 km (4,971 mi) of lines had been constructed in the Ottoman Empire.[6] At the birth of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, there were 3,660 km (2,274 mi) of standard gauge lines, of which 1,378 km (856 mi) were state-owned; while the lines owned by foreign investors were eventually nationalized starting from 1927. The railways were considered an essential part of the state by the government of the Republic, and continued to expand with new railway projects – over 3,000 km (1,864 mi) of new tracks were built in Turkey between 1923 and 1940. Railways were constructed serving mines, agriculture, people and ports; at the same time more lines serving eastern Anatolia were built, in their part helping to tie Turkey together as a functioning state.[5]
High-speed electric multiple unit HT80101, in Ankara, Turkey
In the years following World War II, the emphasis in transportation shifted to asphalt road and highway construction;[5] it was not until the end of the 20th century that railways returned to favour with major passenger infrastructure projects being initiated,[7][8] and five thousand kilometres of new lines planned for construction.[9]
Turkish State Railways (TCDD) was split with the passenger and freight operations being part of a new company named TCDD Transport from 2017, with TCDD left as a track and infrastructure operator.[10]
In 2022, Turkey had 12,532 km (7,787 mi)[3] of railway lines, of which 95% were single-tracked,[note 1] 21% of the network was electrified and 28% signalled. Due to the mountainous geography of the country, the network has many steep gradients and sharp curves.[11] The Turkish rail network does not cover all major cities; its fourth and fifth largest metropolitan areas of Bursa and Antalya respectively remain unconnected to the network, although plans exist for high-speed rail lines to reach them.
As of June 2016, there is 8,334 km (5,179 mi) of conventional railway line and 593 km (368 mi) of high-speed railway line. 2,288 km (1,422 mi) of the network is electrified (31%), and 3,036 km (1,886 mi) of it is signaled (37%).[12]
Electrified lines run from Kapıkule on the Bulgarian border via Istanbul to Ankara, and from Divriği via Malatya to İskenderun on the Mediterranean coast.[11] Additionally, Sivas and İzmir have electrified networks.
Here are some technical informations (standards) about the Turkish railway system:[citation needed]
The first completed section of the high-speed rail line between Ankara and Eskişehir was opened by the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on 13 March 2009.[13]
As of August 2024, there are eight high-speed routes (Istanbul-Ankara, Istanbul-Konya, Istanbul-Karaman, Istanbul-Sivas Ankara-Eskisehir, Ankara-Konya, Ankara-Karaman, Ankara-Sivas) running on three different high-speed railway lines. Bursa, Izmir and Edirne are among some of other cities to be connected to the high-speed network with works being underway.[14] Bursa will be connected to the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed railway, a new line is currently being constructed from Polatlı to İzmir via Afyon is under construction alongside with some other lines from Yerköy (on the line from Ankara to Sivas) to Kayseri and another one from Halkalı to Edirne on Turkey's European border with Bulgaria.[11]
Passenger transport
In addition to high speed lines, there are several regular trains for passenger transportation. Almost all the network is covered by these passenger trains, which are mostly departing every day.[15] In addition to high speed trains, there are several types of wagons being used for railway transport like pulman, sleeping cars, couchette, dmu and emu sets. In 2019, 164.7 million passengers used the Turkish rail network.[1]
As of May 2016, there are several construction points (mainly for signalization or electrification) in Turkish rail network which is causing complete or partial closures.[16]
Trains to Iraq must be routed via Syria; the section of the tracks within Syria, between the Turkish and Iraqi borders is 81 km long. From 5 March 2012 due to the civil war in Syria, all rail services from Turkey to Syria were stopped; as a consequence freight going from Turkey to Iraq was routed to Nusaybin in southeast Turkey, from where it was transported to Iraq by truck.[18]
The Iranian rail network is connected to the Turkish rail network via the Lake Vantrain ferry close to the border – which creates a serious bottleneck.[19][note 2][18] In 2007 an agreement was made to create a rail link between the two countries.[20]
A new connection to the Caucasus region and Central Asia via Georgia and Azerbaijan is planned (see the Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway); the line will involve a break of gauge from 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) to 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in). The construction of the line is planned to be completed by 2014 and has a target of transporting 17 million tons of cargo per year.[21] This railway by-passes the Kars–Gyumri–Tbilisi railway line that connected Turkey to Armenia which was closed in 1993[22] during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War; in 2009 the possibility of re-opening the line was stated by the Armenian transport minister.[23]
In combination with its affiliates, the State Railways of the Republic of Turkey (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryolları, TCDD) have a monopoly on passenger[note 3] and freight rail transportation, as well as the manufacturing of rolling stock and tracks.[24] The organization was created in 1927 to operate the former railway lines of the Ottoman Empire that were left within the borders of the Republic of Turkey whose boundaries were defined with the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. Additionally, major ports are also operated by the company.[11]
Affiliated companies
Three affiliated companies of the TCDD produce rolling stock for the Turkish railway system:
TÜLOMSAŞ (Türkiye Lokomotif ve Motor Sanayi A.Ş.) produces diesel and electric locomotives and related components; the company has produced locomotives under license from numerous companies over the years, including Krauss-Maffei, GM-EMD, Toshiba and Alstom.[25]
TÜVASAŞ (Türkiye Vagon Sanayi A.Ş.) manufactures coaching stock as well as diesel hydraulic railcars,[26][27] and has a technology transfer agreement with Rotem of Korea to manufacture DMUs[28] as well as a joint venture with Rotem, EUROTEM, to outfit and test high-speed train sets and suburban trains.[29][30]
TÜDEMSAŞ (Türkiye Demiryolu Makinaları Sanayii A.Ş.) produces and repairs freight wagons.[31]
Statistical information
As of 2021, there were 10,546 km (6,553 mi) of main railway lines in Turkey, of which 14% are double-track and 51% are electrified.[32]
In 2008, the most common rail weight is ~49 kg/m with 69% of track, the remainder being of lighter weight rail, except for 150 km of 60 kg/m rail. Similarly, 69% of sleepers are of the concrete type, with the remainder being wood (~19%) and steel (~12%). Over 700 tunnels exist, with a total length of 181 km; the majority (~76%) are under 1 km long and only one of them has a length of over 4 km. 1,316 steel bridges (average length 22 m) and over 10,000 concrete bridges (average length 2.9 m) exist, the majority (99%) are suitable for axle loads over 20 t, with 40% allowing axle loads of 22.5 tonnes.[33]
Also in 2008, there were 64 electric locomotives and 549 diesel locomotives in Turkey, with availabilities of 81 and 84 percent, respectively. Additionally, 50 steam locomotives exist, of which 2 are kept in active order. In addition to the 83 EMUs and 44 DMUs for passenger transport, there were 995 coaches in Turkey (830 of which were in working order.) Over 17,000 wagons of various types make up the rest of the fleet.[33]
