Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Ankara - Istanbul High-speed Train

Ankara – Istanbul high speed train is a high speed train in Turkey scheduled to operate on 533 kilometer long Ankara – Istanbul high speed railway from February or March 2014. Currently, Ankara – Eskisehir high speed train is operational and the high speed railway between Istanbul and Turkey is almost completed.

Istanbul is the largest city and the financial, cultural and art center of Turkey. Ankara, the second largest city in Turkey, is the capital city. Ankara – Istanbul route is the busiest route in Turkey currently dominated by private buses and airlines. With the completion of the project, travel time between Ankara and Istanbul will be reduced to only 3 hours and the share of transportation by the railway on the route is expected to jump to 78% from the current 10%. More, Ankara – Istanbul high speed railway will connect to Marmaray which will allow direct train access from Europe to Asia.

I have previously used the existing high speed train line between Ankara and Eskisehir. The train is quite comfortable and offers plugs for your computer in the business section and a comfortable working space. Adding these extras, the travel time between Ankara and Istanbul is more productive with the high speed train. And you do not need to pass through those endless security check queues of the airports which also reduces the total time spent.

Ankara – Istanbul High Speed Train (TCDD HT65000)
Ankara – Istanbul High Speed Train (TCDD HT65000)
Ankara – Istanbul High-speed train starts its journey from the city center of Ankara but the story is different in Istanbul. Unfortunately, the high speed train will not arrive to Haydarpasa Train Station in Kadikoy as many hoped. The train starts its service from Pendik, the eastern most district of Istanbul. From there you will need to transfer to normal train line of Marmaray. There are 9 stops on the Ankara – Istanbul High Speed Rail Line (from Ankara to Istanbul):

  • Ankara
  • Polatlı,
  • Eskişehir
  • Bozüyük
  • Bilecik
  • Pamukova
  • Sapanca
  • İzmit
  • Gebze
  • Pendik

It seems like this created disappointment for many in Istanbul. One writer in popular internet site Eksi Sozluk wrote “I congratulate Izmit residents for their new High Speed Train Line” (Although Pendik is a district of Istanbul, it is quite far in the eastern outskirts of city towards city of Izmit).

Ankara – Istanbul High-speed Train is not the only high speed rail project in Turkey. There is a high speed rail line between Ankara and Konya and there are projects to connect Ankara to Samsun, Kars (via Sivas, Erzincan) and even distant cities like Diyarbakir and Antep by high speed train. Turkey expects to have 1500 km high speed train line in 2013 and plans to increase this to 10,000 kilometers in 2023, the 100th birthday of Turkish Republic.

Turkey High Speed Railway Map (completed, underconstruction and planned
Turkey High Speed Railway Map (completed, underconstruction and planned

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