The Istanbul Metro () is a rapid transit railway network that serves the city of Istanbul, Turkey. Apart from the M11 line, which is operated by TCDD Taşımacılık, the system is operated by Metro Istanbul, a public enterprise controlled by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. The oldest section of the metro is the M1 line, which opened on 3 September 1989. As of 2026, the system now includes 169 stations in service, with 30 more under construction. With 265.1 kilometers, Istanbul has the 22nd longest metro system in the world and the 4th longest in Europe as of 2026.
The system consists of eleven lines: the lines designated M1A, M1B, M2, M3, M6, M7, M9 and M11 are on the European side of the Bosporus, while lines M4, M5 and M8 are on the Asian side. Due to Istanbul's unique geography and the depth of the Bosporus strait which divides the city, the European and Asian metro networks do not connect directly. The two parts of the city are linked through the Marmaray commuter rail line, which is connected to the metro in several places. Three metro lines are under construction on the Asian side: M10 (Pendik Merkez–Fevzi Çakmak), M12 (60. Yıl Parkı–Kazım Karabekir), M13 (Emek-Yenidoğan) and M14 (Altunizade–Bosna Bulvarı). Additionally, extension works on the M1B and M7 lines (on the European side) and the M4 line (on the Asian side) are underway.
In addition to the Marmaray commuter rail, the metro connects to the F1, Tünel (F2), F3 and F4 funicular lines and with the network of the Istanbul Tram, Metrobüs and the cable cars.
History
The oldest underground urban rail line in Istanbul is the Tünel, which entered service on 17 January 1875. It is the world's second-oldest underground urban rail line after the London Underground which was built in 1863, and the first underground urban rail line in continental Europe, however this is not recognised as the opening of the metro due to the line being Funicular.
The first master plan for a full metro network in Istanbul, titled Avant Projet d'un Métropolitain à Constantinople and conceived by the French engineer L. Guerby, dates to 10 January 1912.CONSORTIUM DE CONSTANTINOPLE, Bruxelles (French) The plan comprised a total of 24 stations between the Topkapı and Şişli districts and included a connection through the Golden Horn. Each station would have a platform next to the rail line, while the distance between stations varied from . The blueprints of the project, which was never realized, are today displayed at the Istanbul Technical University Museum.
In 1936 the French urban planner Henri Prost proposed a metro network between the districts of Taksim and Beyazıt, to the north and south of the Golden Horn, respectively. In October 1951 the Dutch firm Nedeco proposed a similar route between Taksim and Beyazıt, and in September 1952 the Director of the Paris Transportation Department, Marc Langevin, prepared a 14-chapter report together with his associate Louis Meizzonet for the implementation of the project and its integration with the other means of public transportation in the city. However, these plans never came into effect and all proposals were put on hold until 1987, when the planning for the current Istanbul Metro was made.
Construction works for the first 'modern' mass transit railway system started in 1989, with the first stations opening in September. İstanbul Ulaşım A.Ş. (now known as Metro Istanbul) was founded the previous year to operate the system. The M1 was initially called "Hafif Metro" (which literally translates as "light metro"). Although it was built as a fully grade separated line, the M1 line operates with shorter trainsets and shorter station platforms than is standard on a traditional metro line, hence its "light metro" designation. The M1 line was later extended from Aksaray towards the western suburbs, reaching Atatürk Airport in the southwest in 2002.
Construction of the M2 line began on 11 September 1992, but faced many challenges due to the numerous archaeological sites that were discovered during the drilling process, which slowed down or fully stopped the construction of many stations, especially in the south. Taking into account the seismic activity in Istanbul, the entire network was built with the cut-and-cover method to withstand an earthquake of up to 9.0 on the Richter magnitude scale.
The first section between Taksim and 4. Levent entered service, after some delays, on 16 September 2000. This line is long and has 6 stations, which all look similar but are in different colours. In 2000, there were 8 Alstom-built 4-car train sets in service, which ran every 5 minutes on average and transported 130,000 passengers daily. On 30 January 2009, the first train sets built by Eurotem entered service. Eurotem will build a total of 92 new trainsets for the M2 line. As of 30 January 2009, a total of 34 trainsets, each with 4 cars, were being used on the M2 line. A northern extension from 4. Levent to Maslak was opened on 30 January 2009. On 2 September 2010, the northern (temporary) terminus of Darüşşafaka followed up. The southern extension of the M2 line from Taksim to Yenikapı, across the Golden Horn with Haliç station on the bridge and underground through the historic peninsula, entered service on 15 February 2014. The Taksim-Yenikapı extension is long, with four stations. The total cost of the extension was $593 million. At Yenikapı, it will intersect with the extended M1 line and the Marmaray commuter line, which since its opening in 2013 has offered a connection between the Asian and European sides of the city.
The trip between the Şişhane station in Beyoğlu and the Haciosman station in Maslak is long and takes 27 minutes; including Şişhane - Taksim (, 2 minutes), Taksim - 4. Levent (, 12 minutes), and 4. Levent - Haciosman (, 12 minutes.) The total length of the European side of the M2 line will reach when all 16 stations from Hacıosman to Yenikapı will be completed; not including the -long Golden Horn Metro Bridge, the long Taksim-Kabataş tunnel connection with the Seabus port, and the long Yenikapı-Aksaray tunnel connecting the M1 line to the Yenikapı Transfer Center.
On the Asian side, construction is in progress of the remaining portion of the long M4 line from Kadıköy to Kaynarca, yielding a total of 19 stations. It cost €751 million and was built by the Astaldi / Makyol / Gülermak consortium. The first section opened on 17 August 2012, terminating in Kartal. Construction of the long M5 line from Üsküdar via Ümraniye to Çekmeköy started in March 2012.İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi . Ibb.gov.tr. Retrieved on 12 August 2013.
Operations
The Metro operates from 06:00 AM to 12 AM every 6–12 minutes, except for the M8 line, which temporarily operates from 06:00 AM to 23:00 PM. During peak hours, the intervals could be reduced to 3 to 4 minutes.
The metro has a flat fare of 46.20 TL, a student rate of 22.55 TL, and a fare of 33.08 TL for teachers and senior residents, when used with the Istanbulkart, the city's universal contactless payment card.
Night operations
On 30 August 2019 as a gesture for the Victory Day of Turkey, Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, announced that many lines of Istanbul were going to provide 24 hours service during the weekends with trains at 20 minutes interval. Since August 2019, the Istanbul Metro started to provide 24 hours service for some lines on weekends and public holidays, but this service was discontinued in March 2020 due to coronavirus pandemic. On 5 March 2022 Metro Istanbul announced that the night metro service would be re-started on the following lines: M1A Yenikapı-Atatürk Airport, M1B Yenikapı-Kirazli, M2 Yenikapı-Hacıosman, M4 Kadıköy-Sabiha Gökçen Airport, M5 Üsküdar-Çekmeköy, and M6 Levent-Boğaziçi University/Hisarüstü, and later added M7 Mecidiyeköy-Mahmutbey on 14 July 2022.
Lines Each line is given a different color and name. The letter "M" stands for metro, while "T" stands for tram, "F" stands for funicular, "TF" stands for cable car and "B" for suburban. Frutiger LT Pro is used as the font for the icons. Line Route Side Opened(first) Length Stations Notes Yenikapı ↔ Atatürk Airport / Kirazlı European 1989 26.8 km 23 Branches diverge at Otogar. Branch M1A runs to Atatürk Airport. Branch M1B runs to Kirazlı, with an extension to Halkalı Üniversite under construction, and the section between Halkalı Üniversite and Halkalı currently on hold. The line operates from 06:00 AM to 00.00 AM. Trains are currently four cars in length, 5 car trains will run in the future Yenikapı ↔ Hacıosman European 2000 23.49 km 16 There is a branch line between Sanayi Mahallesi and Seyrantepe. Operates from 06:00 AM to 00:00 AM. Maximum 8 car trains, 4 car trains during off peak Bakırköy-Sahil ↔ Kayaşehir Merkez European 2013 26.7 km 20 Operates from 06:00 AM to 00.00 AM. Physical maximum 8 car trains (only 4 car trains used at this point due to ridership) Kadıköy ↔ Sabiha Gökçen Airport Asian 2012 33.5 km 23 An extension to Kaynarca Merkez is under construction. A further extension to Tuzla is on hold. Operates from 06:00 AM to 00.00 AM. Maximum 8 car trains, 4 car trains used during off peak Üsküdar ↔ Sultanbeyli Asian 2017 30.9 km 24 Operates from 06:00 AM to 00.00 AM. Maximum 6 car trains, fully automated Levent ↔ Boğaziçi Üniversitesi/Hisarüstü European 2015 3.3 km 4 Called the "Mini-Metro", M6 is actually a light metro line. Single track between stations, maximum 4 car trains Yıldız ↔ Mahmutbey European 2020 20 km 17 Opened partially on 28 October 2020. Fulya and Yıldız stations were put into service on January 2, 2023. Yıldız-Kabataş section is still under construction. Mahmutbey-Hastane section is under construction. Physical maximum 8 car trains, but only 4 car trains used at the moment, fully automated Bostancı ↔ Parseller Asian 2023 14.27 km 13 Opened on 6 January 2023. Medium capacity system, maximum 4 car trains, fully automated Operates from 06:00 AM to 11.00 PM. Olimpiyat ↔ Ataköy European 2021 17.2 km 14 Opened partially on 29 May 2021 between Olimpiyat and Bahariye stations. On 18 March 2024, the line was fully put into service between Olimpiyat and Ataköy stations. Physical maximum 4 car trains Gayrettepe ↔ Halkalı European 2023 69 km 15 Higher maximum speed (120 km) than other lines, uses metro trains akin to Chinese metro type B trains in a 4 car configuration, fully automated TOTAL: 265.16 km 169
Stations
The Istanbul Metro system has a total of 159 stations in operation with 35 more under construction. Since the majority of the system is underground, stations are generally accessed going down from street level. At every station entrance there is a post with the Istanbul metro "M" logo and the station name underneath it except for the M11 line which has the "U" logo next to its own entrances. Entrances are usually built into sidewalks along a street, although many stations of newer lines have their entrances from street level on small plazas.
Like Moscow Metro, the majority of the stations of the Istanbul Metro are generally deep level due to the city's hilly geography.
Out of the 159 operating stations of the Istanbul Metro:
147 are fully underground 7 are elevated stations 7 are on an embankment or at-grade 2 are partially underground
Mezzanines
Most stations have a mezzanine directly below street level, which allows passengers to enter the stations from multiple locations and proceed to the correct platform without having to cross any streets. Inside the mezzanines are ticket machines and turnstiles, where passengers must pay to enter fare control zones and proceed to the trains.
In some stations, mezzanines connect directly to nearby buildings and structures, such as shopping malls or business centres. Each station concourse or mezzanine are patrolled by Istanbul Metro security guards to prevent fare evasion and crime.