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) (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.
In the early 21st century, major infrastructural projects were realized; such as the construction of a high-speed railway network as well as a tunnel under the Bosphorus strait which connects Europe and Anatolia by rail for the first time.
Turkey is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Turkey is 75.
All high-speed and main rail lines use standard-gauge railway with the exception of the Bursa and Istanbul nostalgic tramways, which use the metre-gauge railway.
History
Network
In 2022, Turkey had of railway lines, of which 95% were single-tracked,8697km of lines 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.Presentation of the Rail Transport:Turkey Tevfik Muhammed, engineer, Turkish State Railways (TCDD), 21 November 2008 www.euromedtransport.org 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 of conventional railway line and of high-speed railway line. of the network is electrified (31%), and of it is signaled (37%).Turkish State Railways Annual Statistics 2010–2014
Electrified lines run from Kapıkule on the Bulgarian border via Istanbul to Ankara, and from Divriği via Malatya to İskenderun on the Mediterranean coast. Additionally, Sivas and İzmir have electrified networks. Here are some technical informations (standards) about the Turkish railway system: Rail Gauge – Electrification – 25 kV, 50 Hz AC Overhead lines Loading gauge – UIC GC Traffic – Right-Hand traffic Pantograph – (Old) and (New, Rebuilt and High-speed lines) Rail – S49 (Old) and UIC 60 (New, Rebuilt and High-speed lines) Sleepers – Wooden & Steel (Old) and Concrete (New, Rebuilt and High-speed lines) Fastening – Baseplate based with Screw spikes (Old) and Tension Clamp (New, Rebuilt and High-speed lines) Platform height – (Low platforms), (High-speed trains' platforms) and (Commuter rail platforms) Coupling – Buffers and Chains (Locomotives and Passenger cars) and Scharfenberg (MUs) Brake – Air Curve minimum – and (High-speed lines)
High-speed rail lines
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.Turkey high speed launch 13 March 2009 railwaygazette.com
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, İzmir and Edirne are among some of other cities to be connected to the high-speed network with works being underway.In the Ottoman Empire: some parts of lines extending into the middle east would not be incorporated into the Turkish State on its creation 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 along 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.
Among the trains used by the Turkhish high speed rail services are Siemens Velaro TR, the same models used in InterCity Express (ICE) trains in Germany. The Turkish also use the Spanish CAF made TCDD HT65000. In 2025, the high speed network transported 100 million passengers annually.
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.Uysal, Onur. "Traveling by Train in Turkey", Rail Turkey, 5 March 2014 In addition to high speed trains, there are several types of wagons being used for railway transport like pullmans, sleeping cars, couchette, DMU and EMU sets. In 2019, 164.7 million passengers used the Turkish rail network.
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.Uysal, Onur. "Where is Closed in Turkish Railways?", Rail Turkey, 16 May 2014
Railway links with adjacent countries
West neighboring countries Bulgaria – open – – 25 kV, 50 Hz AC Greece – open – – 25 kV, 50 Hz AC (but no trains running since February 2011 due to economic crisis in Greece)
East neighboring countries Georgia – open – break-of-gauge / at Akhalkalaki (Georgia) Armenia – closed – break-of-gauge / (see the Kars-Gyumri-Tbilisi railway line)Railway Gazette International – January 2008 p51 Azerbaijan – no direct link – break-of-gauge / via Georgia (see the Kars-Gyumri-Tbilisi railway line), via Iran (toward Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic). Iran – via Lake Van train ferry –
The Iranian rail network is connected to the Turkish rail network via the Lake Van train ferry close to the border – which creates a serious bottleneck.Country report of Republic of Turkey in the field of transport and telecommunication page 3, United Nations Economic and Social commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) www.unescap.orgNot only do trains need to be split for ferry transport, but the 91km water journey takes 5 hours. (See Economic and social commissioner for Asia and the Pacific: Development of the Trans-Asian Railway in the southern corridor of Asia-Europe routes United Nations, page 42, Peter Hodgkinson www.unescap.org In 2007 an agreement was made to create a rail link between the two countries.Turkey, Iran agree on joint railway 27 July 2007 yenisafak.com.tr
For the Caucasus region and Central Asia via Georgia and Azerbaijan, the Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway) was finally opened in 2017, involving a break of gauge from to . The line has a target of transporting 17 million tons of cargo per year.Uysal, Onur. "Baku Tbilisi Kars Railway to be Opened in 2014", Rail Turkey, 15 June 2013 This railway by-passes the Kars–Gyumri–Tbilisi railway line that connected Turkey to Armenia but was closed in 1993The closed Armenia-Turkey border:Economic and social effects, including those on the people; and implications for the overall situation in the region Study produced for the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs Committee on Development, Author :Nathalie Tocci, Co-authors: Burcu Gültekin-Punsmann, Licínia Simão, Nicolas Tavitian, August 2007, (specifics p14) www.europarl.europa.eu during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War; in 2009 the possibility of re-opening the line was stated by the Armenian transport minister.Armenia-Turkey railway network may be launched in couple of days 11 November 2009 www.armtown.com
South neighboring countries Iraq – no direct link, traffic routed via Syria – Syria – closed because of the Syrian civil war –
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.
Planned expansion Turkey is planning to construct a high speed line between Ankara and Samsun by 2030. Kırıkkale will be a stop between Ankara and Sivas. By 2026 a high speed line is set to be opened between Ankara and Kayseri. Another line is under construction from Ankara to İzmir on the Aegean coast. Turkey is planning to build a high speed rail line from Istanbul to Edirne as well as to Kapıkule which is on the Bulgarian border and will thus allow Turkey to establish a high speed line with Bulgaria. By 2030 a high speed line is planned between Istanbul and Ankara. A link to Kars to Nakhchivan in Azerbaijan via Iğdır is under construction.
Formerly planned railways In 1948, the State Railways released a plan of railway lines that were to be constructed to "ensure national progression and safety". The plan included of new railway lines of which only were actually completed; the Gaziantep-Karkamış section of the Narlı-Nusaybin railway was completed in 1960.
Urban rail Commuter Suburban systems in Turkey as listed below: City System Operator Electrification Gauge Bidirectional traffic Notes Istanbul Marmaray TCDD Taşımacılık A.Ş. 25 kV, 50 Hz AC Overhead line Right-hand traffic Halkalı-Bahçeşehir Rail System Ankara Başkentray İzmir İZBAN İZBAN A.Ş. Gaziantep Gaziray TCDD Taşımacılık A.Ş. Sakarya Adaray Konya Konyaray Tender phase Afyon Afray Planning phaseKayseriİncesu-Gömeç Rail SystemOn Hold (Awaiting rolling stock allocation by TCDD)
Metro Five cities in Turkey have Metro system, listed as follows:
City System Electrification Conductor system Gauge Bidirectional traffic Opened Istanbul Istanbul Metro 750 V DC & 1,500 V DC Third rail & Overhead line Right-hand traffic 3 September 1989 Ankara Ankara Metro 750 V DC Third rail 20 August 1996 İzmir İzmir Metro 22 April 2000 Bursa Bursaray 1,500 V DC Overhead line 24 April 2002 Adana Adana Metro 750 V DC 14 May 2010 Konya Konya Metro 750 V DC ?? Overhead line ?? Under construction Gebze Gebze Metro 750 V DC ?? Overhead line ?? Under construction Mersin Mersin Metro 750 V DC ?? Overhead line ?? Under construction
Metro systems are under construction in Konya and Gebze. Tram and light rail systems are operational in Antalya, Gaziantep, and Kayseri
Tram & Light Rail There are also several tram and light rail systems in many cities, listed as follows:
City System Electrification Gauge Bidirectional traffic Opened Istanbul Istanbul Tram 750 V DC Overhead line Right-hand traffic 13 June 1992 İzmir İzmir Tram 11 April 2017 İzmit Akçaray 17 June 2017 Bursa Burtram 13 October 2013 Antalya AntRay December 2009 Konya Konya Tram 28 September 1992 Gaziantep Gaziantep Tram 1 March 2011 Kayseri Kayseray 1 August 2009 Samsun Samsun Tram10 October 2010 Trabzon Trabzon Tram Planned Under construction Eskişehir Estram 750 V DC Overhead line 24 December 2004
Nostalgic tramway City System Electrification Conductor system Gauge Bidirectional traffic Istanbul Istanbul Tram 600 V DC Overhead line Partially Bursa Burtram ? Partially Antalya Antalya Tram 600 V DC PartiallyAnkaraAnkara National Park Tram ? ?No
Companies Turkish State Railways
In combination with its affiliates, the State Railways of the Republic of Turkey (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryolları, TCDD) have a monopoly on passengerExcluding urban mass transit systems, and tram networks. and freight rail transportation, as well as the manufacturing of rolling stock and tracks.Project information document (PID) : Railways restructuring project (Turkey) World Bank, 2009, www-wds.worldbank.org 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.
Affiliated companies