Rail transport in Turkey began in 1856 with the start of construction of the 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. 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.Turkish State Railways : Railway policies throughout the 80 years of our history www.tcdd.gov.tr
As with other countries, rapid expansion followed; by 1922 over of lines had been constructed in the Ottoman Empire.In the Ottoman Empire: some parts of lines extending into the middle east would not be incorporated into the Turkish State on its creation At the birth of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, there were of standard gauge lines, of which 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 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.
In the years following World War II, the emphasis in transportation shifted to asphalt road and highway construction; it was not until the end of the 20th century that railways returned to favour with major passenger infrastructure projects being initiated,Ministry of Transport and Communications : Ankara-Istanbul high speed train project www.ubak.gov.trMinistry of Transport and Communications : Marmaray project www.ubak.gov.tr and five thousand kilometres of new lines planned for construction.Ministry of Transport and Communications : Strategic Aims and Targets (section "strategy") www.ubak.gov.tr
The line from the Iranian border to Van and across Lake Van to Tatvan was funded by the Central Treaty Organisation, before the Iranian Revolution.
High speed lines were constructed in the 21st century. The first high speed train ran in 2009. from the capital Ankara to Eskişehir.
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.On the fast track to reform 9 March 2009, railwaygazette.com
Ottoman Empire period
Summary The first finished Ottoman railway line was a line between Köstence (today Constanţa, Romania) and Boğazköy (today Cernavodă, Romania) built in 1859–1860. The Ottoman Empire permitted British, French and German companies to fund and ran private railways.RAILWAYS POLICIES THROUGHOUT THE 80 YEARS HISTORY OF OUR REPUBLIC www.tcdd.gov.tr European powers used their technological know how in different zones of influence, which they divided amongst themselves.https://www.levantineheritage.com/pdf/Development-of-railways-in-the-ottoman-empire-and-turkey-Sena_Bayraktaroglu.pdf, page 17 According to Ozyuksel, European entities saw railways as a mean to expand their political or economic influence as well as made it easier to begin operating economically in the "undeveloped country". The Ottomans were interested in the economic, social and military advantages of the railways. The first railways were built by the British, such as their Ottoman Railway Company, during the mid 19th century. This was done in order to transport the fig harvest to Izmir. Companies from Germany built the well known Orient Express, which ran from Turkey to Europe. The Germans also built the Turkish part of the Berlin–Baghdad railway.
European and Ottoman interests The Ottomans wished to integrate more deeply into Europe and saw the establishment of railways connecting the empire with European markets as a way to further this goal. Financial problems and the lack of engineering knowledge delayed significantly the implementation of such connector projects. Following this, the empire began to interact with European investors and entities to further its railway projects. The empire contracted investor the Austrian, Baron Hirsch, to develop 2000 km of railways however, the British and French prevented the raising of money in the Paris and London stock exchanges. This led to a revisal of plans. Eventually 1279 km of tracks were built and the Ottoman network was not connected to the Austrian network and thus unconnected to the rest of Europe.
By the end of 1913, 42% of the 3700 million pounds of British investment in the Ottoman Empire was in the railways. 15% of the 1800 million pounds invested by the French was put into railways. The Germans invested 750 million pounds, 25% of which funded railways. Ottoman interests were oriented around modernizing the empire.https://www.levantineheritage.com/pdf/Development-of-railways-in-the-ottoman-empire-and-turkey-Sena_Bayraktaroglu.pdf, page 19 Ottoman transportation until then relied on animals such as mules and camels, rivers were short and often were not suitable for inland travel therefore railways provided a solution to improve the Ottoman transport system. Railways significantly increased trade in the regions where they were established, in the İzmir–Aydın region, trade increased 13 fold from 1856 to 1909.https://www.levantineheritage.com/pdf/Development-of-railways-in-the-ottoman-empire-and-turkey-Sena_Bayraktaroglu.pdf, page 20.
Germans The Germans were notably involved in the railways connecting Istanbul and Baghdad, the Anatolian Railway as well as private German initiatives in the Balkan part of the empire.https://www.levantineheritage.com/pdf/Development-of-railways-in-the-ottoman-empire-and-turkey-Sena_Bayraktaroglu.pdf page 22 Some of these projects were financed through Deutsche bank which was backed by the German foreign ministry. The German company Krupp Steel also took part. According to Özyüksel, the Germans sought to increase their influence in the region as well as increase the reliability of the Ottoman army if war were to break out. The Ottomans wished for the Germans to concentrate more efforts in their regions. According to Özyüksel, the positive attitude toward the Germans was born from the scepticism toward other powers. Other powers attempted to cause rifts within the empire and bring about the secession of regions, even Muslim regions from the empire, while the Germans did not engage in such activity. Özyüksel says this made the Germans more "popular" in the empire The Russians, French and British each sought to prevent the Germans from enlarging the German sphere of influence to the Persian Gulf through the Istanbul Baghdad railway. The Russians saw the German railway as preventing the southern Russian expansion, the French felt their attempt to establish themselves in Syria would be negatively impeded while the British were uneasy due to their passage to India according to Özyüksel.
The Germans also conducted topographical surveys of the Ottoman empire in order to lay out the railways.
British The British wanted to shorten journeys to British held India, rail transport through the Ottoman Empire which sits between Europe and Iran. The Isknenderiye-Kahire was built for this purpose.https://www.levantineheritage.com/pdf/Development-of-railways-in-the-ottoman-empire-and-turkey-Sena_Bayraktaroglu.pdf page 23 The British built multiple railways including the Constanza-Cernavoda, Izmir(then called Smyrna) - Kasaba, Izmir - Aydın and Varna - Ruse lines.
Railways
İzmir–Aydın railway (1860–)
The first railway to be constructed in Turkey was the İzmir (the Turkish name of Smyrna)–Aydın line, the first part of which was opened in 1860. Further construction and extension of the line continued up to 1912, by which time the total length was in excess of 700 km.CUMHURİYET ÖNCESİ YAPILAN VE BUGÜN KULLANILAN DEMİRYOLU HATLARI "Railway lines in the Republic of Turkey and before" ww.tcdd.gov.tr The line was built by the British.Özyüksel, Murat (2014-10-22). The Hejaz Railway and the Ottoman Empire: Modernity, Industrialisation and Ottoman Decline. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 18. .
İzmir-Kasaba The railway was built by the British between the city of Smyrna, now Izmir to Kasaba.
İzmir–Turgutlu railway (1865–)
The second railway to be opened was the İzmir–Turgutlu railway. As with the İzmir–Aydın line expansion continued for several decades, and by 1912 the total length was well in excess of 500 km.
European (Şark) railway (1871–)
In 1871 the Yenikapı to Florya section of the Sark railway opened, further lines were added in the years 1872 and 1873 to create 288 km of lines. A further extension was added in 1912 of 46 km.
Anatolian railway (1872–)
The first section of the Anatolian railway opened in 1872, and the line saw constant growth through the next three decades.
Mersin Tarsus Adana railway (1882–)
The Mersin to Adana opened the section to Yenice in 1882, and was completed, having reached Adana by 1886.
Baghdad railway (1904–)
The Baghdad (in modern day Iraq) railway extended into Turkey, with lines reaching Konya and other parts of western Turkey.
Cenup railway (1912–) Also known as the Southern Railway it was first opened in 1912.
Republic Period Early 20th century
During the Turkish War of Independence, the new breakaway government in Ankara held control over sections of railways located in central and southern Anatolia. In 1920, these were brought under the roof of Chemin de Fer d'Anatolie ("Anadolu Şimendiferleri" - distinct from "Ottoman Anatolian Railways") with its center in Ankara and administered by Behiç Erkin, the founding figure of modern Turkey's railway network and a colonel at the time. Erkin pursued his office as director general beyond the war during a crucial period that lasted until 1926, after which he was Turkey's minister for transport for two years.
In 1923, Turkish railways entered what the Turkish State Railways term the "Republic Period", a "golden age" that lasted until 1950. During this time, the railways that had already been created were repurposed to serve Turkish financial interests, prioritizing industrial growth in such industries as iron, steel and coal. In addition to claiming existing lines, the Turkish government extended lines into the previously underrepresented Central and Eastern areas of Turkey to achieve near balance. Between 1935 and 1945, emphasis was placed on construction of junction lines, to improve industrial connectivity and also strengthen national defense. As a result, distance of travel between various points was significantly shortened.
During this period, the following main routes were constructed: Ankara-Kayseri-Sivas Sivas-Erzurum (Caucasus line) Samsun-Kalin (near Sivas) Irmak-Filyos Zonguldak (coal line) Adana-Fevzipaşa-Diyarbakır (Copper line) Sivas-Çetinkaya (Iron line)
Late 20th century