Istanbul Metro
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 2024, the system now includes 160 stations in service, with 36 more under construction. With 243.3 kilometers, Istanbul has the 21st longest metro system in the world and the 4th longest in Europe as of 2024.
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. Four metro lines are under construction on the Asian side: M10, M12, M13 and M14. Additionally, extension works on the M7 and M11 lines and the M4 and M5 lines are underway.
In addition to the Marmaray commuter rail, the metro connects to the F1, Tünel, 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. 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. was founded the previous year to operate the system. The M1 was initially called "Hafif 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 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, Taksim - 4. Levent, and 4. Levent - Haciosman 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.
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 35 TL, a student rate of 17.08 TL, and a fare of 25.06 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.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:
- 143 are fully underground
- 7 are elevated stations
- 7 are on an embankment or at-grade
- 2 are partially underground
Mezzanines
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.
Stations with large walkways toward different exits, such as Taksim, also have travelators to cover the long walking distances.
Upon entering the station, passengers may use ticket vending machines or staffed ticket booths to purchase their fare, which can be stored on the Istanbulkart contactless smart card. After entering the fare-controlled area, via the turnstiles, passengers may continue further down to the platform level.
Platforms
Since the different lines of the Istanbul Metro have different specifications, most notably car length, there is no uniform length for platforms. The oldest platforms of the network, built between 1989 and 2002 on the M1 line, are and can accommodate trains up to 4 cars long. Platforms on the M2, M3, M4, M7 and M11 lines span about and can each accommodate trains up to 8 cars long. Platforms on the M5 line can accommodate up to 6-car trains, whiles platforms on the M6, M8, and M9 lines are accommodate 4-car trains.Sections of platforms are subject to close during off-peak hours, especially on the M2 line. While platforms on the M2 line are open fully during peak hours, capacity is reduced to 4-car trains during off-peak hours. Platforms on the M5, M7, M8 and M11 lines are protected by platform edge doors. Except on funicular lines, most platforms of the Istanbul Metro consist of two side platforms or one island platform. Five stations consist of two island platforms, serving three tracks in a configuration known as the Spanish Solution. These stations are Otogar on the M1 line, Yenikapı and Sanayi on the M2 line, Olimpiyat on the M9 line, and Bostancı on the M4 line.