TCDD Transport


TCDD Transport or Turkish State Railways Transport is a government-owned railway company responsible for the operations of most passenger and freight rail in Turkey. The company was formed on 14 June 2016, splitting off from Turkish State Railways to take over railway operations, while TCDD would continue to administer railway infrastructure. TCDD Taşımacılık officially began operations on 1 January 2017.
TCDD Taşımacılık operates trains on a network of over within 59 of the 81 provinces in Turkey.

Organisation

TCDD Taşımacılık is a government-owned company responsible for the operation of passenger and freight railways within Turkey, including logistical centers and train ferries using infrastructure owned and maintained by the Turkish State Railways.

Passenger operations

TCDD Taşımacılık operates passenger rail service on most of its network. Passenger trains service most major cities in Turkey, although a few are without train service, such as Bursa and Antalya. TCDD Taşımacılık operates five types of passenger rail on its network:
  • High-speed : TCDD Taşımacılık's premier rail service.
  • Mainline : Standard intercity passenger rail service, between major cities.
  • Regional : Regional rail service, connecting major cities to surrounding cities, towns and villages.
  • Commuter : Commuter rail service within major cities.
  • International : International train service to Europe.

    List of TCDD Transport routes

TCDD Transport operates on the 12,532 km long Turkish rail network, and currently 90% is served by passenger trains.

High-speed services

Mainline services

The second main intercity service of the company are the mainline trains known as Express or Main Line. These trains connect major Turkish cities throughout the country but they are progressively stopped as the YHT network expands.
NameTypeRouteNumbersDaily round tripsRoute kilometres
4th of September Blue TrainBlueAnkara – Kırıkkale – Kayseri – Sivas – Malatya22018, 52019Daily
İzmir Blue TrainBlueİzmir – Manisa – Balıkesir – Kütahya – Eskişehir – Ankara22006, 32005Daily824
Konya Blue TrainBlueİzmir – Manisa – Uşak – Afyonkarahisar – Konya72008, 32007Daily693
6th of September ExpressExpressİzmir – Manisa – Balıkesir – BandırmaDaily341
17th of September ExpressExpressİzmir – Manisa – Balıkesir – BandırmaDaily341
Aegean ExpressExpressİzmir – Manisa – Balıkesir – Kütahya – Eskişehir32011, 72018Daily576
Ankara ExpressExpressIstanbul – İzmit – Bilecik – Eskişehir – Ankara22001, 12002Daily610
Eastern ExpressExpressAnkara – Kırıkkale – Kayseri – Sivas – Erzurum – Kars22010, 42009Daily1,365
Erciyes ExpressExpressKayseri – Niğde – Adana22002, 62001Daily
Lakes ExpressExpressİzmir – Aydın – Denizli – Burdur – Isparta32015, 72016Daily
Lake Van ExpressExpressAnkara – Kırıkkale – Kayseri – Sivas – Malatya – Elazığ – Muş – Tatvan22012, 52011Twice-weekly
Pamukkale ExpressExpressEskişehir – Kütahya – Afyonkarahisar – Denizli72013, 72014Daily421
Roses ExpressExpressİzmir – Aydın – Denizli – Burdur – IspartaDaily
Southern Kurtalan ExpressExpressAnkara – Kırıkkale – Kayseri – Sivas – Malatya – Diyarbakır – Batman – Kurtalan22014, 520135 weekly roundtrips
Taurus ExpressExpressKonya – Karaman – Adana62005, 62006Temporarily halted668
Euphrates ExpressExpressAdana – Osmaniye – Malatya – ElazığTemporarily suspended due to Earthquakes
Touristic Eastern ExpressTouristicAnkara – Kırıkkale – Kayseri – Sivas – Erzurum – Kars3 times a week1,365
Blue Train
The Blue Train is the Turkish State Railways premier passenger train service started in the 1980s. The first, simply called Blue Train, operated between Istanbul and Ankara, entering service in 1979. More Blue Train services were added later on. The İzmir Blue Train, Central Anatolia Blue Train, Çukurova Blue Train and 4th of September Blue Train were are overnight trains. These trains had custom railcars, built by TÜVASAŞ, all painted blue with a blue painted DE 24000 series locomotive pulling the train. The current remnant is just a branding with regular rolling stock. Today there are only three blue trains are in service.
Service
  • Blue Train – Haydarpaşa -İzmit-Sakarya-Bilecik-Eskişehir-Ankara
  • İzmir Blue Train – Ankara-Eskişehir-Kütahya-Balıkesir-Manisa-Basmane
  • Çukurova Blue Train – Ankara-Kırıkkale-Kayseri -Niğde-Adana
  • Central Anatolia Blue Train – Haydarpaşa -İzmit-Sakarya-Bilecik-Enveriye -Kütahya-Afyonkarahisar-Konya-Karaman- Ulukışla -Adana
  • 4th of September Blue Train – Ankara-Kırıkkale-Kayseri-Sivas-Malatya
  • Konya Blue Train – Konya-Afyonkarahisar-Uşak-Manisa-Basmane

    Regional services

; District 1
; District 2
  • Ankara–Polatlı
  • Zonguldak–Karabük
  • Zonguldak–Gökçebey
; District 3
; District 4
; District 5
  • Diyarbakır–Batman
  • Elazığ–Tatvan
; District 6
  • Mersin–Adana - Busiest regional line
  • Mersin–İskenderun
  • Konya–Karaman
  • Gaziantep–Nizip
; District 7
High-speed rail service is TCDD Taşımacılık's premier trains service, currently operating eight routes between Istanbul, Ankara, Eskişehir, Sivas, Karaman and Konya along the Ankara-Istanbul, Ankara–Sivas, Konya-Karaman and Polatlı-Konya high-speed railways. High-speed trains are branded as Yüksek Hızlı Tren or YHT and operates at speeds of up to. YHT train service is expected to expand further to Bursa and İzmir in 2027.
YHT trains use Ankara station as their main hub, with an exclusive concourse and lounges within the Ankara Tren Garı building, built over the southern platforms at Ankara station.
High-speed train service began on 13 March 2009, between Ankara and Eskişehir and in its final year before TCDD Taşımacılık took over, YHT trains carried over 5.89 million passengers.

Intercity rail

Intercity rail in Turkey is known as Mainline service. Mainline trains operate between major cities, often as overnight trains, and make limited stops. Mainline trains also operate at greater speeds than regional and commuter trains when the route permits it. Intercity trains were operated the most between Istanbul and Ankara and reached speeds of up to in certain sections. The Capital Express, Anatolian Express and the Republic Express were a few notable mainline trains that ran on the Istanbul to Ankara rail corridor. Once the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed railway was completed in 2014, all mainline train service between the two cities was replaced with high-speed rail service.
Mainline trains are usually equipped with TVS2000 air-conditioned cars, however refurbished Pullman cars are also used on some trains. Overnight mainline trains consist of sleeping and dining cars while some trains also have couchette cars in addition to sleepers.
During the final year before TCDD Taşımacılık took over operations, mainline trains carried over 1.3 million passengers.

Regional rail

Regional rail service connects major cities to neighboring towns and villages, as well as other cities. These trains are usually the slowest in the whole TCDD Taşımacılık system, making frequent stops along its route. Some trains, like the Ada Express, however operate at faster speeds similar to mainline trains. All regional rail service operates within their respective districts, using one city as a hub.
The most frequent regional rail service in Turkey is between Adana and Mersin with 27 daily trains in each direction. The second most frequent route is between İzmir and Torbalı, with 18 daily trains in each direction.
Regional trains can be locomotive-hauled or consist of diesel or electric trainsets or even diesel railcars. Locomotive-hauled trains consist of TVS200 or regular Pullman coaches. DM15000 and DM30000 DMUs are standard along many routes, especially south of İzmir. Regional trains lack any on-board services except at-cart catering services on most trains.
During the final year before TCDD Taşımacılık took over operations, regional trains carried over 13.5 million passengers.