Turkish State Railways in Turkey

Turkish State Railways (TCDD, DDY) trains are useful, and even the best way to travel in Turkey on some routes (especially the sleeping car trains).

Here are the cities served by trains in Turkey:

(= Haydarpasa Istanbul, Izmir Basmane =). For every city page for information about trains, the city.

The focus is on the Istanbul – Ankara route. Intercity trains between Istanbul (Haydarpasa), and Ankara, Izmir and between (Basmane) and Ankara, relatively fast, convenient, and prices are moderate, and the train-and-ferry service between Istanbul and Izmir is also useful.

You can even take the train from Istanbul to Sofia, Bulgaria, Thessaloniki, Greece; Tehran, Iran, and Damascus, Syria, even though the bus is usually faster and safer (if not cheaper).

Bus travel is faster than the train on most lines, however, and twice as fast on some routes.

Note: There is no train to Bodrum, Antalya, Alanya, or even at any point along the Aegean and Mediterranean coast between Izmir and Mersin. There is also no service to the eastern Black Sea coast.

Please would you read this information regarding the safety of sleeping.

Note that break your journey and again the same ticket. You must either buy a separate ticket for each part of the journey, or you must buy a monthly pass called Rail Train Tour Card.

The Turkish State Railways website will be used to be quite useful, but in 2007 they “improved” so that now it is much more difficult to use (sigh).

Best Turkish TRAINS

Istanbul – Ankara: fast, convenient and cheap. The ride takes 5-9 + hours depending on the train, and costs U.S. $ 7 to $ 17 per person one way.

Sleeping car trains: the most convenient, best value.

Istanbul – Edirne: once by the fabled Orient Express between Paris and Constantinople, this European route is now better had traveled by bus. Yes, you can use one of several daily trains between Istanbul and Edirne, but bus service is much faster and more convenient.

Istanbul – Izmir: The 6 Eylül Ekspresi (September 6th Express) is the best train on the route, so that the 342-km (212 mile) run between Bandirma and Izmir, in 5-1/4 hours. It is coordinated with the IDO fast ferry service between Istanbul and Bandirma, making the total journey time of less than eight hours.

The afternoon 17 Eylül Ekspresi not have the same close cooperation with the ferries.

Ankara to Izmir Trains
Three good pushes, all are in the night.

Discounts and monthly passes can save you money on train travel costs.