Turkish State Railways

The State Railways of the Turkish Republic (Turkish: Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryolları) or TCDD is the government owned, national railway carrier in the Republic of Turkey, headquartered in Ankara. The TCDD was formed on June 1, 1927 by the Turkish government to take over the administration of the existing rail lines within the borders of the Republic of Turkey after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, and to build new ones.^[2]

The Turkish State Railways own and operate all public railways in Turkey. As of 2008, TCDD controls 10,991 km (6,829 mi) of railways making it the 22nd largest railway system in the world. In 2009, TCDD carried 17,105,353 tonnes of freight and 7,118,699 passenger-km making it the world's 33rd largest passenger rail carrier. As of 2009, the Turkish State Railways employs 25,593 people.^[3]

The Turkish State railways owns several other companies and holds shares in others. These are all companies that are involved with rail transport or that use rail transport. TCDD is a member of InterRail since 1994.^[4]

Operations

The Turkish State Railways operate most trains in the country. Intercity, regional, suburban, freight and most industrial lines are owned and operated by the State Railways. The only other railways in Turkey are; İZBAN, which TCDD has a 50% share in, operates commuter rail service around İzmir, and a few other industrial railways. In addition to rail services, TCDD has been responsible since 1927 for operating several major ports which handle 30% of Turkish port activities.^[5]

Ports

The State Railways own and operate 7 ports throughout the country and has connections to 2 more ports. These ports TCDD owns are, the Port of Haydarpaşa^[6] in İstanbul on the southern mouth of the Bosphorus, the Port of İzmir^[7] on the Aegean Sea, the Port of Mersin^[8] and the Port of İskendurun^[9] on the Mediterranean Sea, the Port of Bandırma^[10] on the Sea of Marmara, the Port of Derince^[11] on the Gulf of İzmit, and the Port of Samsun on the Black Sea. The railways has connections to the Port of Zonguldak,^[12] owned by TTK, the Port of Tekkeköy and the Port of Tekirdağ,^[13] owned by AKPORT AŞ. In 2004, the privatization of all ports except Haydarpaşa began.^[14]

The state railways are currently planning on building rail connections to the Port of Güllük^[15] (via Çine) and to the Port of Ereğli, which TCDD used to service, until 2004.

The ports TCDD owns are the most important in Turkey. The country's 5 largest ports are owned by the state railways. The Port of Haydarpaşa will soon be decommissioned, when the Marmaray project is complete.

Rail freight transport

From 1980 onwards, rail freight tonne-kilometers transported by the TCDD rose slightly from ~5000million tonne-km in 1980 to ~7000million tonne-km in 1990 and to ~9000million tonne-km in 2000.^[16] Approximately 50% of freight moved is minerals or ores, with construction materials increasing to ~10% in 2000 from less than 5% in 1980, food/agricultural products, chemicals/petroleum, and metal sectors each account for between 5 and 10% each. International freight accounted for approximately 5% of totals in 2000.^[16]

Passenger Operations

The Turkish State Railways operate passenger services on 90% of their system. These are intercity, regional, commuter and international services. In the railways first year 52% of passenger travel in Turkey was by rail, despite the system lacking connections to many parts of the country. Rail transport was the main mode of transport for passengers in the following two decades, reaching an all time high of 57% of passenger transport in 1947, but then started to decline after 1950, due to the mass construction of roads.^[17] Today, the passenger ratio is slowly increasing with the opening of high-speed rail lines in Turkey. The types of passenger service are:

• High-speed (Hızlı Tren): High-speed rail services and TCDD's premier service.
• Mainline (Anahat): Intercity trains operating between major cities.
• International (Uluslararası): Trains operating on international routes, toward Europe of the Middle East.
• Regional (Bölgesel): Trains operating within their respective districts.
• Commuter (Banliyö): Commuter trains, currently operating in Ankara and İstanbul.

High-speed Service

High-speed rail in Turkey is new, with the first service in 2009. The railways has branded their high-speed service to Yüksek Hızlı Tren or YHT. YHT currently operates on two lines: the Ankara-Eskişehir portion of the İstanbul-Ankara high-speed railway and the Ankara-Konya high-speed railway, which opened in August, 2011. Prices between Ankara and Eskişehir are currently 30 TL for business class and 25 TL for economy class.^[18]

The rolling stock used for YHT service are the Spanish-built HT65000 EMUs. These trains operate at speeds of 120 km/h (75 mph) within cities and reach speeds of 250 km/h (160 mph) on their dedicated track outside cities. These EMUs have 6 permanently coupled cars, with 4 economy class cars, 1 cafe car and 1 business class car. Economy class has 2+2 seating with power outlets, fold-able tables and private radio. There is a lavatory at one end of the car. The business class car has 2+1 seating, with power outlets, greater leg room, private radio, fold-able tables and steward service as well as LCD TVs in front of every seat.^[19]

High-speed rail in Turkey is still developing, with two lines under construction and many more planned. Once the line to İstanbul is completed, travel between Ankara and İstanbul will drop to 3 and a half hours, compared to 8 hours by car. By 2023, the Ministry of Transport expects Turkey's high-speed rail system to increase to 10,000 kilometers.^[20]

Mainline Service

Mainline service (Turkish: Anahat) is the railway's main service. In 2010 mainline services made up for 24% of the railways passenger traffic.^[21] Mainline service includes 3 types of trains: Express, Blue Train and Passenger.

Express service is between major cities and are fast, comfortable and equipped with modern air conditioned TVS2000 railcars and only stop at important stations. Express trains have an average operating speed of 100 km/h (62 mph) to 120 km/h (75 mph). The most express service is between İstanbul and Eskişehir with 8 trains daily in each direction. Express service also has over-night trains between major cities far apart (ex:İstanbul-Kars). These trains have coaches, a dining car and a sleeping car or a couchette car or sometimes both.

Blue Train service was the State railways premier express service, starting in 1979 between İstanbul and Ankara, with a blue DE24000 locomotive and custom built blue railcars. Today Blue Train service has become part of Mainline service and use the same TVS2000 rolling stock. Currently, there are 4 Blue Trains in service; between Ankara and İzmir, İstanbul-Adana, Ankara-Adana and Ankara-Malatya. All these trains are over-night trains. The İstanbul-Ankara blue train service was cancelled in 2000.

Passenger class service is the slowest mainline service, making local stops but not as many as regional service. Passenger service use mainly modernized intercity railcars and occasionally TVS2000 railcars. Passenger class trains used to run on more lines but today the only passenger class service is the Boğaziçi Express.

The TVS2000 railcars used on mainline service are the most comfortable cars in TCDD's entire fleet. TVS2000 railcars may also be used on International service because international services are considered mainline services within Turkey.

International service

International service (Turkish: Uluslararası Trenler) is operated jointly between the Turkish State Railways and another national rail carrier. Despite Turkey's geographical location as a bridge between Europe and the Middle east, international service is the service with the lowest passenger ridership. In the past, international service was much more prominent with two world-famous trains: The Orient Express (Paris-İstanbul) and the Taurus Express (İstanbul-Baghdad) operating in Turkey. Because of political issues and cutbacks on funding, international service has declined greatly from its former prominence. In 2010, international services made up only 0.3% of the railway's traffic. This was however an improvement compared to the previous years, where international train traffic in Turkey was at its lowest. In recent years, the State Railways has made efforts to introduce new international service. With this, in 2005, the Dostluk/Fillia Express was inaugurated between İstanbul and Thessaloniki, Greece. In 2010, the Mersin-Aleppo Friendship Train, running between Mersin and Aleppo, Syria, was inaugurated as a seasonal train to improve relations between Turkey and Syria. However in February 2011, the Dostluk/Fillia Express was suspended due to cutbacks by TrainOSE.^[22][23] The rolling stock used on international services usually consist of mixed cars from each country the train is traveling in. Rolling stock on European trains are usually TCDD's Intercity Fleet with a Romanian sleeping car and a Romanian coach, occasionally a Bulgaria coach is used. On Middle Eastern services, TCDD sometimes uses its TVS2000 cars or modernized intercity railcars as well as intercity cars. Occasionally cars from the Syrian Railways will be used on trains as trains are mainly all Turkish stock. Currently there are 7 international trains running; two in Europe and 5 in the Middle-east/Asia.

European trains begin and terminate at Sirkeci Terminall in İstanbul. Trains to Europe serve main cities in the Balkans such as Plovdiv, Sofia, Russe, Bucharest and Belgrade. The two trains currently operating are:

• Bosphorus Express - to Bucharest, Romania via Edirne, Dmitrovgrad, Russe and Giurgiu. Train number 81032/464 westbound, 81031/465.
• Balkans Express - to Belgrade, Serbia via Edirne, Dmitrovgrad, Plovidv and Sofia. Train number 81032/492 westbound, 81031/491 eastbound. Connection to train #344 to Vienna at Belgrade.

Trains to the Middle East serve a number of cities in Turkey. The most prominent service today is the Trans-Asian Express operating between Haydarpaşa Terminal in İstanbul and Tabriz, Iran. The currently operating services are:

• Trans-Asian Express - İstanbul to Tabriz, Iran via İzmit, Ankara, Kayseri, Malatya and Van.
• Mersin-Aleppo Friendship Train - Mersin to Aleppo, Syria via Adana (Seasonal)
• Van-Tabriz Express - Van to Tabriz, Iran.
• Tehran-Damascus Express - Tehran, Iran to Damascus, Syria via Van, Malatya, Fevzipaşa, Aleppo, Hammah and Hims.
• Gaziantep-Aleppo Express - Gaziantep to Aleppo via Çobanbey.

Temporarily suspended international services are:

• Dostluk/Fillia Express - İstanbul to Thessaloniki, Greece since February 2011.
• Taurus Express - İstanbul to Baghdad, Iraq since March 2003.^{[note 1]}
• Gaziantep-Baghdad Express - Gaziantep to Baghdad since March 2003.

Commuter rail

As of 2011, the Turkish State Railways operate commuter rail in İstanbul and Ankara, with previous commuter service in İzmir from up to 2006, which is now operated by İZBAN. The railways use the E14000 and the E23000 EMUs on their commuter services. Previously, the newly retired E8000 EMUs and the E4000 electric locomotives were used as well. The first commuter rail service in Turkey was the İstanbul-Halkalı Line on the European side of İstanbul, operating from Sirkeci Terminal to Halkalı in 1955.^[24][25][26]

History

After World War I and the Turkish Independence War, the Republic of Turkey was a new-formed country. Even though Turkey had a railway network, most of it was operated by foreign companies. The State Railways of the Republic of Turkey (TCDD) was formed on May 31, 1927. TCDD took over the Chemin de fer d'Anatolie-Baghdad, a holding company formed in 1924 by Turkey to take over some rail lines in Turkey, on June 1, 1927 and had control over the tracks of the former Anatolian Railway (CFOA) and the Transcaucasus Railway line in Turkish borders. TCDD now had rail lines to the cities İstanbul, İzmit, Ankara, Afyon, Adapazarı and Konya. On January 1, 1929, TCDD took over the rail line from Mersin to Adana (formerly the Mersin-Tarsus-Adana Railway). Apart from taking over already built lines, TCDD needed to build more line because many important cities were still not serviced by rail. In 1926, TCDD started to build a rail line east to Sivas, reaching Kayseri in 1927 and Sivas in 1930. TCDD continued to acquire from the other rail companies; taking over the Mudanya-Bursa Railway in 1931, the Smyrna Cassaba Railway in 1934, the Oriental Railway Company in 1935 and the Oriental Railway in 1937. With most of the railways in Turkey under TCDD control, TCDD connected lines such as Kütahya with Balıkesir in 1932 and the former SCP line in Afyon with the former CFOA line. In 1932 TCDD completed the railway to Samsun heading north at Sivas. TCDD continued to build lines, reaching Zonguldak, Erzurum, Erzincan, Diyarbakır and Elazığ in the following years. World War II broke out in 1938, slowing down the building. Between 1938 and 1996 TCDD building decreased. The railway only extended to Gaziantep (1955) and Van (1962).

Electrification

Turkey has chosen to electrify at the conventional 25 kV 50 Hz AC. The first electrified lines were the Istanbul suburban lines on the European side, from Sirkeci to Soğuksu, on December 4, 1955, and in the same period the E8000 electrical multiple units were taken into use. The suburban lines on the Asian side of Istanbul, from Haydarpaşa to Gebze, were electrified in 1969; while the Ankara suburban trains were electrified in 1972, on the line from Sincan to Kayaş.

On February 6, 1977 the tracks from Gebze to Adapazarı were made double track and electrified, allowing the first main line operation of electric trains in Turkey. The line from Arifiye outside Adapazarı to Eskişehir were further electrified in 1989 and in 1993 to Sincan, allowing electric train passages from Istanbul to Ankara. In 1994 the European lines from Istanbul to Edirne, Kapıkule and the Bulgarian border were also electrified. The same year the line from Divriği to İskenderun in eastern Turkey was also electrified, though this line is not connected to the rest of the electrified network. In 2006 the İzmir suburban system was also electrified.

Performance, market share, assets and financial results

Since 1950, the railway system's market share of freight transportation dropped from 70% to ~55% (1960), ~25% (1970), ~10% (1980, 1990) and to less than 10% in 2000. A similar trend was observed in the percentage of passenger transport performed by rail - dropping from a share of greater than 40% in 1950 to ~25% in 1960; less than 10% in 1970; ~5% by 1980; and reaching an all-time low of 2% by 2000.^[27] This was partly due to major investment and expansion in the road network.

The TCDD receives subsidies from the government for socially necessary operations, but has registered increasing losses in all its areas of business except for port operations; which have high port tariffs (higher than 36%).^[27] By 2000, the cost to the Turkish government had exceeded $500 million per year in addition to a subsidy of over $100 million.^[27] In addition to the problems caused by the lack of investment from 1950 onwards, the TCDD organisation has been characterised as suffering from the common problems associated with state-owned enterprises; i.e. emphasis on production rather than customer needs; subject to government reliance and interference; and an inward-looking corporate culture.^[27]

As of 2008, the amount of freight transported was the highest ever (18.343 million tonne-kilometers); though actual growth was small over the previous 10 years, and passenger figures had risen slightly overall over the past decade.^[14]

As of 2008, the TCDD administers the Ankara Railway Factory, Sivas Concrete Sleeper factory, Afyon Concrete Sleeper factory, Behiçbey rail welding and track machinery repair factory and Çankırı Switch factory. Additionally, the state owned companies TÜLOMSAŞ, TÜDEMSAŞ and TÜVASAŞ are affiliates. The TCDD has a 50% share in the İzmir Banliyö Taşımacılığı Sistemi A.Ş. (İZBAN A.Ş.) which operates the metro in İzmir, and a 15% share in EUROTEM.^[14]

Active Fleet

Locomotives

MUs

Passenger Railcars

Retired Fleet

Locomotives

Station architecture

Network

TCDD directly owns and operates 8,697 km (5,404 mi) of common carrier lines, of which 1,920 km (1,190 mi) are electrified, throughout 57 provinces.^[28] Along with this, the railways own and operate over 240 km (150 mi) of industrial lines and 206 km (128 mi) of high speed lines, with 574 km (357 mi) of lines under construction.^[29] As of 2010, the railways consist of 763 tunnels, 25,441 bridges, 17 wyes and 7 loops.^[30] The railway's fleet consists of 467 main line Diesel locomotives, 67 Electric locomotives, 860 passenger coaches, 135 MUs, 33 High-speed rail sets and 15,384 freight cars.^[31] TCDD also owns 3 rail ferries.

Yards and Depots

TCDD owns and operates many facilities throughout Turkey. These facilities are; yards for storing freight and passenger cars, depots and locomotive shops for repair and maintenance and freight facilities for transferring or storing freight.

Güvercinlik Yard in central Ankara is the largest railway facility in Turkey. This multi-use facility includes a marshaling yard, passenger yard, 3 repair shops, for passenger cars, freight cars and locomotives, freight transfer terminal and a grain silo siding. The Haydarpaşa Yard is the second largest yard in Turkey, consisting of a freight yard, passenger yard, 3 maintenance shops for locomotives, passenger cars and freight cars, and a loop for trains.

• Güvercinlik Yard in Ankara is the largest rail yard in Turkey.

• Haydarpaşa Yard in İstanbul is the largest passenger yard in Turkey.

• Tüpraş loading facility is the largest freight yard in Turkey.

• Halkalı logistics center is the largest multipurpose freight yard in Turkey.

• Güvercinlik Maintenance Facility is the largest electrified maintenance facility in Turkey.

• Halkapınar Maintenance Facility is the largest non-electrified maintenance facility in Turkey.

• Eskişehir Railway Shops are the largest railway construction facility in Turkey.

Ferries

The Turkish State Railways own and operate two rail train ferries and connects to three others. The most famous of these would be the Bosphorus train ferry in İstanbul. This ferry connects Haydarpaşa, on the Asian side, with Sirkeci, on the European side. Demiryolu and Demiryolu II are the two ferries that operate on the route and are owned by TCDD. The other train ferry owned by TCDD would be the Lake Van ferry, connecting Tatvan and Van via Lake Van, Turkey's largest lake. Orhan Atılman is the name of the ferry that operates on the route and is also fully owned by TCDD.^[32]

The railways also jointly operate two more train ferries and connects to one:

• Derince, Turkey to Ilyichevsk, Ukraine - TCDD owns and operates the Port of Derince.
• Samsun, Turkey to Kavkaz, Russia - TCDD owns and operates the Port of Samsun.^[33]
• Zonguldak to Ereğli - Operated by Alyans Tempo Group.

Network Extensions and Modernizations

The Turkish State Railways currently has many network extension and modernization projects planned. TCDD is seeing the largest investment since the 1930s and with these investments is constructing new lines, primarily high-speed lines.

Marmaray

Marmaray, meaning Marmarail is a project of the construction of a rail tunnel under the Bosphorus in İstanbul as well as upgrading the existing commuter lines in the city. This tunnel will connect TCDD's Anatolian system to its smaller Thracian system as well as create a direct route between the Middle East and Europe. Marmaray will play an important role in commuter rail as well. When the project is complete, an estimated 75,000 passengers will be serviced every hour, increasing rail usage in İstanbul from 3,6% to 27,7% ranking İstanbul's rail usage to third in the world behind New York City (31%) and Tokyo (60%).^[34] Marmaray will also include upgrading the line to three tracks and integrate with Turkey's high-speed rail network.

Standards

• Electrification - 25kV AC^[35]
• Coupling (railway) - English (Buffers and Chains)
• Brake (railway) - air
• Gradient - 2.8%
• Curve minimum - 190 m (623 ft)
• Fastenings - K-rail

Railway links with adjacent countries

• Armenia - closed since 1993 (see the Kars Gyumri Akhalkalaki railway line)^[36]
• Azerbaijan - no direct link - break-of-gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in)/1,520 mm (4 ft 11 ⁵⁄₆ in) via Georgia under construction.
• Bulgaria - open - 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in)
• Greece - open - 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in)
• Georgia - under reconstruction - break-of-gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in)/1,520 mm (4 ft 11 ⁵⁄₆ in).
• Iran - via Lake Van train ferry - same gauge
• Iraq - no direct link, traffic routed via Syria - same gauge
• Syria - open - 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in)

See also

External links

• Turkish Railways Company Website
• Turkish Railway Company (TÜVASAŞ) Website
• A Short History of Turkish Railways including maps
• Turkish Railways Company Workers and Retired Personnel Social Aid Foundation
• Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture - Ankara Railway Museum
• Republic of Turkey Ministry of Transport

Additional information

Going in Ottoman Empire whose lands are spread to the 3 continents of railway communication that starts in England in 1825 for the first time in the World goes on very early according to other many large countries.

References and notes

Notes

1. ^ Discontinued as of 2009 [1]

References