Hilal railway station

Hilal
Station statistics
Coordinates	38°15′12″N 27°05′29″E / 38.253414°N 27.091454°E / 38.253414; 27.091454
Structure type	At-grade
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	1866, 2013
Closed	2001-13
Rebuilt	2012-13
Accessible
Station status	Open
Formerly	Istravoz (1866-1923)

Hilal railway station formerly Istravoz railway station is a railway station located in İzmir, Turkey. It is located east of Basmane next to the famous Hilal Junction. The station was famous for being located next to the only level crossing in Turkey. The Oriental Railway Company's Alsancak-Aydın Main Line crossed with the Smyrna Cassaba Railway's Basmane-Afyon Main Line. Due to the layout of the tracks, the station was first named Istravoz railway station in 1866. Istravoz (from Greek σταυρóς) means Cross in Turkish. After the Republic of Turkey was formed in 1923, the station's name was changed to Hilal which means 'crescent', due to the majority of the city's population being Muslim. The Hilal subway station, which opened in 2000, is located adjacent to the railway station. When the electrification of the tracks around İzmir started in 2001, the station was closed.

Hilal station served the Hilal neighbourhood east of Basmane.

Since early 2011 there has been talk of reopening Hilal as a second transfer point between İZBAN and İzmir Metro.^[1] As of 4 August 2013, the station has reopened to passenger traffic.

References