Istanbul-Ankara railway

The İstanbul–Ankara Main Line is the busiest rail line in Turkey, in terms of railway and passenger traffic, and is the primary route of the State Railways as it serves a large population between Turkey's two largest cities. The line is 574 km (357 mi) long and runs from Turkey's largest city İstanbul to Turkey's capital and second-largest city, Ankara. The entire line is signalized and 37% of the line is double tracked. The rail line is also a part of the greater Trans-Anatolian Railway and runs parallel to the İstanbul–Ankara high-speed railway for most of the route.

The line is also the primary inter-city route in Turkey, connecting İstanbul, İzmit, Bilecik, Eskişehir, Polatlı and Ankara. 65% of all inter-city service uses the main line either entirely or at some point. Also the Haydarpaşa-Gebze Line in İstanbul and the Sincan-Kayaş Line in Ankara use the line for commuter rail service. The line is also a major freight corridor. In 2010 the line carried 11% of all freight traffic in Turkey making it the 4th busiest rail line in terms of freight traffic. The route serves two major ports: the Port of Haydarpaşa and the Port of Derince as well as a number of smaller private ports along the Sea of Marmara.

Infrastructure

Even though most of the line is single track, it still has the longest double track line in Turkey. As of 2011, 37% of the line is double track, while the remaining 63% is single track. The double track sections are not all connected as there are three separate sections. The first segment starts in İstanbul at Haydarpaşa and continues for 131 km (81 mi) to Arifye, a suburb of Adapazarı. The next segment is in Eskişehir. This segment starts at İnönü, travels east through Eskişehir and ends at Hasanbey. The 9 km (5.6 mi) section between Eskişehir and Hasanbey is triple track as the line shares tracks with the high-speed rail line. The third section is Ankara. This segment is triple track and quadruple track in the city center. This part begins at Sincan along with the Sincan-Kayaş commuter service and travels east. After Etimesgut yard, the line becomes a 4 track line. This segment ends at Ankara's Central Station along with the main line.

Trains operating on the İstanbul–Ankara Main Line use the fastest speeds allowed on conventional lines in Turkey. These speeds are up to 120 km/h (75 mph), although some trains speed up to 130 kilometres per hour (81 mph) during straight segments around Eskişehir and between İstanbul and İzmit. The line will be upgraded after 2013 to accommodate new traffic once the Marmaray project is complete. This upgrade will allow trains to operate at speeds up to 160 km/h (99 mph).

History

The first part of the line started in Istanbul by the Ottoman Government building a line to Izmit in 1872. The CFOA took over the line in 1880. The line was constructed to Izmit in 1873, Arifye in 1890, and Ankara in 1892. After the Turkish Independence War, and the formation of Turkey, the railroad operated until 1928 when the Turkish State Railways took over the CFOA.

The rail line from Haydarpasa to Gebze was electrified in 1969. Sincan to Kayas was electrified and double tracked in 1972. Gebze to Arifye was electrified and double tracked in 1977. Arifye to Eskisehir was electrified in 1989. Eskisehir to Sincan was electrified in 1993.

The line running parallel with the high speed line sometimes.

The line running near Körfez.

External links

• http://www.trainsofturkey.com/w/pmwiki.php/History/TCDD
• http://www.trainsofturkey.com/w/pmwiki.php/History/CFOA