Rail Turkey En

Another good article. I agree with everything you’ve said. The route from West to East has been so fragmented for so long that it will take a lot of work to bring the numbers back up. I hope the investment isn’t wasted and is supported by positive marketing and increased information for all. As someone who’s twice travelled through Turkey by train I know it’s a great network – but it needs to be easier for passengers.

Another slight problem with the timetable information on the TCDD website as regards regional trains is that, for example, if I wanted to check the times of trains from Basmane to Torbali, I would need to look at 5 different files to get the whole picture: Basmane – Denizli. Basmane – Nazilli; Basmane – Soke; Basmane – Tire and Basmane – Odemis. If I want to make the short journey from Aydin to Nazilli, I still need to check 4 files. From the point of view of a traveller, I don’t see the point in listing the Basmane – Nazilli services separately from Basmane – Denizli, although it maybe suits administrators.

As is usual in Turkey, everything is arranged to suit the engineers building the project, and no thought whatsoever is given to the effect on the passengers and freight customers. TCDD project planning is a complete shambles. As if destroying the railways into Istanbul for several years is not enough, now they plan to isolate Ankara too.I wonder if Konya to Karaman will reopen before Ankara closes?