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.

How is it that tickets are immediately sold out as soon as they are released for sale? Do travel agencies buy all the places? What is TCDD doing to make it possible for ordinary passengers to reserve sleeping-car places?

In my experience, people will use trains if there is a reliable, user-friendly service with easy to access information (timetables for instance), fare choices, maps of the system (as on the London Underground, most stations in Britain and websites/apps like National Rail Enquiries). Otherwise they will find some other means of transport. I would love to travel by train from Istanbul to Ankara, but not unless I can leave from Haydarpasa, All too problematic and difficult for the tourist!