If you gonna travel within Turkey, most probably you’ll focus on one or both of the two solutions. Either a very fast one by plane, or by bus which can take you almost to anywhere in Turkey.
Up-to-date timetables and other details of all trains in Turkey is now at Rail Turkey Travel.
However, millions of people in Turkey had preferred a third one. In 2012, almost 20 million of people traveled by train in Turkey. That number was 26 million in 2011, some of which had been lost due to closures.
Although the share is 2% among all domestic modes, the big investment in high speed lines may increase this figure in near future.
On the other hand, even the current services are ready to take you to almost anywhere in Turkey with rail connection. Some are really slow, and some can be accepted as “shabby”. But all are ready to offer you a travel fun. You will enjoy the view otherwise impossible to see, can sit in wide seats without looking for an emergency exit, even can sleep on bed in some, eat at a restaurant in some others, and talk for hours with your friends face to face.
Here below are the passenger trains of Turkey:
Trains to/from Adana
- Adana-Elazig (Daily)
- Adana-Kayseri (Daily)
- Adana-Konya (2/day, compartment and dining wagon)
- Adana-Mersin (29/day)
Trains to/from Ankara
- Ankara-Adana (Daily, couchette, sleeper and dining)
- Ankara-Diyarbakır (6/day, compartment, couchette and sleeper)
- Ankara-Eskisehir (10/day, high speed train)
- Ankara-Izmir (Daily, sleeper and dining)
- Ankara-Kars (Daily, compartment, couchette, sleeper and dining)
- Ankara-Kirikkale (Daily)
- Ankara-Konya (8/day, high speed train)
- Ankara-Malatya (Daily, couchette and dining)
- Ankara-Polatli (3/day)
- Ankara-Tatvan (2/week, compartment, couchette and sleeper)
Trains to/from Izmir
- Izmir-Usak (4/day)
- Izmir-Balikesir (2/day, couchette and dining)
- Izmir-Bandirma (2/day)
- Izmir-Denizli (10/day)
- Izmir-Konya (2/day, couchette, sleeper and dining)
- Izmir-Odemis (11/day)
Other trains
- Diyarbakir-Batman (Daily)
- Elazig-Tatvan (Daily)
- Eskisehir-Konya (2/day, high speed train)
- Eskisehir-Afyon (3/day)
- Havza-Amasya (2/day)
- Konya-Karaman (4/day)
- Mersin-Islahiye (Daily)
- Mersin-Iskenderun (Daily)
- Samsun-Sivas (Daily)
- Sivas-Erzincan (Daily)
Cover Photo: Onur Uysal ©
Categories: Passenger
Rail Turkey En 
Dear Turkish Railways,
I would like to reach Istanbul from Milan (North Italy) by train. Could you please write me the site where I can find the timetables from Beograd to Istanbul ? The Deutsche Bahn site shows trains to Istanbul only via Budapest-Bucarest and this is not the shortest way of an already very long trip.
Thank you very much and best regards,
Giuseppe De Salvo
giuseppe_de_salvo@virgilio.it
Well, thank you for your naming, but I’m just a railway professional who loves trains.. coming to your question: 2 trains from Europe to Istanbul.. Sofia and Bucharest.. I would suggest coming from Sofia.. But note that a half of the journey will be by bus.. so many closures on way.. I’ll prepare a new post about international trains in Rail Turkey this week..
No trains from Istanbul?
High speed train service between Istanbul and Ankara had started in August 2014.. Service details at https://railturkey.org/2014/08/09/istanbul-ankara-high-speed-train-new-schedule/
I have to reach Amman in Jordan from Milan in Italy. Since I love to travel b train, I thought to go to Instanbul by train and from Istanbul to Amman by air plane, because of the war in Syria. It should be the first time that I use the Turkish Railways in 60 years of life. So pratically I never travel via Turkish Railways.
Giuseppe De Salvo
I renounce to go to Istanbul by train (for this time), because my final destination is Amman, and there are not direct flights from Ankara to Amman; therefore it is helpless to reach Ankara by train and then to go back to Istanbul by plane to take the connection to Amman.
Thank you for your kind information and I hope that the railways ammodernation works will be completed when I will have to go to Amman again.
Giuseppe De Salvo
dear sir is there any train from anqra to Antalya? and how much it cost?
No any rail connection to antalya. Maybe 5 years later..
thank you for your answer. Appreciated