There are 13 ports in Turkey with rail connection.

7 of them are owned by TCDD (operated by TCDD or private port operators), 2 of them were operated by government companies and remaining 4 are constructed and operated by private companies.

In addition to these ports, there are 3 piers of industrial sites which have railway connection.

Here are the railway connected ports of Turkey, in the order of total port area:

#13 – Nemport

Nemport is a container port, built on 100k sqm at the north of Izmir. Total length of berths is 820 m. Direct rail connection is under construction. Currently, port has container storage area next to Bicerova Terminal, 3 km from port.

Nemport

#12 – Yilport Yarımca (Rotaport)

Yilport Yarimca is built on 120k sqm, between Izmit and Istanbul. Berts length is 745 m. Port accepts general cargo, liquid and bulk loads. There are two railway lines at the port, but they are not active.

Yilport Yarimca

#11 – Tekirdag Port

Port is built on 180k sqm. It had been privatized (Akport), but taken back. Currenty operated by Turkey Maritime Office. Berth length is 2100 m. General cargo, liquid and bulk loads are handled at the port. The rail ferry connecting Europe and Asia uses this port. The rail connection to ferry can also be used by port.

#10 – Evyap Port

Evyap Port is built on 265k sqm and is an important container port at the Asian side of Marmara region. The port’s berths are 1171 m long. A part of the container traffic has now shifted to Dubai Port, which has opened recently. There’s a rail connection to port.

Evyap Port

#9 – Celebi Port of Bandırma

Celebi Port is built on 368k sqm and is the only port with rail connection on South Marmara. It used to be operated by TCDD. It has 2973 m long berth and very strong rail connection. Currently a rail ferry ramp is under construction. When completed, the trains will be able to run between Izmir and Europe via Tekirdag directly.

Bandirma Port

#8 – Haydarpasa Port

Haydarpasa Port is built on 380 k sqm located at the center of Istanbul. It has 2669 m long berth. Railway connection was very strong, but cannot be used now due to Marmaray project. The port is currently operated by TCDD, but it becomes less active day by day due to truck restrictions in Istanbul. The biggest client, Ekol Logistics, will soon shift its Ro-Ro traffic to its own port, thus Haydarpasa will soon be more silent. Government is planning to renew port area as a touristic region only open for cruise traffic.

Haydarpasa Port

#7 – Zonguldak Port

Zonguldak Port is built on 400k sqm and is one of three ports at Black Sea with railway connection. Port is operated by Government owned coal company and densely used by Kardemir. It has a berth length of 1050 m. General cargo, liquid and bulk loads are handled in the port. There’s a rail connection to one of the berths in the port.

Zonguldak Port

#6 – Samsun Port

Samsun Port is built on 445k sqm. It used to be operated by TCDD. It has 1756 m long berths. In addition to standard gauge rail line (1435 mm) in the port, there’s also broad gauge rail line (1520 mm) for the Russian wagons arriving on Kavkaz ferry. The railway strecth connecting Samsun Port to central Anatolia (Samsun-Kalin railway) is now being renewed, thus there’s no rail connection to port as of May 2017.

Samsun Port

Samsun Kalın railway project

#5 – Zonguldak Eren Port

The port area will reach to 540k sqm and Eren Port will become the biggest port of Turkey at Black Sea with railway connection. Raiway is just at the back side of port area.

Zonguldak Eren Port

#4 – Alsancak Port

Alsancak Port is one of the two ports operated by TCDD, located at Izmir city center, built on 635k sqm. It has the longest berth lengths among all railway connected ports: 3400 m. It’s rail connections are strong, mainly used for container trains. There’s a project to extend port area. There are regular container trains to port.

Alsancak Port

#3 – Limak Port of İskenderun

Limak Port is one of the two big ports of Turkey at Mediterranean Sea. Built on 1 mn sqm and has berth length of 1652 m. It’s general cargo and container port. It used to be operated by TCDD, thus has very strong rail connection. TANAP pipes were distributed by trains from this port.

Limak Port of Iskenderun

#2 – Mersin International Port

Mersin International Port (MIP) has been the biggest port of Turkey with rail connection for years. It’s built on 1.12 mn sqm. General cargo, container, liquid and bulk loads are handled at MIP. The length of berths is 3370 m. It used to be operated by TCDD, thus has a very strong rail connection. There are 4 lines within the port. There are regular container train services from Konya and Kayseri.

Mersin Port

#1 – Safiport Derince

Derince Port was privatized and started to be operated by Safi in 2014. New owner is now building new container berth and storage area by filling sea. With this new extension, the port area will reach to 1.2 mn sqm which will make the port the biggest rail connected one in Turkey. Port has 1360 m long of berths in total. There are 8 rail lines in the port. The rail ferry connection to Tekirdag, connecting Europe and Asia is passing through this port. There’s also a ramp and a line for broad gauge wagons.

Safiport

Will Derince be a container port?

Cover Photo: Safiport ©