Unlike recent years, it has become increasingly possible to find a seat on high-speed trains.

After the pandemic , especially on high-speed trains and some other popular trains, it had become very difficult to find a seat, with many routes selling out days in advance. However with the consecutive price hikes for train tickets, the demand seems to have somewhat calmed down.

Unfortunately, there are no comprehensive statistics published on this matter. Nevertheless, it is possible to make a real-time comparison with a study similar to what we did in 2019:

Istanbul to Ankara

High-speed trains running from early morning to late evening, taking an average of 4:30 hours, with a standard economy class ticket priced at 430 TL in the Istanbul-Ankara direction. On the other hand, the Ankara Exspress, departing at midnight and arriving in the morning, takes 7 hours and 40 minutes, and a standard pulman ticket is priced at 350 TL. On the same route (Istanbul Anatolian side), buses operate at almost every hour of the day and night, completing the journey in 5 to 7 hours and with prices ranging from 250 to 450 TL.

Depending on the model, high-speed trains with 356 or 424 economy class seats, from Söğütlüçeşme to Ankara, have available seats in 13 out of 15 high-speed trains for the next day, with approximately 1400 seats remaining empty. The Ankara Ekspresi, which has a more reasonable price and operates at night, has all its pulman seats sold out.

Istanbul to Konya

There are 5 daily trips from Istanbul to Konya, with a travel time of 5 hours and a standard economy class ticket priced at 630 TL. Alternatively, buses are available almost every hour except during the night, with a travel time of 9-10 hours and a price of 750 TL. Despite the train being more advantageous in terms of both time and price, it is still possible to easily find tickets for the next day, with approximately 800 economy class seats remaining empty.

Ankara to Konya

There are 6 daily trips between Ankara and Konya, with a travel time of approximately 2 hours and a standard ticket price of 200 TL. Buses on the same route also offer the same price, but with a travel time of 3-4 hours. The train is especially competitive in terms of travel time, and there are around 1000 empty economy class seats for the next day, especially during midday hours.

Ankara to Sivas

In the Ankara to Sivas direction, the daily number of trips for high-speed trains with a travel time of 2 hours and 30 minutes has been reduced from 4 to 3. On each of these trains, there are an average of 200 empty seats out of the 475 TL economy class seats. You can find buses almost every hour on the same route, with a travel time of 6-7 hours. The ticket price doesn’t vary much from company to company, with a cost of 450 TL. It’s worth noting that the high-speed train on this route only stops in Kırıkkale and Yozgat. There are also three other trains running via Kayseri on the Ankara-Sivas route, with a travel time of up to 11 hours, and a significant number of pulman seats are available, making it very easy to find a seat.

Dogu Express

Being used not only for transportation but also for travel purposes, the Eastern Express has half-empty seats. What’s more interesting is that in the couchette wagons, where finding a ticket used to be quite challenging, it is now possible to find an empty berth for the next day and an empty compartment for two days later.

Cover photo: Onur Uysal ©