The Elaziğ – Tatvan railway
The Elaziğ – Tatvan railway is one of the most recently-constructed classic railway lines in Turkey, having been built in the 1950s and 1960s.
Jeff Hawken
Jeff Hawken is a lifelong rail professional, with experience of UK and international railway operations in both the passenger and freight sectors.
He takes a special interest in the railways of Central and Eastern Europe, and especially Turkey.
His main areas of expertise are train planning (in the wider sense of timetabling and resource planning) and infrastructure planning for both UK and International freight and passenger services.
He is now retired from full-time employment, and continues to enjoy rail trips wherever and whenever time and funds permit.
Istanbul to Sofia: Overnight train or?
For many years the only international services to / from Europe have been provided by the Bosphorus Express, which conveyed sleeping and couchette cars from Istanbul to Sofia and Bucharest each night.
TCDD’s long distance services
TCDD – or to be more exact TCDD Tasimacilik AS – operates just sixteen classic long-distance train services (as opposed to the YHT network of high speed trains).
Mersin to Adana in 30 minutes: Fact or fiction?
Is it possible to reduce the journey time from Mersin to Adana to 30 minutes ?
Who benefits from open access on Turkish Railways?
For open-access railway operators to be successful, first they must provide a service which the market wants.
Open railway access and TCDD
by Jeff Hawken
What open access will bring to Turkey?
Capacity: What is it and why does it matter to Turkish Railways?
by Jeff Hawken
Understanding what capacity is, how it is measured, and how it is traded will become central to the new TCDD organisation..
Can high speed trains and freight services share same tracks?
by Jeff Hawken
Turkey decided to extend its network with “speed lines” rather than “high speed lines” where freight trains will run during night.. Is it possible?
A tourist in Turkey: What ticket should I buy?
by Jeff Hawken
Ticket guide for tourists who plan to travel in Turkey by train..
Konya-Karaman-Adana rail service changes
by Jeff Hawken
The rail service between Konya and Karaman has stopped due to construction works..
TCDD timetables: Fact or fiction?
As a foreigner using the Turkish rail network, I am struck by some of the differences – and what I would term deficiencies – of the TCDD timetable and public information systems, when compared with Western European norms.
How efficient is HST service in Turkey?
How high speed trains planned? How efficiency can reached? Interview with Mr Hawken about the high speed train planning..
Who is Jeff Hawken?
Lifelong rail professional, with experience of UK and international railway operations in both the passenger and freight sectors..
Balo and Eurocity trains crashed at Mannheim station
by Jeff Hawken
On Friday 31 July 2014 a sidelong collision occurred at Mannheim station in Germany.
Sleepers for Baku Tbilisi Kars
by Jeff Hawken
Azerbaijan Railways has placed an order for the construction of 30 sleeper and dining car vehicles to be used on through services from Baku to Istanbul via the Baku – Tbilisi – Kars line.
Rail Turkey En 