We’d like to help you for your questions about train travel.
Please keep in mind that we are not a call center working for TCDD Tasimacilik or any other operator, and we cannot help you for ticketing or reservation problems.
You can write your question at the bottom of this page, in “questions/comments” box.
Rail Turkey En 
Dear Onur, we are a family of three( two adults and one kid -two women/one man)…we would like to buy tickets for örtülü kuset and also pay for the 4.seat so that we can be alone in that sleeping compartment. For that fourth traveller we are also obliged to put the name, surname and number of the document. we can always do some random name from somebody in our family and then say that they did not join the ride. Is that possible or is there another way?! thank you, Silvija
Yes you can. Enjoy.
Hello, is it possible to buy train tickets from Göreme or around Göreme to Denizli?
Closest train station to Goreme is Kayserl. You need to go to Ankara first, then to Eskisehir, then to Denizli.
Hello, I am writing from Bulgaria.
There is a night train from Sofia Bulgaria to Halkali station /Istanbul/ Turkey.
My questions is if it’s will be possible to take our personal bikes on the train (~15 bikes)? We are cycling group who will ride around Marmara Sea for 5 days and need to take our bikes with the train.
So is it possible?
Thank you!
what time is the booking counter of sirkeci closing bookings of Bucharest
Hello, I would like to make a reservation for the train from Sofia to Istanbul, I have an interrail ticket so I would only need the reservation. Where can I book it?
Thanks in advance !
At the international ticket office of Sirkeci Station.
can I also book online, per mail or per phone? i‘m currently in bulgaria.
Unfortunately no. But you can buy at Sofia station as well.
Hi,
We have been trying to buy the train ticket with correct information and even using a free Turkish telephone number. But after entering credit card information it cant process our payment. Is that we have to use Turkish bank credit card to buy it? Thank you~
That’s asked frequently but no clear answer. Some managed and some couldn’t. The only suggestion was to open credit card for Asian countries where Turkey might have been classified so.
Some cards work and some don’t. Reason is not clear. You may check the allowed regions of your card.
Hello, I want to ask if it’s possible to bring my fog on the Dogu Express? If so, what are the rules? Must they be in cage or muzzle? She is medium size
Hello, I want to ask if it’s possible to bring my dog on the Dogu Express? If so, what are the rules? Must they be in cage or muzzle? She is medium size
Dogs are not allowed in sleepers. In seats allowed only in “medium size luggage” size cage.
Hello I would like to travel from Kars to Ankara later this year. How can I book on the Touristic Dogu train
Via TCDDT website. You can find link at Tail Turkey. 30 days before departure at the earliest.
oh, package lock is at stations in Istanbul
Hello,
Is the train from Istanbul to Baku now running ? I cannot find any info.
Thanks
Unfortunately no.
No it is not
U.s embassy is keeping our passport to issue visa. Can I travel by train from Ankara to Istanbul using my international Driver license? That is the only document I have.
I don’t think that will be a problem
U.s embassy is keeping our passport to issue visa. Can I travel by train from Ankara to Istanbul using my international Driver license? That is the only document I have.
I need to buy some train tickets at https://ebilet.tcddtasimacilik.gov.tr/. That URL used to work fine for me some weeks ago, but for the past 3-4 days (at least) it has not worked — the website simply doesn’t load. On the contrary, https://bilet.tcdd.gov.tr/ does work, but if I try to buy the tickets from there, at some point during the payment process, I am eventually redirected to tcddtasimacilik.gov.tr, so the process eventually times out and the purchase fails.
Yesterday I contacted TCDD. If I got their response right, it seems they’ve taken down their system temporarily due to a cyber attack or something like that. However, I’ve not seen references to this on their social media, and nobody else seems to be complaining… So, is this problem really happening to everybody??? Or maybe it is affecting only those who (like me) are trying to buy tickets from outside Turkey??
Thanks for your help!
Could be limited to outside Turkey, I remember a similar complaint in April from outside again. Could you try apps if possible?
Hello My name on the ticket is same as passport but the name has a misspelling will that be a problem
My name on passport is NourelhOda Khaled Ahmed Mohamed Hussein and on the ticket written NourelhUda Mohamed
all passport detail and date of birth are correct
I don’t think it’ll be a problem
Hello ,I want to know how many sleeping berths of Sofia Express .(From Istanbul-Sofia) .Because we are a group of 22 person from Taiwan . And how many person in one room ?
2 berths per room for sleepers, 4 berths per room for couchettes, 10 room per any type of wagon.
Hello
I’m trying to book sleeper cabin tickets on the Guney Express train from Kayseri to Diyabarkir for January 9 ( I thought they would only be for sale 30 days before the date) but on TCDD page and app already shows all seats sold out for any dates for sleeper seats. How come?
Hi Andy. As touristic services on that route started, the sleeper wagon is limited with one wagon on train. The sleepers were sold out very fast even in old days, now they are sold out in seconds. You can follow refunding any time, or the first selling day of 9 Jan tickets around midnight. Most probably tour companies are keen on getting them fast, thus it’ll be not easy to catch.
Hi Onur, first of all thank you for this wonderful website and your extensive knowledge!
I’m due to fly to Istanbul this week and was thinking of making my way back home to Antalya by train. I was thinking of going from Istanbul down to Izmir, then Izmir to Isparta and later take a bus from there to Antalya.
However, I don’t see connections from Istanbul to Izmir. What am I missing here?
Thanks!
Thanks for kind words. Compared to buses reaching in 6-7 hours, there’s no popular alternative on train. One is ferry (ido) to bandirma and then train. Other is hst to eskisehir and then one of two main line trains.
Hello and happy new year! Seat61 has announced that there is again in 2025 a weekly train between Van and Tabriz. Does this mean you can again do Ankata Tatvan Van Tabriz ?
Hi David. There’s no official statement of TCDDT about that. I guess that’ll be limited with Van-Tabriz, but just a guess, not based on any information.
Is it possible to take a bicycle on the train from Nigde to Yenice and how do I find out if they have a luggage car? Thank you
The best way would be asking to ticketing officers. Daytime trains have less chance to have.
CAN I BUY TRAIN TICKETS FROM MALAYSIA?
Yes
I cannot get online to tcdd website & app not working either. I’m in USA & have tried for almost a week on 2 different mobile devices, laptop computer & iPad. I would really love to travel by train using my Eurailpass in Turkey, but …….. I wanted to start in Istanbul & go to Kayseri (Capp), Denizli (Pamukk), Ephesus (Seljuk) & Izmir. In that order or reverse order. I see some portions may require bus. But various travel guides have conflicting info. For example, one says the Pamukkale Express is once daily from Eskisehir at 15:30 but another says 11:00 & even tho some tour companies say do Pamukkale as a day trip, by train it seems you have to spend 2 nights there if you don’t arrive until evening & the train out leaves in morning, so you have to spend the day & leave the 2nd morning, way too much time. Unless the times aren’t updated. Then, 1 book says train from Izmir-Kayseri via Konya, not Ankara, so it’s all very confusing & how can I sort it out if I can’t get on the bloody train website & the app won’t load cities? I’ve traveled by train throughout Europe, Asia & Africa, & I’m frustrated here. And there doesn’t seem to be a way to reach tcdd.
Hello Paul,
Please note that if you are using EU pass you will have to get tickets from a ticketing office in one of the main stations, you cannot book seats or beths online.
I suggest you take
1 Train İstanbul to Ankara, then train to Kayseri for Cappadocia.
2 Take bus from Göreme to Konya then Sleeper Train to Izmir. Then train to Selçuk for Ephesus.
3 Take train from Selçuk to Denizli for Pamukkale.
4 To return to Istanbul Denizli 09:55 to Eskişehir 18:15 then High speed train from Eskisehir to Istanbul.
For the sleeper trains particularly it is a good idea to book in advance. If you cannot do this from abroad then contact a local agency like Amber Travel who can help you get tickets in advaince
Polat, thank you kindly for answering my post & for all the suggestions. You are the only person I have reached! I was trying to use the tcdd website & app for scheduling info to plan my days, but have been unsuccessful in getting the website to load & the app keeps saying something like “no city” for every single entry I make so it won’t work. Very frustrating but I will try to take your info & hopefully plan my trip coming the end of May. Thanks again!!!!!
It’s an ongoing problem since years, neither a reason nor a solution is announced. We’ve received many complaints from our readers/followers. Sales from outside is probably low, thus that may not be at the top of TCDDT’s todo list.
I read your article on the China-Turkey-Europe railway connection, do you think that there is any hope that one day this line may carry passengers? I think that it would be wonderful if Turkey could act as the gateway to the far east, and it makes me sad that there is no other option except flying for those that wish to visit China.
Apparently not soon.. International connections are very poor here around. And privatization and profit-focus make new ones even harder to start.
hello
I can’t seem to find the information anywhere online:
will there be ankara zonguldak trains scheduled next summer in august ? I do not see any karaelmas express running since the inaugural rides of last year.
Hello, I am planning a trip with my friend from Japan in August. And I would like to book Sofia Express, is it possible to book online in advance? I am worried that if I can`t make a reservation in advance, it will be full.
No unfortunately online is not possible
If you contact Amber Travel, they can purchase paper tickets and deliver to your hotel in Istanbul.
Hello !
We need an information please.
We would like to book train ticket from Istanbul to Konya or Ankara on tcdd website, but no ticket is available after 13th of July.
Do you know if and when tickets after the 13th of July will be available on the website ?
Thank you in advance.
Best regards,
Marcello
30 days before departure
Hello!
I have an interrail ticket and would like to make a reservation on the overnight train from Istanbul to Bucharest, how do I do that? I’m currently in Kusadasi. Is it possible to make a reservation online, by phone, post office etc?
Online reservation is not possible. Make your reservation in railstation Istanbul-Halkali, maybe in another Turkisch station.
hello,
I am working in Sofia and I would like to take the night train from here to Istanbul, I was wondering if my Italian ID is enough to pass the border or I need the passport?
thank you so much
You need passport..
Hello, I booked a ticket Ankara-Istanbul, and the payment for received. Saturday 22/11 2025. This saturday, it leaves in the morning, around 7:30 AM. I never received the ticket, at my email address. What can I do?
Thanks
Hello. If you bought the ticket on the app, it should be under ‘my tickets’ or something.
Please also heck your email spam folder, the ticket may be there.
If not nof this works visit a ticket office who may be able to issue the ticket with the ID you entered wnen booking.