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Turkish State Railways

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Turkish State Railways
System map
Haydarpaşa Terminal
Overview
Headquartersİstanbul
Reporting markTCDD
LocaleTurkey
Dates of operation1927–
Technical
Electrification25 kV 50 Hz AC
Length8,671 kilometres (5,388 mi)


The State Railways of the Republic of Turkey (Template:Lang-tr or TCDD) is the state corporation that operates the public railway system in Turkey. The organization was founded in 1927 to take over the operation of the railways that were left within the borders of the Republic of Turkey after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. The TCDD operates over 8500 kilometres of railway lines and is a member of InterRail. The company employed 24,774 people in 2008.[1]

Operations

As the sole train operator in the country, the TCDD operates all passenger, freight and suburban railways, including domestic and international departures. Until the opening of the Marmaray tunnel (Bosporus undersea railway tunnel), the country will continue to have two separate railway networks (in Thrace and Anatolia) that are only connected through the Bosporus railway ferry in Istanbul.

In addition to rail services, TCDD has been responsible since 1927 for operating several major ports which handle 30% of Turkish port activities.[2]

Ports

The TCDD operates the ports of Haydarpaşa[3] and Derince[4] on the northern shore of the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea of Marmara, the port of İzmir[5], the port of Bandırma[6] on the southern coast of the Sea of Marmara, the port of Samsun[7], a port in Mersin[8] and the port of Iskenderun[9] on the Mediterranean Sea, which serves eastern Anatolia.

Since 2004, the process of the privatization of all ports (excluding Haydarpaşa) began.[1]

Rail freight transport

From 1980 onwards, rail freight tonne-kilometers transported by the TCDD rose slightly from ~5000million tonne-km in 1980 to ~7000million tonne-km in 1990 and to ~9000million tonne-km in 2000.[10] Approximately 50% of freight moved is minerals or ores, with construction materials increasing to ~10% in 2000 from less than 5% in 1980, food/agricultural products, chemicals/petroleum, and metal sectors each account for between 5 and 10% each. International freight accounted for approximately 5% of totals in 2000.[10]

Passenger transport

High speed rail services

Main article: High-speed rail in Turkey

As of 2009, the TCDD operates high speed trains on the Ankara to Eskişehir part of the Ankara-Istanbul line, which has been completed for high speed trains running at 250 km/hr[11]. In the future, the TCDD will operate high speed trains on lines from Ankara to Sivas[12] Konya,[13] and Izmir[14] which are under construction. Further lines are in the planning stage, including a line to the Greek/Bulgarian border near Edirne.[14]

International services

International services to Europe
See also: Sirkeci Terminal
Sirkeci Terminal on the European side of Istanbul was inaugurated in 1890 as the terminus of the Rumeli Railway and the Orient Express.

The TCDD operates four international services to Europe, three of which are from Istanbul: The Bosfor Ekspres (Bosphorus Express) to Bucharest; the Balkan Express to Sofia and Belgrade (which splits from the Bosfor Ekspres), and the Dostluk/Filia Ekspresi (Turkish/Greek "Friendship Express") to Thessaloniki which is a night train with sleeping coaches, and one from Pythion to Thessaloniki: the IC 90 / 91.[note 1][15]

International services to the Middle East and Asia
See also: Haydarpaşa Terminal
Haydarpaşa Terminal on the Anatolian side of Istanbul was opened in 1908 as the terminus of the Istanbul-Konya-Baghdad and Istanbul-Damascus-Medina lines.

The Haydarpaşa Terminal is the terminus for a weekly train to Tehran in Iran, another train to Iran travels between Van, Turkey and Tebriz in Iran.[16]

Additionally, trains from Iran to Syria (and vice versa) pass through Turkey.[16]

Former international services

Suburban

As of 2009, there are four suburban commuter train service lines in Turkey (two in Istanbul, one in Ankara and one in Izmir) that are operated by the TCDD. All four services operate using either the E8000 and/or the E14000 electric multiple units. The systems operate at up to quarter hour headways, though they are not particularly well integrated into the respective cities' metro networks, which are run by the municipalities and are independent from the TCDD's administration.[17][18][19]

History

Main article: History of rail transport in Turkey

Electrification

Turkey has chosen to electrify at the conventional 25 kV 50 Hz AC. The first electrified lines were the Istanbul suburban lines on the European side, from Sirkeci to Soğuksu, on December 4, 1955, and in the same period the E8000 electrical multiple units were taken into use. The suburban lines on the Asian side of Istanbul, from Haydarpaşa to Gebze, were electrified in 1969; while the Ankara suburban trains were electrified in 1972, on the line from Sincan to Kayaş.

On February 6, 1977 the tracks from Gebze to Adapazarı were made double track and electrified, allowing the first main line operation of electric trains in Turkey. The line from Arifiye outside Adapazarı to Eskişehir were further electrified in 1989 and in 1993 to Sincan, allowing electric train passages from Istanbul to Ankara. In 1994 the European lines from Istanbul to Edirne, Kapıkule and the Bulgarian border were also electrified. The same year the line from Divriği to İskenderun in eastern Turkey was also electrified, though this line is not connected to the rest of the electrified network. In 2006 the Izmir suburban system was also electrified.

Performance, market share, assets and financial results

Since 1950, the railway system's market share of freight transportation dropped from 70% to ~55% (1960), ~25% (1970), ~10% (1980, 1990) and to less than 10% in 2000. A similar trend was observed in the percentage of passenger transport performed by rail - dropping from a share of greater than 40% in 1950 to ~25% in 1960; less than 10% in 1970; ~5% by 1980; and reaching an all-time low of 2% by 2000.[20] This was partly due to major investment and expansion in the road network.

The TCDD receives subsidies from the government for socially necessary operations, but has registered increasing losses in all its areas of business except for port operations; which have high port tariffs (higher than 36%).[20] By 2000, the cost to the Turkish government had exceeded $500 million per year in addition to a subsidy of over $100 million.[20] In addition to the problems caused by the lack of investment from 1950 onwards, the TCDD organisation has been characterised as suffering from the common problems associated with state-owned enterprises; i.e. emphasis on production rather than customer needs; subject to government reliance and interference; and an inward-looking corporate culture.[20]

As of 2008, the amount of freight transported was the highest ever (18.343 million tonne-kilometers); though actual growth was small over the previous 10 years, and passenger figures had risen slighly overall over the past decade.[1]

As of 2008, the TCDD administers the Ankara Railway Factory, Sivas Concrete Sleeper factory, Afyon Concrete Sleeper factory, Behiçbey rail welding and track machinery repair factory and Çankırı Switch factory. Additionally, the state owned companies TÜLOMSAŞ, TÜDEMSAŞ and TÜVASAŞ are affiliates. The TCDD has a 50% share in the İzmir Banliyö Taşımacılığı Sistemi A.Ş. (İZBAN A.Ş.) which operates the metro in İzmir, and a 15% share in EUROTEM.[1]

Network

The TCDD network in 2007.

Network extensions and modernisations under construction

Marmaray project

Main article: Marmaray

The Marmaray project is a shared-rail underground tunnel system which will connect the railway lines on the European and Asian sides of Istanbul by crossing the Bosporus strait. It will thereby connect the European rail networks to those of the Middle East and Asia. In addition, the tunnel will also have an important role in intracity transport, forming an east-west railway line for the massively populated Istanbul metropolitan area. It is projected to relieve public transportation problems while increasing the percentage of the use of rail systems in public transportation from 3,6% to 27,7%. Such an increase would put Istanbul to the third rank in the world with regard to the use of public transportation, behind Tokyo (60%) and New York City (31%).[21]

High-speed rail projects

Main article: High-speed rail in Turkey

As of 2009, a program of high speed line construction is underway. Istanbul is to be connected via Eskişehir and Polatlı to Ankara, and Ankara to Sivas. A line from Polatlı to Konya is also being constructed, making Polatlı a junction on the high speed network.[22]

Lines are also planned from Polatlı via Afyon to Izmir, from Yerköy (on the line from Ankara to Sivas) to Kayseri, from Osmaneli (on the Istanbul Polati section) to Bursa, and to Edirne on Turkey's Thracian border.[22]

The first section of the high speed track was formally opened by the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the 13th of March, 2009.[23]

Kars - Tbilisi - Baku railway

Main article: Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway

A passenger and freight train initiated on 24 July 2008 to connect Kars, Tblisi and Baku.[24]

Lake Van railway

A rail by-pass to avoid the rail ferry at Lake Van is under consideration[25] and may receive half the funding from the Republic of Iran.[26]

Standards

  • Armenia Armenia - closed (see Kars Gyumri Akhalkalaki railway line) [28]
  • Bulgaria Bulgaria - open - 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
  • Greece Greece - open - 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
  • Georgia (country) Georgia - under reconstruction - break-of-gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)/1520.
  • Iran Iran - via Lake Van train ferry - same gauge
  • Iraq Iraq - No direct link, traffic routed via Syria - same gauge
  • Syria Syria - open - 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)

Station architecture

File:Alsancak Train Station.jpg
Alsancak Train Station (1858) in İzmir, where the first railway line in the Ottoman Empire, the İzmir–Aydın line, entered service in 1856.
Basmane Train Station in İzmir was inaugurated in 1876.
Adana Train Station was inaugurated in 1912.
File:Art Deco style Ankara Train Station.jpg
The Art Deco style Ankara Train Station was inaugurated in 1937.
File:TCDD HT65000 exterior 2.jpg
A TCDD HT65000 train set at the Ankara Train Station.
File:Eskisehir Train Station.jpg
Eskişehir Train Station.
File:Kayseri Train Station.jpg
Kayseri Train Station.
File:Edirne Train Station.jpg
The former Edirne Train Station in the Karaağaç district was designed during the late Ottoman period by the renowned Turkish architect Mimar Kemaleddin Bey. In 1998 it became the Rectorate building of the Trakya University.

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rail transport in Turkey.

References and notes

Notes

  1. ^ Un-named - IC 90 is the train number.
  2. ^ Discontinued as of 2009 [1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d TCDD annual report 2008 www.tcdd.gov.tr
  2. ^ Land transport/Rail - Republic of Turkey 2006 www.abgs.gov.tr
  3. ^ HAYDARPAŞA PORT www.tcdd.gov.tr
  4. ^ DERINCE PORT www.tcdd.gov.org
  5. ^ IZMIR PORT www.tcdd.gov.tr
  6. ^ BANDIRMA PORT www.tcdd.gov.tr
  7. ^ SAMSUN PORT www.tcdd.gov.tr
  8. ^ MERSIN CONTACT AND CONTROL DIRECTORATE www.tcdd.gov.tr
  9. ^ ISKENDERUN PORT www.tcdd.gov.tr
  10. ^ a b Restructuring options for reform of TCDD World Bank report 2003 hwtsk.com
  11. ^ The current situation in the Ankara-Istanbul high speed line project www.tcdd.gov.tr
  12. ^ ANKARA-SİVAS HIZLI TREN PROJESİ YERKÖY-YOZGAT-SİVAS KESİMİ Ankara - Sivas railway project www.tcdd.gov.tr
  13. ^ The current situation on the Ankara - Konya high speed line www.tcdd.gov.tr
  14. ^ a b Development of Euro-Asian transport links Author: Selim Bolat, Research, Planning & Coordination Department, Turkish State Railways –TCDD, September 2007, Page 4, via www.unece.org
  15. ^ TCDD: Destinations in Europe www.tcdd.gov.tr
  16. ^ a b TCDD: Destinations in the Middle East
  17. ^ İstanbul Ulaşım: Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Transportation Services
  18. ^ EGO Genel Müdürlüğü: Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Transportation Services
  19. ^ İzmir Metropolitan Municipality: İzmir Metro
  20. ^ a b c d TCDD Challenges Author: Lou Thompson, 3/05/2002 www.tgassoc.com
  21. ^ Marmaray Project: Travel time and alignment
  22. ^ a b Presentation of the Rail Transport:Turkey Tevfik Muhammed, Engineer, Turkish State Railways (TCDD), 21/11/2008 www.euromedtransport.org
  23. ^ Turkey high speed launch 13/03/2009 railwaygazette.com
  24. ^ http://www.tcdd.gov.tr/haberler/karstiflis.htm
  25. ^ Iran, Turkey work on joint railway 20/07/2007 railnews.korail.go.kr
  26. ^ Turkey, Iran agree on joint railway 27/7/2007 yenisafak.com.tr
  27. ^ Jane's World Railways 1995-1996 p728
  28. ^ Railway Gazette International - January 2008 p51

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