Trains in Turkey

Overnight trains are a fantastic means of transport across Turkey. The Turkish railroad is operated (and heavily subsidized) by the national government. A private first-class sleeper compartment for one or two on routes joining major tourist destinations provides Orient Express luxury for about US$ 30-40. Make sure to ask for it by name, yataklı vagon.

Especially useful routes include:

• İstanbul - Ankara
• İstanbul - Denizli (Pamukkale, Heiropolis, Aphrodesias, and Laodykia)
• İstanbul - Konya
• Ankara - İzmir
• Ankara - Adana

Yes, it takes 12 hours to cover a distance that an express bus covers in 8, but you got a night's lodging and didn't waste a day jammed in a crowded bus. And don't even think about overnight buses! Buses are fine for a hop of a few hours, but if you have a long distance to travel, look into a train!

The National Railways of the Republic of Turkey, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryollari, or TCDD, has a web page at: http://www.tcdd.gov.tr/ Great stuff - schedules, complete route map, etc., but unfortunately it seems to be only available in Turkish. You can check out their full schedules at: http://www.tcdd.gov.tr/yolcu/trensaatleri.htm, the tables below only show stops in larger cities. And here are some crucial Turkish words for understanding those schedules:

Surprising Station Names

Map Showing Turkish Rail Lines

Click on this map to open a larger version. The map shows most of the cities mentioned in the below schedules, and it shows rail lines in black. For more detailed railway maps of Turkey and many other countries, see the Railways Through Europe site.

İstanbul - Ankara - and points east

Lots of trains running about eight hours overnight between İstanbul and Anaka, plus an express daytime train. The Ankara Ekspresi is one of the nicest overnight trains in the world. Brand-new sleeper cars, they even have showers! It costs a little more, but is worth it - about US$ 40 for a compartment to yourself, or US$ 65 for two people.

Traveling from İstanbul to Cappadocia, you might take an overnight train to Ankara, see a few sights there in the morning, then continue by bus to Cappadocia.

İstanbul - Denizli

Denizli is 15 minutes by dolmuş from Pamukkale, and about 2-3 hours by bus from Ephesus. This is especially good for the north-bound route, as otherwise you spend all day on a bus only to arrive in İstanbul at rush hour!

İstanbul - Konya - Gaziantep

Ankara - İzmir

Ankara - Kayseri - Adana

Adana - Malatya - Elaziğ

Possibly of interest for the Adana-Malatya segment, a long day on a train versus a long day on buses.

Ankara - Çankırı - Karabük - Zonguldak

İzmir - Bandırma

In theory, you could travel from Selçuk (Ephesus) to İstanbul by taking a bus to İzmir, then a comfortable train to Bandırma on the Marama coast, and then a ferry across the Sea of Marmara arriving at İstanbul around dinner time.

In practice, this will be extremely difficult given the early departure out of İzmir.

İzmir - Selçuk - Isparta - Burdur

Do trains stop in Selçuk, adjacent to Ephesus? Yes. But they aren't very useful for travel, unless you are looking to leave Selçuk at 0516 to connect to the Marmara Ekspresi in İzmir! Goncalı is close to Denizli, but Denizli is on a branch off this main line and the only passenger train servicing it is the Pamukkale Ekspresi. Note that the eastbound train splits in Gümüşgün, part going to Isparta and part to Burdur. Westbound, the parts join in Gümüşgün. This is a mototren, upright seats only.

İstanbul - Damascus

Allegedly there is now a train once a week, leaving İstanbul on Saturdays at 0825, and taking at least 25 hours to reach Damascus.

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