Transport in Turkey
Encyclopedia
Railways
The TCDD - Türkiye Devlet Demir Yolları (Turkish State Railways)Turkish State Railways
The State Railways of the Turkish Republic or TCDD is the government owned, national railway carrier in the Republic of Turkey, headquartered in Ankara...
possess 10,984 km of gauge, of which 2,336 km are electrified (2005). (Map)
In 2004, Marmaray project started on a rail tunnel under the Bosphorus straits.
Between Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
and Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, a high speed railroad line is being constructed now next to the normal speed railroad which is being renovated. When finished, travel time between the two major cities will reduce from 6,5 hours to 3 hours and 10 minutes, using trains ordered from Spain that can reach up to 250 km/h. Construction of a high speed railroad line between Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
and Konya
Konya
Konya is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. The metropolitan area in the entire Konya Province had a population of 1,036,027 as of 2010, making the city seventh most populous in Turkey.-Etymology:...
is also soon to begin in order to connect the two cities with a direct line and reduce travel time from several hours to approximately one hour. Several other high speed and normal railroad projects are currently in the planning stage.
Cities with underground
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
railway systems are Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
, Bursa
Bursa, Turkey
Bursa is a city in northwestern Turkey and the seat of Bursa Province. The metropolitan area in the entire Bursa province had a population of 2.6 million as of 2010, making the city fourth most populous in Turkey. The city is equally one of the most industrialized metropolitan centers in the...
, and Adana
Adana
Adana is a city in southern Turkey and a major agricultural and commercial center. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, 30 kilometres inland from the Mediterranean, in south-central Anatolia...
.
Railway links with adjacent countries
Armenia - closed (see Kars Gyumri Akhalkalaki railway lineKars Gyumri Akhalkalaki railway line
The Kars–Gyumri–Tbilisi railway line is a railway line that runs from the city of Kars in Turkey to the Armenian city of Gyumri, then from there on to Tbilisi, Georgia....
) Bulgaria - open - Greece - open - Georgia - under reconstruction - break-of-gauge
Break-of-gauge
With railways, a break-of-gauge occurs where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges, and freight and passengers must otherwise be transloaded...
/. Iran - via Lake Van
Lake Van
Lake Van is the largest lake in Turkey, located in the far east of the country in Van district. It is a saline and soda lake, receiving water from numerous small streams that descend from the surrounding mountains. Lake Van is one of the world's largest endorheic lakes . The original outlet from...
train ferry
Train ferry
A train ferry is a ship designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ferries are sometimes referred to as "car ferries", as...
- same gauge Iraq - No direct link, traffic routed via Syria - same gauge Syria - open -
Light Rail
After almost 30 years without any trams, TurkeyTurkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
is experiencing a revival in trams. Established in 1992, the tram system of Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
earned the best large-scale tram management award in 2005. Another award winning tram network belongs to Eskişehir
Eskisehir
Eskişehir is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. According to the 2009 census, the population of the city is 631,905. The city is located on the banks of the Porsuk River, 792 m above sea level, where it overlooks the fertile Phrygian Valley. In the nearby...
, a city with a new tram system opened in 2004. Several other cities are planning or constructing tram lines, usually with modern low-floow trams.
One example of something in between Metro and trams is the "Ankaray" system in the city of Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. Ankaray is called "light metro", but the vehicles are clearly heavier and longer than usual trams, and also mostly underground and grade-separated. It could be called a metro but isn't since there is a separate system called Ankara Metro.
- Cities with Light Rail TransitLight Rail TransitThe name Light Rail Transit is used to refer to several light rail systems, as an official name or otherwise:* Please see List of tram and light-rail transit systems.-See also:* Light Rapid Transit * Light railway* Light rail...
systems: IstanbulIstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, AnkaraAnkaraAnkara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, Bursa, AdanaAdanaAdana is a city in southern Turkey and a major agricultural and commercial center. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, 30 kilometres inland from the Mediterranean, in south-central Anatolia...
, IzmirIzmirIzmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
, EskişehirEskisehirEskişehir is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. According to the 2009 census, the population of the city is 631,905. The city is located on the banks of the Porsuk River, 792 m above sea level, where it overlooks the fertile Phrygian Valley. In the nearby...
, KonyaKonyaKonya is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. The metropolitan area in the entire Konya Province had a population of 1,036,027 as of 2010, making the city seventh most populous in Turkey.-Etymology:...
, AntalyaAntalyaAntalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
, KayseriKayseriKayseri is a large and industrialized city in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It is the seat of Kayseri Province. The city of Kayseri, as defined by the boundaries of Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality, is structurally composed of five metropolitan districts, the two core districts of Kocasinan and...
, GaziantepGaziantepGaziantep , Ottoman Turkish: Ayintab) previously and still informally called Antep; ʻayn tāb is a city in southeast Turkey and amongst the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. The city is located 185 kilometres northeast of Adana and 127 kilometres by road north of Aleppo, Syria...
, SamsunSamsunSamsun is a city of about half a million people on the north coast of Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Samsun Province and a major Black Sea port.-Name:...
Public road transport
There are numerous private busBus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
companies providing connections between cities in Turkey.
For local trips to villages there are dolmuş
Dolmuş
In Turkey and Turkish controlled Northern Cyprus, dolmuş are share taxis that run set routes within and between cities.Departing from the terminal only when a sufficient amount of passengers have boarded, their name is derived from Turkish for "apparently stuffed" for this reason.In some cities...
es, small vans
Vans
Vans is an American based manufacturer of sneakers, skateboarding shoes, BMX shoes, snowboarding boots and other shoe types.- History :On March 16, 1966, at 704 E. Broadway, in Anaheim, California, brothers Paul Van Doren, James Van Doren, and three other partners opened up their first store...
that seat about twenty passengers.
Highways
total:
426,906 km
paved:
177,550 km (includes 1,892 km of expressways)
unpaved:
249,356 km (2004)
Road map of Turkey: http://www.kgm.gov.tr/images/turkiye.jpg (12MB file).
Car ownership
According to the figures released by Turkey's statistics authority (TurkStat) the total number of motor vehicles in Turkey reached 15.023 million as of November 2010. The provinces with the highest rates of car ownership were:-- 1 - AnkaraAnkara ProvinceAnkara Province in central Turkey is the location of the country's capital, the city of Ankara.Ankara also gave its name to the Ottoman Empire's Ankara Province which covered a larger area than the current province.- Geography :...
(158 cars per 1,000 pop.) - 2 - İstanbulIstanbul ProvinceIstanbul Province is a province located in north-west Turkey. It has an area of 5,196 km² and a population of 13,255,685. The population was 10,018,735 in 2000. It is surrounded by the provinces of Tekirdağ to the west, Kocaeli to the east, the Black Sea to the northern part and the Sea of...
(129) - 3 - MuğlaMugla ProvinceMuğla Province is a province of Turkey, at the country's south-western corner, on the Aegean Sea. Its seat is Muğla, about inland, while some of Turkey's largest holiday resorts, such as Bodrum, Ölüdeniz, Marmaris and Fethiye, are on the coast in Muğla....
(106) - 4 - İzmirIzmir Provinceİzmir Province is a province of Turkey in western Anatolia on the Aegean coast, whose capital is the city of İzmir. On the west it is surrounded by the Aegean sea, and it encloses the Gulf of İzmir. Its area is 11,973 km.2, population 3.948.848 . The population was 3,370,866 in 2000...
(103) - 5 - EskişehirEskisehir ProvinceEskişehir Province is a province in northwestern Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Bilecik to the northwest, Kütahya to the west, Afyon to the southwest, Konya to the south, Ankara to the east, and Bolu to the north. The provincial capital is Eskişehir. Most of the province is laid down in...
(98) - 6 - DenizliDenizli ProvinceDenizli Province is a province of Turkey in Western Anatolia, on high ground above the Aegean coast. Neighbouring provinces are Uşak to the north, Burdur, Isparta, Afyon to the east, Aydın, Manisa to the west and Muğla to the south. It is located between the coordinates 28° 30’ and 29° 30’ E and...
(98) - 7 - AntalyaAntalya ProvinceAntalya Province is located on the Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean sea.Antalya Province is the centre of Turkey's tourism industry, attracting 30% of foreign tourists visiting Turkey. The province of Antalya corresponds to the lands of...
(95) - 8 - BurdurBurdur ProvinceBurdur Province is a province of Turkey, located in the southwest and bordering Muğla and Antalya to the South, Denizli to the West, Afyon to the North, and Isparta to the East...
(90) - 9 - KayseriKayseri ProvinceThe Kayseri Province , in central Turkey, is an area that has been linked with mythological stories as well as important figures in Turkish history. It is located in Anatolia, and surrounded by the Mount Erciyes, the Mount Hasan and the Mount Ali...
(85) - 10- KarabükKarabük ProvinceKarabük Province is a province in northern central Turkey with a total population of 227,610 .The main city is Karabük which is located about 200 km north of Ankara and about 100 km south of the Black Sea coast...
(84) - 11- BursaBursa ProvinceBursa Province is a province in western Turkey, along the Sea of Marmara. Its adjacent provinces are Balıkesir to the west, Kütahya to the south, Bilecik and Sakarya to the east, Kocaeli to the northeast and Yalova to the north. The province has an area of 11,043 km2 and a population of 3,187,000...
(83) - 12- ZonguldakZonguldak ProvinceZonguldak Province is a province along the western Black Sea coast region of Turkey. The province is 3.481 km² in size and has a population of 619,703 Its adjacent provinces are Düzce to the southwest, Bolu to the south, Karabük to the southeast, and Bartın to the east...
(79)
Total number of passenger cars was 6,472,156 at the end of 2007. Total number of motor vehicles (excluding tractors and construction vehicles) was 11,695,611 at the end of 2007.
The number of passenger cars had increased to 9,800,000 by 2010.
PipelinesPipeline transportPipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....
gas 4,621 km; oil 3,543 km; Total: 8,164 km (2006)Merchant marine
total:
565 ships ( or over) totaling /
ships by type:
by type: bulk carrier
Bulk carrier
A bulk carrier, bulk freighter, or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo, such as grains, coal, ore, and cement in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, economic forces have fueled the development of these ships,...
96, cargo ship
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
262, chemical tanker
Chemical tanker
A chemical tanker is a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk.Ocean-going chemical tankers generally range from to in size, which is considerably smaller than the average size of other tanker types due to the specialised nature of their cargoes and the size restrictions of the...
58, combination ore/oil 1, container ship
Container ship
Container ships are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. They form a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport.-History:...
30, liquefied gas
LNG carrier
An LNG carrier is a tank ship designed for transporting liquefied natural gas . As the LNG market grows rapidly, the fleet of LNG carriers continues to experience tremendous growth.-History:...
7, passenger 4, passenger/cargo ship
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
48, petroleum tanker
Oil tanker
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries...
32, refrigerated cargo ship 1, roll-on/roll-off 25, specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned:
8 (China 1, Cyprus 2, Germany 1, Italy 3, UAE 1)
registered in other countries: 470 (Albania 1, Antigua and Barbuda 7, Bahamas 5, Belize 11, Cambodia 20, Comoros 8, Cyprus 1, Dominica 9, Georgia 23, Isle of Man 2, Italy 1, Kiribati 1, North Korea 1, Liberia 7, Malta 143, Marshall Islands 41, Netherlands Antilles 12, Panama 53, Russia 70, Sierra Leone 7, Slovakia 11, St Kitts and Nevis 13, St Vincent and The Grenadines 20, Tuvalu 1, UK 2, unknown 3) (2007)(Link:https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tu.html#Trans)
AirportAirportAn airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
s and airlines
Total number of Airports in Turkey: 117 (2007)Airports - with paved runways
total:
90
over 3,047 m:
15
2,438 to 3,047 m:
33
1,524 to 2,437 m:
19
914 to 1,523 m:
19
under 914 m:
4 (2007)
(Link:https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tu.html#Trans)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total:
27
Over 3,047 m:
1
1,524 to 2,437 m:
2
914 to 1,523 m:
7
under 914 m:
17 (2007)
(Link:https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tu.html#Trans)
See also
- TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
- List of highways in Turkey
- Truck transport in Turkey
- Freight Forwarder in Turkey
- Logistics Company in Turkey
- Transportation of Cargo in Turkey
Cars, trains, and ferries are some more types of Turkish transportation.