History of rail transport in Turkey
Rail transport in Turkey began in 1856 with the start of construction of the 130 kilometres (81 mi) İzmir–Aydın Railway.
In the third period, attention turned from rail travel to highways, and the expansion of railways dramatically slowed.
Later, French and German companies also constructed lines – the motivation was not only economic, the region had a strategically important position as a trade route between Europe and Asia.
[2] In the years following World War II, the emphasis in transportation shifted to asphalt road and highway construction;[2] it was not until the end of the 20th century that railways returned to favour with major passenger infrastructure projects being initiated,[3][4] and five thousand kilometres of new lines planned for construction.
[citation needed] The Ottoman Empire permitted British, French and German companies to fund and ran private railways.
[9] The Ottomans wished to integrate more deeply into Europe and saw the establishment of railways connecting the empire with European markets as a way to further this goal.
[10] Financial problems and the lack of engineering knowledge delayed significantly the implementation of such connector projects.
[10] The empire contracted investor the Austrian, Baron Hirsch, to develop 2000 km of railways however, the British and French prevented the raising of money in the Paris and London stock exchanges.
[14] The first railway to be constructed in Turkey was the İzmir (the Turkish name of Smyrna)–Aydın line,[1] the first part[dubious – discuss] of which was opened in 1860.
[16] During the Turkish War of Independence, the new breakaway government in Ankara held control over sections of railways located in central and southern Anatolia.
In 1920, these were brought under the roof of Chemin de Fer d'Anatolie ("Anadolu Şimendiferleri" - distinct from "Ottoman Anatolian Railways") with its center in Ankara and administered by Behiç Erkin, the founding figure of modern Turkey's railway network and a colonel at the time.
Erkin pursued his office as director general beyond the war during a crucial period that lasted until 1926, after which he was Turkey's minister for transport for two years.
Between 1935 and 1945, emphasis was placed on construction of junction lines, to improve industrial connectivity and also strengthen national defense.
The Central Treaty Organisation, dissolved after the Iranian Revolution, sponsored some railway building with British money.
A railway line, some of which was completed, was built to enable a rail connexion between London and Tehran via Van.
A section from Lake Van in Turkey to Sharafkhaneh in Iran was completed and funded in large part by CENTO (mainly the UK).
On 30 March 2007, TCDD signed an agreement with Trenitalia of Ferrovie dello Stato to rent an ETR 500 train set for 4 months for testing the system.
[25][26] The first run was from Haydarpaşa Terminal in Istanbul to the Central Station in Ankara, using the completed portion of the high-speed line between Hasanbey and Esenkent.
[29] The Transportation Ministry spent 14 million TL (around 7 million Euros at that time) for the installation of testing and measuring equipment on the train, which it named – because it is a tradition to give a name to test trains – as "Piri Reis" after the renowned Turkish admiral and cartographer who drew some of the most accurate and detailed maps of the Mediterranean Sea and the Americas in the early 16th century.
Out of over 100 entries, the ones with the highest votes were: Türk Yıldızı (Turkish Star), Turkuaz (Turquoise), Yüksek Hızlı Tren (High Speed Train), Çelik Kanat (Steel Wing) and Yıldırım (Lightning).
[30] (Notes on investors: O: Ottoman Empire, A: Austria, B: Belgium, F: France, G: Germany, S: Switzerland, UK: United Kingdom, Int'l: International investors; Source: Roth - Dinhobl, p. 188) Media related to History of rail transport in Turkey at Wikimedia Commons
