Turkey has a state-owned railway system built to standard gauge (1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)) which falls under the remit of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.

The primary rail carrier is the Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryolları (TCDD) (Turkish State Railways) which is responsible for all long-distance and cross-border freight and passenger trains.

In the early 21st century, major infrastructural projects were realized; such as the construction of a high-speed railway network as well as a tunnel under the Bosphorus strait which connects Europe and Anatolia by rail for the first time.

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.

[5] In the years following World War II, the emphasis in transportation shifted to asphalt road and highway construction;[5] it was not until the end of the 20th century that railways returned to favour with major passenger infrastructure projects being initiated,[7][8] and five thousand kilometres of new lines planned for construction.

[12] Electrified lines run from Kapıkule on the Bulgarian border via Istanbul to Ankara, and from Divriği via Malatya to İskenderun on the Mediterranean coast.

Here are some technical informations (standards) about the Turkish railway system:[citation needed] The first completed section of the high-speed rail line between Ankara and Eskişehir was opened by the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on 13 March 2009.

[15] In addition to high speed trains, there are several types of wagons being used for railway transport like pulman, sleeping cars, couchette, dmu and emu sets.

[1] As of May 2016, there are several construction points (mainly for signalization or electrification) in Turkish rail network which is causing complete or partial closures.

There are also several tram systems in many cities, listed as follows: Park Tram In combination with its affiliates, the State Railways of the Republic of Turkey (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryolları, TCDD) have a monopoly on passenger[note 3] and freight rail transportation, as well as the manufacturing of rolling stock and tracks.

[24] The organization was created in 1927 to operate the former railway lines of the Ottoman Empire that were left within the borders of the Republic of Turkey whose boundaries were defined with the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923.