High-speed trains in Türkiye have transported around 110 million passengers since the network’s launch, with the total length of high-speed rail lines reaching 2,251 kilometers, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu has said.
In a written statement marking the 17th anniversary of the country’s first high-speed rail line, the Ankara–Eskişehir route, Uraloğlu said the line began operations on March 13, 2009, as the first stage of the Ankara–Istanbul high-speed railway project.
The Ankara–Eskişehir line alone has carried around 21.4 million passengers since it opened, he said, adding that the central city of Eskişehir has become an important hub for both railway transportation and the railway industry in Türkiye.
Since the first line opened, new routes have gradually been added to the network, including Ankara–Konya in 2011, Konya–Istanbul and Ankara–Istanbul in 2014, Karaman–Istanbul and Karaman–Ankara in 2022, Ankara–Sivas in 2023 and Sivas–Istanbul in 2024.
Uraloğlu said high-speed trains are used by an average of 34,000 passengers per day.
The busiest route is Ankara–Istanbul, with 16,723 daily passengers, followed by Konya–Istanbul with 4,517 and Ankara–Konya with 3,665.
Türkiye aims to expand its railway network to 17,287 kilometers by 2028 as part of its long-term 2053 transportation strategy, according to the minister.
