Yüksek Hızlı Tren or YHT (), operated by TCDD Transport, is the high-speed rail service in Turkey.Hızlı Tren Saatleri hareketsaati.com 30 November 2024 Branded as "YHT", they are TCDD Transport's flagship passenger train service and the only high-speed rail service in the country. As of 2025, the network spans and serves major cities like Istanbul, Ankara, Eskişehir, İzmit, Konya, and Sivas. Expansion of the system is underway and the network is expected to reach Edirne, Afyonkarahisar, Adana, and İzmir in the 2020s.
High-speed rail in Turkey was originally planned to be built as early as 1975, but it wasn't until 2003 that the construction of the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed railway began. On 13 March 2009, the first phase of the high-speed railway, Ankara–Istanbul line, entered service between Ankara and Eskişehir. On 25 July 2014, the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed railway services began to reach the Pendik railway station on the Asian side of Istanbul,Uysal, Onur. "First High Speed Train Set on Ankara Istanbul Line Arrived Istanbul", Rail Turkey, 26 July 2014 and on 13 March 2019 the services began to reach the Halkalı railway station on the European side of Istanbul, passing through the Marmaray railway tunnel under the Bosphorus strait. There were initially 6 daily departures in both directions.Uysal, Onur. "New Schedule for Istanbul-Ankara High Speed Train", Rail Turkey, 9 August 2014
It has two types of EMU train models operating at speeds of up to (HT65000) or (HT80000).
On 13 March 2009, the first phase of the high-speed railway, Ankara–Istanbul line, entered service between Ankara and Eskişehir. On 25 July 2014, the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed railway services began to reach the Pendik railway station on the Asian side of Istanbul,Uysal, Onur. "First High Speed Train Set on Ankara Istanbul Line Arrived Istanbul", Rail Turkey, 26 July 2014 and on 13 March 2019 the services began to reach the Halkalı railway station on the European side of Istanbul, passing through the Marmaray railway tunnel under the Bosphorus strait. There were initially 6 daily departures in both directions.Uysal, Onur. "New Schedule for Istanbul-Ankara High Speed Train", Rail Turkey, 9 August 2014
As of 2026, the current length of the high-speed service stands at 1300km and another 1560km under construction, reaching 11 cities with 15 more cities on the line. All lines are compliant with ETCS Level 2 while some lines additionally retain Level 1 for legacy support. Being the 6th longest network in the world, high speed trains have carried over 100 million passengers and nearly 100 million kilometers since 2009. The 2053 Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure envisions a 6.196km of high-speed rail, connecting 52 cities with locally manufactured trainsets and signalization solutions.
History Istanbul and Ankara are Turkey's largest two cities, having a combined population over 20 million. Transportation demand between the two cities is expectedly high. The Otoyol 4 motorway is a major highway between the two cities, and the Ankara–Istanbul route is the busiest domestic air route in the country. The route between Istanbul and Ankara by rail has been a single-track line, and trains usually were delayed 30 minutes to 2 hours plus the average 7 hours, 30 minutes travel time. Rail transport in Turkey was already at its lowest point, so in 2003 the State Railways and the Turkish Ministry of Transport made an agreement to build a line between the two cities. The line would be an electrified double trackline. Construction began in 2004 from Esenkent to Eskişehir. The line was completed on 23 April 2007."Demiryolu" Magazine March–April Issue
On 28 February 2007 TCDD requested bids for high-speed train sets from other networks to be tested on the completed portion of the high-speed line.
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.
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.
On 14 September 2007 the ETR 500 Y2 set a speed record in Turkey, reaching . This test received extensive media coverage in Turkey.
On 20 November 2007 the first TCDD HT65000 high-speed train sets purchased from CAF of Spain entered Turkey from the Kapıkule border station in Edirne,TCDD English Site - First High Speed Train set arrived in Turkey and tests were subsequently made with these trains prior to the commencement of services on 13 March 2009.
In 2010 one of the YHT trains was converted into a test train in order to test and measure the new lines. 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.
TCDD requested bids for the name of the high-speed service. 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). TCDD chose Yüksek Hızlı Tren to be the name of the service.Vikipedi - YHT Vikipedi Page (in Turkish).
On 13 March 2009, the inauguration ceremony took place in Ankara; attended by President Abdullah Gül, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Minister of Transport Binali Yıldırım, who started the first phase of the YHT service running between Ankara and Eskişehir.
Ridership
Until 2015, ridership had grown at the expense of TCDD's regular train services and has not dented air traffic demand. Total TCDD services including HSR remain flat. Traffic was affected since 2012 when all services to Istanbul were suspended. A sharp increase in ridership occurred after extra high speed trains started operation. A further increase in 2018 and 2019 is expected with new trainsets becoming operational and the opening of the Istanbul terminals Halkali and Haydarpaşa.
Lines in operation
Ankara–Istanbul
Prior to the introduction of the high-speed line, the population centres of Istanbul (14 million) and Ankara (5 million) were connected by a long railway line, of which only was double-tracked.Evaluation of Ankara – Istanbul high speed train project Authors: Ali Payidar Akgungor, Abdulmuttalip Demirel, 2006, ISSN 1648-4142 print / ISSN 1648-3480 online, periodical: "TRANSPORT" 2007, Vol XXII, No 1, www.transport.vgtu.lt The whole line was electrified, but low radius turns and poor track quality made high-speed rail transport impossible. Prior to the upgrading of this line in 2006, the railway's market share of Istanbul–Ankara passenger transit was 10%, with a travel time of ~6.5 hours.
The Ankara–Istanbul HST line opened on 25 July 2014, with all trains terminating at Pendik, which is 1 hour by bus from Kadikoy in the eastern suburbs of Istanbul. There are 12 trips per day and the journey takes 3.5 hours. All trains stop at Eskişehir and İzmit.
Design and construction The high-speed railway connects the county's largest metropolises, Ankara the capital and conurbation of Istanbul via Eskişehir, with a junction at Polatlı to the Ankara-Konya high-speed line.The current situation in the Ankara–Istanbul high-speed line project www.tcdd.gov.tr "Ankara–Istanbul high-speed line project"
The railway link was built by a Chinese-Turkish consortium, which was formed when the China Railway Construction Corporation and the China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation won the bid in 2005 to build the railway line in partnership with two Turkish companies, Cengiz Construction and Ibrahim Cecen Ictas Construction.
The line is long, double tracked, electrified, and signalled, to ETCS level 1 standardAnkara-Istanbul High-Speed Train Project, Turkey railway-technology.comAlcatel-Lucent partners with Thales to expand Turkish Railways’ high-speed signalling network 16 March 2009 www.alcatel-lucent.com and is independent of the original Ankara to Istanbul line. The design speed is .
The first part of the line to be constructed (Phase 1) was the Ankara–Eskişehir section, specifically between Sincan and İnönü, scheduled to open in 2006.
The second phase was scheduled to open in 2008 and included more difficult terrain which covers the path between İnönü and Köseköy, extending to Gebze close to Istanbul. The service in this line is expected to start on 25 July 2014.Uysal, Onur. "Istanbul–Ankara High Speed Train to Start on 25th of July", Rail Turkey, 21 July 2014 A part of the route has not been completed yet by the time of opening, so conventional line will be used until the completion of the project.
+Ankara–Istanbul high-speed line constructionLine sectionLength (km)Start / opening dateStart of construction / Official openingNotesAnkara–Sincan24As of 2009, the existing track between Ankara and Esenkent is used until the completion of a dedicated high-speed line As of 2013, one track of high-speed line has been completed between Ankara and Sincan and it is being used with reduced signalling featuresSincan–Esenkent152008–2010This section has been opened in 2010 with full signalling featuresEsenkent–Eskişehir2062004–2009UIC celebrates the introduction of high speed in Turkey 19 March 2009 uic.asso.frInfrastructure includes: 2 road bridges and 30 road underpasses, 7 railway bridges, and 13 river crossings. 4 viaducts (total length over ), and 1 tunnel ().First test runs in April 2007.Eskişehir station3.4 km2008–To avoid congestion problems in the city of Eskişehir, a tunnel and cutting project is being undertaken. of covered tunnel consisting of 2 high-speed lines, 2 conventional lines, and 1 freight line, plus of excavated track (U shape) with 2 high-speed tracks and 1 freight track. Eskisehir station infrastructure works have already startedEskişehir–Inönü30Officially opened on 25 July 2014.Ozen, Levent. "Sections of Ankara Istanbul HST Line" , RaillyNews, 25 July 2014Inönü–Vezirhan54Officially opened on 25 July 2014.Vezirhan–Köseköy104Officially opened on 25 July 2014.Köseköy–Pendik56Officially opened on 25 July 2014.Pendik–Söğütlüçeşme–Halkalı43Opened 12 March 2019 together with the Marmaray project.Söğütlüçeşme–Haydarpaşa (Istanbul)2Pending completion of repairs.
Operation and rolling stock
The Ankara to Eskişehir section officially opened on 13 March 2009.
On 13 November 2009, a high-speed train derailed near Eskişehir.Turkey high-speed train derails 13 November 2009 news.bbc.co.uk
On 25 July 2014, Istanbul–Ankara high-speed train service started. The stretch was not completed yet, thus service started using conventional line for some parts, which causes a little longer trip than envisaged. Initially, 8 trains departed every day in both directions, and the final station in Istanbul was Pendik, a district in east of Istanbul. Other public-transport connections, such as buses, were organized to connect Pendik to the city proper.Uysal, Onur. "How to Get to High Speed Train in Istanbul?", Rail Turkey, 22 October 2014
The line from Ankara to Eskişehir was initially operated by Turkish State Railways with the TCDD HT65000 six-car train sets constructed by the Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) of Spain. Additionally, TCDD bought seven Siemens Velaro sets for the Ankara–Istanbul line.Uysal, Onur. "TCDD Prefers Velaro as HST Sets", Rail Turkey, 9 July 2013 Moreover, in 2013 TCDD opened a new tender for 106 new sets to be supplied in 5 years,Uysal, Onur. "Turkey to Buy 106 New High Speed Trains", Rail Turkey, 28 July 2013 but this tender was later cancelled, and a new tender opened in 2018.
Ankara–Konya