The M3, officially referred to as the M3 Bakırköy Sahil–Kayaşehir Merkez Metro Line (), is a , 20-station rapid transit line of the Istanbul Metro system on the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It operates between Bakırköy Sahil and Kayaşehir Merkez. The line is colored light blue on station signs, route signs and the official rapid transit network map.

Construction The construction of the line began in 2006 following the signing of the related contract in May of that year. By March 2009, the tunnels were completed. The first train for the line was delivered on 29 October 2008, and in December 2010, the first test run of the trains was accomplished. The line's operation rights were transferred from the İETT bus authority to İstanbul Ulaşım (now Metro İstanbul) in June 2011. After the line's signalization system was completely installed in March 2012, test runs began in June 2012. The line started operating unofficially from Kirazlı to Metrokent on 10 September 2012, and officially entered service on 14 June 2013. The branch line to Olimpiyat later opened on 22 November 2013. The Ikitelli-Olimpiyat branch was transferred to the M9 in May 29, 2021. The northern extension to Kayaşehir Merkez was opened on 8 April 2023, while the southern section from Kirazlı to Bakırköy Sahil was inaugurated on 10 March 2024. Yıldıztepe station, on the section between Kirazlı and Bakırköy Sahil, opened on 8 October 2025.

Özgürlük Meydanı, Haznedar, İlkyuva, Onurkent, Toplu Konutlar and Kayaşehir Merkez stations are bored in situ without removing the ground above, while all other underground stations on the line are built by cut-and-cover method, constructed in a shallow trench and then covered over. The line's tunnels are twin tubes. The Kirazlı-Metrokent and Kirazlı-Bakırköy Sahil sections was constructed by tunnel boring machine (TBM).

Opening timeline Stage Segment Opening date Length Station(s) 1 – 14 June 2013 9 – 22 November 2013 3 – 29 March 2021 (transferred to M9) -3 2 – 8 April 2023 4 3 – 10 March 2024 6 8 October 2025 – 1

Technical features The M3 line is long, serving 20 stations in total. The operation control center of the M3-line is situated in MetroKent. The rolling stock and maintenance depots are located in Olimpiyatköy beyond Olimpiyat Parkı Terminal, stretching over an area of (). The rolling stock depot is capable of holding 180 cars. The maintenance workshop occupies a covered area of .

The rolling stock was delivered by the French company Alstom. The fully air-conditioned cars, costing each 1.149 million, feature seats covered with antibacterial textile material. It is possible to pass from one car to another in a train to enable a homogeneous distribution of the passenger crowd. |

A total of 80 cars, 20 sets of four-car trains, are able to transport up to 70,000 passenger per hour per direction between the operating hours from 6:00 h in the early morning to 0:00 h in the midnight. The ride between the terminals Bakırköy Sahil and Kayaşehir Merkez takes 39 minutes. The trains run every five minutes during rush hours.

Safety All the stations are equipped with closed-circuit video system for continuous monitoring of the platforms. High-level fire safety systems, which include automatic fire extinguishers and fire exits, are installed in the metro line, where non-flammable and fireproofing materials were used.

Power supply of the line is provided at two different points. In case of power cut at both supply points, an emergency power system that becomes operational within 15 seconds, ensures running of the trains until the next station. If the backup generator system fails, an uninterruptible power source (UPS) supplies energy for emergency lighting and the electronic devices at the operations control center up to three hours. The signalization of the metro line as well as at the depots and railroad switches, also the vehicle drive-control systems are fully automated. However, they can be handled manually when needed.

Stations All stations are underground.

NoStationDistrictTransferNotes1Bakırköy (Bakırköy Terminal)Rauf Orbay Av・Ataköy Marina・Galleria・Kennedy Av2・ (Bakırköy railway station)İETT Bus: 50B, 71T, 72T, 94A 73B, 76, 76B, 76C, 76V, 76Y, 79B, 89YB, 98, 98A, 98AB, 98B, 98D, 98E, 98G, 98H, 98K, 98M, 98MB, 98S, 98T, 98TB, 98Y, 146, E-57Bakırköy Özgürlük Square・İncirli Av・Yusuf Köksal Park・Bakırköy Anadolu Imam Hatip High School3・ (planned)・İETT Bus: 31, 31E, 50B, 71T, 72T, 73, 73F, 76D, 78ZB, 79G, 79Ş, 82, 89, 89A, 89B, 89K, 89M, 89S, 92, 94Y, 97, 97A, 97BT, 97E, 97KZ, 97T, H-9, HT13, MK97Hatice Küçük Park・Bakırköy District Court・İsmail Erak Boulevard・Botanik Park4GüngörenİETT Bus: 36CY, 92, 97T, 98D, 98G, 98Y, MK97Güngören Park・Naci Kazım Av・Naci Kazım Park5BahçelievlerİETT Bus: 36CY, 92, 98D, 98YBağcılar Avenue・Bahçelievler İSKİ Building6BağcılarİETT Bus: 36CY, 92, 98D, 98S, 98YBağcılar Av・Kıbrıs Av・Bağcılar Anadolu High School・Bağcılar Yıldıztepe Primary School・Hoca Ahmet Yesevi Middle School7İETT Bus: 98K, HT10, HT11Molla Gürani Park・Mehmet Akif Boulevard・Yıldıztepe Park8・ (planned)İETT Bus: 92K, 98K, HT10, MK42Hoca Ahmet Yesevi Avenue・Mevlana Avenue・Atlas University Hospital9İETT Bus: 92, 92B, 92K, 92Ş, 97G, 98D, 98K, HT1315 Temmuz Şehit Ramazan Sarıkaya Park・Dökumcüler Avenue10İETT Bus: 141K, 141M, 144M, 89C, 89T, 91E, 97E, 97GE, 97M, 98A, 98M, H-1, HT10Maslak Avenue・İnönü Avenue・Bosna Avenue11İETT Bus: 143, 146B, 146K, 146M, 31Y, 76O, 78, 89F, 98M12BaşakşehirİETT Bus: 31Y, 82S MK31 free transfer13İETT Bus: 31Y, 78B, 78Ş, 82S, 98KM, 146K, 146M, MK31Industrial Districts・Süleyman Demirel Boulevard14İETT Bus: 143, 146B, 146K, 146M, 78C, 79E, 82S, 98KMAtatürk Boulevard15İETT Bus: 78ZB, 89C, 98, 98KM, 143Prof.Dr Necmettin Erbakan Street・Başakşehir 1.Etap Yürüyüş Yolu Park16Havaist Bus TransferİETT Bus: 78, 78BE, 78F, 89C, 98H, 98KM, 146B, MK1, MK22Metrokent Residences17BaşakşehirİETT Bus: 78E, 78F, 78ZB, 89C, 98, 146B, 146KOnurkent Park・Mimar Kemalettin Street・Akif İnan Anadolu İmam Hatip High School18Şehir HastanesiİETT Bus: 36F, 78E, 78F, 78Ş, 79B, 79E, 79F, 79FY, 79GE, 79KM, 79KT, 79T, 146BA, 146F, HS1, HS2, MK1, MK2, MK22, MR50Başakşehir Çam and Sakura City Hospital19İETT Bus: 36AS, 78E,78G, 78Ş, 79B, 79C, 79E, 79F, 79G, 79K, 79KM, 79KT, 79T, 79Y, MK11Kayaşehir Boulevard・Kayaşehir City Park20 İETT Bus: 36F, 78F, 79F, 79FY, 79GE, 79KM, 79KT, MK22Kayaşehir Boulevard・Başakşehir City Park・Kayaşehir Square・Başakşehir Central Mosque

Rolling stock This line is operated with 20 four-car Alstom trains which are visually similar to the AM5-M2 and AM4-M4 trains also built by Alstom that operate on the Budapest Metro. The main difference is that the Istanbul units are equipped with pantographs for overhead line operation only, while the Budapest units are equipped with shoegear for third rail operation only. Since its opening in 2021, the fleet has also been used on the M9 line.

See also Istanbul modern tramways Istanbul nostalgic tramways Marmaray Public transport in Istanbul

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