Line M11, officially referred to as the M11 Gayrettepe–Istanbul Airport–Halkalı Metro Line (), is a line of the Istanbul Metro. It runs between and via Istanbul Airport.Istanbul M11 line opens Tramways & Urban Transit issue 1023 March 2023 page 88 The line is long, making it the longest line in the Istanbul Metro. It is entirely underground, making it the second longest continuous subway tunnel in the world, and the longest in Europe. It is also the longest driverless metro line in the world.
The line used to be operated by a driver on board, before becoming fully automated and driverless on 3 January 2024.
Route
The purpose of this line is to provide direct and quick access from Istanbul Airport in Arnavutköy to Levent, Istanbul's main commercial center and to Halkalı, one of the city's most important train stations. Unlike other metro lines, the M11 will be a limited stop service, meaning that stations will be spaced further apart. This is most noticeable towards the line's southern ends, where the M11 will only have seven stations within Istanbul's urban area: , , , and in the west and and in the east.
It has two legs, one from Gayrettepe to Istanbul Airport line and the second from Halkalı to Istanbul Airport line. The first leg of the rapid transit line is long with nine stations. The second leg of the line is long with seven stations, in a total of with sixteen stations. The line is the longest continuous subway tunnel in the world. The travel time between the end stations is around 60 minutes at a maximum speed of . The line runs through six districts of Istanbul, Şişli, Kağıthane, Eyüpsultan, Arnavutköy, Başakşehir and Küçükçekmece. It is expected that the line will carry annually around 94 million passengers. The M11 line connects to other rapid transit lines: Marmaray, M1, M2, M3, M7 (twice), M9, and at the airport to the high-speed train line.
Construction The investment budget of the construction is . The Turkish construction consortium Kolin-Şenbay won the tender for the building of the metro line in December 2016. The line was not scheduled to be completed before the airport's official 29 October 2018 airport opening. The line was constructed in four sections: Kağıthane–Istanbul Airport, opened on 22 January 2023 Gayrettepe–Kağıthane, opened on 29 January 2024 Arnavutköy Hastane–Istanbul Airport, opened on 19 March 2024 Halkalı–Arnavutköy Hastane, tunnel construction completed in October 2025, opening ceremony held on 19 June 2026, officially opened on 20 June 2026
Opening timeline Stage Segment Commencement Length Station(s) 1 – Istanbul Airport Cargo Terminal 22 January 2023 7 – 29 January 2024 1 2 Istanbul Airport Cargo Terminal – 19 March 2024 2 – Halkalı 20 June 2026 5
Rolling stock
The rolling stock was manufactured by CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive, and was the first class automated metro train exported by China. 176 metro cars were supplied for the Line 11. The contract was awarded in January 2020, and the production of the first train was completed six months later, although these ten sets were not automated. The first train was delivered on September 6, 2020. On 3 January 2024, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu announced that 15 automated trainsets were ready to enter into use.
Stations The M11 has sixteen stations. Out of these sixteen, only eight are within the Istanbul metropolitan area. NoStationDistrictTransferTypeNotes 1Şişli & Beşiktaş・ (Zincirlikuyu)İETT Bus: 25G, 27E, 27SE, 27T, 29, 29A, 29C, 29D, 29İ, 29P, 29Ş, 30A, 30M, 36L, 40B, 41AT, 41E, 42, 42M, 42Z, 43R, 50Z, 58A, 58N, 58S, 58UL, 59A, 59B, 59CH, 59K, 59N, 59R, 59S, 59UÇ, 62, 62G, 63, 64Ç, 65G, 121A, 121B, 121BS, 122B, 122C, 122D, 122Y, 251, 252, 256, 522, 522B, 522ST, 599C, 622, DT1, DT2, U1, U2UndergroundZincirlikuyu Cemetery・Büyükdere Avenue・Zorlu Center・ Zincirlikuyu İETT Platforms2Kâğıthane・ (planned)İETT Bus: 41ST, 46Ç, 46T, 48, 48H, 48N, 48T, 50D, 62, 63, 64Ç, 65A, 65G, K1, K2, K3, K4, TM3Kağıthane Creek・Kağıthane İETT Platforms3EyüpsultanİETT Bus: 48, 50G, H-2, TM4・(New) Istanbul University (Çapa) Medical Faculty Hospital・Hasdal Barracks4İETT Bus: 48, 48C, 48D, 48G, 48K, 48KA, 48L, 48P, 48R, 50G, TM4Kasımpaşa SK Kemerburgaz Facilities・Kemerburgaz City Forest・Consulate General of Turkmenistan5İETT Bus: 48K, 48KA, 48P, D2 (open only on summer)Istanbul Regional Directorate of Forestry Göktürk Nursery6İETT Bus: 48KA, 48M, 48PİBB Biomethanization Facility7Terminal 2Arnavutköy (İstanbul Airport)・ (İstanbul Airport High Speed Train Terminal)İETT Bus: H-1, H-2, H-3, H-6, H-7, H-8, H-9Station Not In Operation - Passing 8İstanbul Havalimanı (Airport)Istanbul Airport・Ali Kuşçu Mosque9Kargo Terminali (Cargo Terminal)Istanbul Airport・THY Cargo IGA Facilities10İETT Bus: 36AS, 36D, 36HT, 36YS, 336A, 336G, 336H, 336T, H-6Depot・Ministry of Forestry Plantation Site11İETT Bus: 36AS, 36AY, 36B, 36CB, 36D, 36HT, 36TC, 36Y, 36YS, 48KA, 48M, 336, 336A, 336G, 336H, 336K, 336M, 336MC, 336T, ARN1, H-6, MK22Arnavutköy State Hospital・Arnavutköy City Park・Arnavutköy İETT Platforms12BaşakşehirİETT Bus: 36B, 36CB, 36F, 36HT, 36TC, 36Y, 78B, 78C, 78E, 78F, 78FB, 78G, 78H, 78ZB, 78Ş, 79C, 79F, 79FY, 79GE, 79KM, 79KT, 79M, 98, 98KM, 146BA, 146F, 146K, 336, 336A, 336G, 336H, 336K, 336M, 336MC, 336T, H-6, MK31Ibn Haldun University Main Campus・Fenertepe İETT Platforms13 İETT Bus: 36F, 78E, 78F, 79F, 79FY, 79GE, 79KM, 79KT, 79M, 146BA, 146F, MK1, MK22Başakşehir National Garden14 İETT Bus: 36AS, 36AY, 36F, 76A, 79FY, 79K, 79Ş, 142E, 144M, 146A, 146T, HS1, MK2, MK11, MK12, MK13, MK14, MK15, MK16Atatürk Olympic Stadium・Olimpiyatköy İETT Platforms15Küçükçekmece (Atakent Mahallesi, under construction)İETT Bus: 76V, 78G, 78Ş, 89A, 89K, 98S, 141M, 89YB, HT1, HT2, KÇ2, MK31, MR40, MR50, MR51İBB Halkalı Football Stadium Sports Facilities・İstanbul Tema Hospital・Tema World Mall16 (Halkalı)・ (planned)İETT Bus: 79Y, 89A, 143, BN1, H-3, MR40, MR42, MR50, MR51TCDD Lodgings・Halkalı Customs Directorate・Halkalı Marmaray İETT Platforms
References
External links Istanbul Airport Metro Information