Yüksek Hızlı Tren
Ahigh-speed train set in Ankara.
Overview
Service type	High-speed rail
Status	Operating
Locale	Northwest, CentralAnatolia
Predecessor	Mavi Tren Başkent Ekspresi Anadolu Ekspresi Meram Ekspresi Ankara Express Cumhuriyet Ekspresi
First service	13 March 2009
Current operator	TCDD Taşımacılık
Former operator	Turkish State Railways
Ridership	12.4 million (2024)[1]
Route
Termini	Ankara Istanbul orKaraman orSivas
Distance travelled	1,385 km (860.6 mi)
Average journey time	1 hour, 50 minutes[2]
Service frequency	15x Daily (Ankara-Istanbul) 6x Westbound 3x Eastbound(Ankara-Eskisehir) 4x Daily (Ankara-Konya) 4x Daily (Istanbul-Konya) 2x Daily (Ankara-Karaman) 2x Daily (Ankara-Sivas) 1x Daily (Istanbul-Karaman 1x Daily (Istanbul-Sivas)
On-board services
Classes	First, business and economy class
Disabled access	Fully accessible
Catering facilities	On-board café, and at-seat meals (depending on the route)
Entertainment facilities	On-board television with feature films
Baggage facilities	Checked baggage available at selected stations
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge
Electrification	25 kV 50 Hz AC
Operating speed	300 km/h (186 mph) maximum[3]
Track owner	Turkish State Railways
Route map Legend Station Dist. (km) Dist. (km) Station Kapıkule (2024) Edirne (2024) Babaeski (2024) Lüleburgaz (2024) Büyükkarıştıran (2024) Çerkezköy (2024) Çatalca (2020s) 579 Halkalı 565 Bakırköy Istanbul Airport (2020s) Marmaray Tunnel YSS Bridge Haydarpaşa 545 Söğütlüçeşme 537 Bostancı İzmir Gökçen Airport (2020s) 522 Pendik Otogar 502 Gebze Menemen Manisa 455 İzmit 423 Sapanca Turgutlu 415 Arifiye Salihli 381 Pamukova Bandırma Karacabey Bursa Yenişehir Airport Yenişehir Uşak 330 Bilecik 296 Bozüyük Afyon Afyon YHT Emirdağ 246 Eskişehir Selçuklu 310 90 Polatlı Konya 314 25 Sincan (2009-18) Çumra 358 21 Eryaman Karaman 416 0 Ankara Ereğli 12 Kayaş Ulukışla 35 Elmadağ Pozantı 76 Kırıkkale Mersin Tarsus 169 Yerköy Yenice Adana Şefaatli Ceyhan Yenifakılı Toprakkale Himmetdede Osmaniye Boğazköprü Bahçe Kayseri Nurdağ Tunnel 204 Yozgat Nurdağ 234 Sorgun Başpınar 298 Akdağmadeni Gaziantep 360 Yıldızeli Sivas YHT 407 406 Sivas Zara İmranlı Kemah Erzincan Erzurum Kars

Yüksek Hızlı Tren orYHT (English:High Speed Train) is a high-speed rail service operated byTCDD Transport inTurkey.^[4] 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 1,385 km (860.6 mi) and serves major cities likeIstanbul,Ankara,Eskişehir,İzmit,Konya, andSivas. Expansion of the system is underway and the network is expected to reachEdirne,Afyonkarahisar,Adana, andİzmir 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 theAnkara-Istanbul high-speed railway began. The first section was completed in 2007, between Eskişehir and Esenkent with passenger operations beginning on 13 March 2009 between Eskişehir and Ankara. On 23 August 2011, theTurkish State Railways inaugurated itssecond high-speed railway to Konya and on 25 July 2014, the railway was opened to Istanbul.^[5] The State Railways have integrated the YHT network with other projects done in major urban areas. In Ankara, the route was expanded from three tracks to five tracks to allow for frequentBaşkentray commuter rail service, along with a newhigh-speed rail concourse atAnkara station. In Istanbul, YHT trains use theMarmaray Tunnel to traverse theBosphorus Strait and reach theEuropean side of the city.

YHT trains run on both dedicated high-speed railways, as well as existing conventional railways that have been upgraded to allow speeds of 200 km/h (124 mph) and 160 km/h (99 mph) respectively. The latest expansion of the network happened on 26 April 2023, with a 406 km (252 mi) expansion from Ankara to Sivas, along the newly builtAnkara-Sivas high-speed railway.

Istanbul andAnkara areTurkey's largest two cities, having a combined population over 20 million. Transportation demand between the two cities is expectedly high. TheOtoyol 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 533 km (331 mi) line between the two cities. The line would be an electrifieddouble trackline. Construction began in 2004 from Esenkent to Eskişehir. The line was completed on 23 April 2007.^[6]

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 withTrenitalia ofFerrovie dello Stato to rent anETR 500 train set for 4 months for testing the system.^[6][7]

The first run was fromHaydarpaşa Terminal in Istanbul to theCentral 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 303 km/h (188.3 mph).^[8] This test received extensivemedia coverage in Turkey.

On 20 November 2007 the firstTCDD HT65000 high-speed train sets purchased fromCAF of Spain entered Turkey from theKapıkule border station inEdirne,^[9] 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.^[10] 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 theMediterranean Sea andthe Americas in the early 16th century.^[10]

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) andYıldırım (Lightning). TCDD choseYüksek Hızlı Tren to be the name of the service.^[11]

On 13 March 2009, the inauguration ceremony took place in Ankara; attended by PresidentAbdullah Gül, Prime MinisterRecep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Minister of TransportBinali Yıldırım, who started the first phase of the YHT service running between Ankara andEskişehir.

Until 2015, ridership had grown at the expense of TCDD's regular train services and has not dented air traffic demand.^{[citation needed]} Total TCDD services including HSR remain flat.^[12] 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.^{[13][needs update]}

As of 2024, there are four lines in operation:Ankara-Istanbul,Polatlı-Konya,Konya-Karaman, andAnkara-Sivas.

Turkey's high-speed rail network is expanding, with three more high-speed railways under construction and several more planned. The Turkish State Railways plans to increase its network of high-speed rail to 3,500 km (2,200 mi) by 2023.

TheMarmaray project, which consists of a rail transport network around Istanbul and the world's deepestimmersed tube railway tunnel under theBosphorus strait, is also under construction. The Marmaray tunnel will connect the railway lines on the European and Asian parts of Istanbul and Turkey. In 2013 the Marmaray tunnel was opened and passenger transportation is started partially in 13.5 km of total 76.5 km.^[15] The rest was expected to be completed by 2015, but it now looks like this will not happen until some time in 2016.The project connecting theEuropean andAsian suburban railway lines, will also connect the Thracian and Anatolian high-speed railway lines in Turkey via the world's deepest immersed-tube railway tunnel under theBosporus.^[16]

A new high-speed rail terminus station is to be built in Ankara (2009–2010), which is to be funded as apublic–private partnership, using theBuild-Operate-Transfer model. Additionally, new stations are to be constructed in İstanbul, Izmir, Edirne, Trabzon, Erzurum, Erzincan, Sivas, Kayseri, Antalya, Afyon, and Polatlı.^[17]Furthermore, an additional project calledBaşkentray is also underway which consist of the renewal of railways in the urban section ofAnkara.

The YHT operates at a maximum speed of 300 km/h (186 mph)^[3][18] on high-speed tracks. But the YHT also runs on non-high-speed and renewed tracks like the Köseköy-Gebze section of theAnkara–Istanbul high-speed railway where its top speed is 160 km/h (99 mph). Naturally, some speed restrictions also apply in urban sections while accessing the central station, especially inAnkara andIstanbul thus increasing journey times. The speed on these sections is expected to increase once renewal projects in urban areas (like Başkentray and second phase ofMarmaray) are completed.

On YHT service, there is usually one train engineer (two on some trains), a train manager (absent in some trips), two train attendants and a café car attendant. Business-class passengers are served meals at their seats if they applied for while buying their tickets. When accessing the trains, passengers must pass a security check like in airports. Maintenance of the sets is done at the Eryaman Yard in Ankara.

Currently, there are several series of high-speed trains that run the YHT service:

• TCDD HT65000, manufactured byCAF.
• TCDD HT80000, manufactured bySiemens, marketed globally under the brandSiemens Velaro. Turkey also signed contract for ten more Velaro trains. With this contract, the Turkish Velaro fleet will grow to 17 trains.^[19]

Every set hasrailroad cars with cabins in the front and rear car, cars for economy class passengers and car(s) for first class passengers. Additionally, someHT80000 sets have business class cabins with 4 seats. The seating arrangements are 3 seats in a row (1 on one side, 2 on the other side) in first class and 4 seats in a row (2 on each side) in economy class.Automatic sliding doors provide passage between cars. Baggage may be stowed in the overhead compartments above the seats, or underneath the seats.Wi-Fi service is available with power inputs for laptops in first and business classes and all sets arewheelchair-accessible (with places in economy class only).In economy class, seats are fabric-coated and haveaudio connectors and foldable tables. In first class, there are leather-coated seats and a visual and audio broadcasting system that can broadcast at least 4 hours on 4 different channels.

• TGV
• AVE
• Intercity Express
• Le Frecce
• High-speed rail in Turkey
• List of high-speed railway lines

• TCDD Official SiteArchived 22 February 2011 at theWayback Machine (In Turkish)
• TCDD English SiteArchived 26 February 2012 at theWayback Machine

• Named passenger trains of Turkey
• High-speed trains of Turkey
• TCDD Taşımacılık
• Passenger trains running at least at 250 km/h in commercial operations

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