The first service of the Istanbul-Sivas high-speed train line commenced today, departing from Söğütlüçeşme Station in Istanbul.
The launch was celebrated with a ceremony attended by Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Osman Boyraz, the General Manager of TCDD Transportation Ufuk Yalçın, and other notable political figures.
In his speech, Boyraz highlighted the historical and strategic significance of railways in Turkey. He emphasized their role in bridging Asia and Europe, from China to London, through the Middle Corridor.
Since 2002, Turkey has treated rail development as a state policy, investing $57 billion over 22 years. This has significantly expanded and modernized the country’s rail network.
Boyraz noted that they first launched the Ankara-Eskişehir High-Speed Train Line in 2009, followed by the Ankara-Konya and Ankara-Istanbul lines, and most recently on April 26, 2023, they opened the Ankara-Sivas High-Speed Train Line.
He explained that this new line reduced the distance between Ankara and Sivas from 603 kilometers to 405 kilometers, and travel time from 12 hours to just 2 hours.
With the integration of the cities of Kırıkkale, Yozgat, and Sivas into the Ankara-centered main high-speed train network, approximately 1.3 million residents of these provinces now have access to high-speed train travel.
The Istanbul-Sivas route, now operable in just over seven hours, represents a significant reduction in travel time, offering a fast and comfortable journey for nearly 1.3 million residents of the connected regions.
The General Manager of TCDD Transportation, Yalçın, stated that over a million people have benefited from the Ankara-Sivas high-speed train to date.
“With the support of our Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, we have launched the Istanbul-Sivas high-speed train, which will complete its inaugural journey today. The Istanbul-Sivas route will be covered in 7 hours and 18 minutes, and the Sivas-Istanbul route in 7 hours and 8 minutes.”
The Istanbul-Sivas High-Speed Train Line will be operated using sets with a capacity of 483 passengers.
The express, non-stop high-speed train departed from Istanbul at 08:40 and will arrive in Sivas at 15:58. Trains leaving Sivas at 13:00 will reach Istanbul at 20:08.
The journey from Istanbul to Sivas will take 7 hours and 18 minutes, while the return from Sivas to Istanbul will take 7 hours and 8 minutes.
The express high-speed trains will make stops at Yozgat, Kırıkkale, Ankara, Eskişehir, Arifiye, and Pendik between Sivas and Istanbul.
