Turkish State Railways in Turkey
 

Turkish State Railways (TCDD, DDY) trains are useful, and even the best way to travel in Turkey on some routes (especially the sleeping car trains).

Here are the cities served by trains in Turkey:

(Haydarpasa = Istanbul; Basmane = Izmir). Go to each city's page for information on trains serving that city.

Foremost is the Istanbul - Ankara route. Intercity trains between Istanbul (Haydarpasa) and Ankara, and between Izmir (Basmane) and Ankara, are relatively fast, comfortable, and moderately priced, and the train-&-ferry service between Istanbul and Izmir is also useful.

You can even take the train between Istanbul and Sofia, Bulgaria; Thessaloniki, Greece; Teheran, Iran; and Damascus, Syria, although the bus is usually faster and safer (though not cheaper).

Bus travel is faster than the train on most routes, however, and twice as fast on some routes.

Note there is no train service to Bodrum, Antalya, Alanya, or indeed to any point along the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts between Izmir and Mersin. Nor is there any service to the eastern Black Sea coast.

Please read this safety notice about sleeping car travel.

Note that you cannot break your journey and re-use the same ticket. You must either buy a separate ticket for each portion of your journey, or you must buy a monthly rail pass called a Train Tour Card.

The Turkish State Railways website used to be quite useful, but in 2007 they "improved" it so that now it is much more difficult to use (sigh).

BEST TURKISH TRAINS

Istanbul - Ankara: fast, comfortable and cheap. The trip takes 5 to 9+ hours depending on the train, and costs US$7 to US$17 per person, one-way.

Sleeping Car Trains: most comfortable, best value.

Istanbul - Edirne: once traveled by the fabled Orient Express connecting Paris and Constantinople, this European route is now better served by bus. Yes, you can take one of several daily trains between Istanbul and Edirne, but bus service is much faster and more convenient.

Istanbul - Izmir: the 6 Eylül Ekspresi (September 6th Express) is the best train on this route, making the 342-km (212-mile) run between Bandirma and Izmir, in 5-1/4 hours. It's coordinated with the IDO fast ferry route between Bandirma and Istanbul, making the total journey time under eight hours.

The afternoon 17 Eylül Ekspresi does not have the same close coordination with the ferries.

Ankara to Izmir Trains
Three good expresses, all at night.

Discounts and monthly passes can save you money on train travel costs.

Source : http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/trans/Train/index.html