Istanbul City Guide - Getting There By Rail

Turkish State Railways (TCDD) (tel: 444 8233; website: www.tcdd.gov.tr) operates the national railway network, with rolling stock that is often slow and lacking air conditioning, although cheap. There are two stations in Istanbul - Sirkeci Station, Ankara Caddesi, near Eminönü on the European side (tel: (0212) 527 0050), and Haydarpasa Station, Haydarpasa Istasyon Caddesi, near Kadiköy on the Asian side (tel: (0216) 336 0475/2063). Both stations are equipped with restaurants, newspaper kiosks and waiting rooms.

Rail services: Trains bound for Sofia, Belgrade, Bucharest and Budapest (with transfers to Munich and Vienna) leave from Sirkeci Station, departing in the evening. Trains for Turkish destinations (Asian side) leave from Haydarpasa Station. There are express trains between major Turkish cities but cheaper rural routes can be painfully slow and crowded. There are several services to Ankara, the quickest being the Baskent Express (journey time - 6 hours 30 minutes). There are also daily trains to Izmir (journey time - 6 hours), Gaziantep (journey time - 27 hours) and Denizli (journey time - 15 hours).