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With approx. 12 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area, Istanbul is the biggest city in Turkey, mostly situated on the European continent. Traffic conditions in this densely populated city are getting worse while construction of a modern mass transit system is only progressing slowly.

The first underground line dates back to the 19th century. This is the funicular subway called "Tünel" which opened in 1875. Still today this short line (573 m) is an important means of urban transport as it surmounts a difference in altitude of 60 m. Trains operate every 3.5 minutes and a trip takes 1.5 minutes. The upper station is linked to Taksim Square by a vintage tram. In the 1990's also a modern tram line was put into service through the older parts of the city; this tram is gradually being extended to other parts of the city. Turkish State Railways operates a suburban service along the coast between Halkali and Sirkeci (30 km), and on the Asian side from Haydarpasa to Gebze in the south (42 km). Both suburban lines will be connected to the 14 km Bosphorus rail link in 2009.

Hafif Metro

In 1989 a light metro line (Hafif Metro - M1) was opened from Aksaray towards the western suburbs. Until 1995 it was extended to Yenibosna. After reaching the airport (Havaalani station) in 2002, it has a total length of 20 km with 18 stops. The line is totally segregated from other traffic without level crossings and runs underground for several km: (Aksaray - Ulubatli Topkapi, 3.1 km; Bakirköy - Bahçelievler, 1.8 km; Havaalani, 0.3 km. Platform length is 100 m.

Aksaray - Otogar: 8.9 km; Otogar - Havaalani: 11.5 km; Otogar - Esenler: 1.5 km

A second Hafif Metro line was opened in 2007, running from the edge of the old city towards the northern suburbs. The line is referred to as the Sultançiftligi-Edirnekapi line, it was initially 12.4 km long (with 5.8 km underground) and has some level crossings. Although it is officially classified as a 'tramway' (T4), it uses the same rolling stock as the Hafif Metro (M1). A 2.3 km extension was added in 2009, providing transfer to line M1 and the tramway.

Metro

Construction of the first full metro line (M2) started in 1991 and the first section between Taksim and 4 Levent opened after some delays in September 2000. All stations have escalators (of a total of 87 escalators, 16 are at Taksim) and an elevator to provide full accessibility for the disabled. Initially there were 8 French-built 4-car trains in service (GEC-Alsthom). The metro was built by the cut-and-cover method to withstand earthquakes of up to magnitude 9. Stations look similar, although a different colour was chosen for each of them. Platform length is 180 m. Total length of the metro line is 8 km with 6 stations. Track gauge on all different rail systems is 1435 mm.

The first sections of a long-planned extension finally opened in January 2009, bringing the total length of the line to 15 km. The northeastern extension is 5.5 km long and includes three new stations, whereas the 1.6 km from Taksim to Sishane is only the initial section of the route planned to reach the Yenikapi interchange.

Photos © Javier Martínez Cuevas

Hafif Metro:
3 Sept. 1989 - Aksaray - Kartaltepe
18 Dec. 1989 - Esenler
31 Jan. 1994 - Otogar - Zeytinburnu
7 March 1994 - Zeytinburnu - Bakirköy
25 Aug. 1995 - Yenibosna
15 Jan. 1999 - Bahçelievler station added
20 Dec. 2002 - Yenibosna - Havaalani (Airport)

10 Sept. 2007 - Sehitlik - Mescid-i Selam (T4)
18 March 2009 - Sehitlik - Topkapi (T4)

Metro M2
16 Sept. 2000 - Taksim - 4 Levent
30 Jan. 2009 - 4 Levent - Atatürk Oto Sanayi
30 Jan. 2009 - Taksim - Sishane

FUNICULAR:
29 June 2006: Taksim - Kabatas (0.6 km)

 Projects

Under construction:

METRO:
Sishane - Yenikapi: across the Golden Horn on a bridge and underground through the old city

HAFIF METRO:
Aksaray - Yenikapi 0.7 km
Esenler - Bagcilar 5 km
Kadiköy - Kartal 22 km; on Asian side

BOSPHORUS RAIL LINK 'MARMARAY':
In May 2004, construction of a long planned underwater Bosphorus rail crossing, referred to as 'Marmaray' began. The project includes a 13.3 km Istanbul Strait crossing and the upgrade of 63 km of suburban lines to create a 76.3 km high capacity line between Gebze and Halkali. The Istanbul Strait crossing will be done by a 1.8 km earthquake-proof immersed tube, assembled from 18 sections. This tube will be accessed by bored tunnels from Yenikapi on the European side and Sogutlucesme on the Asian side of Istanbul. Intermediate stations will be built at Sirkeci and Uskudar. An interchange station with Istanbul metro and light rail will be built at Yenikapi. The upgrade of the suburban lines requires the laying of a third track along most of the way to increase the line capacity up to 75,000 passengers per hour in each direction. Signaling must also be modernized to allow 2 minutes headway service. The 41 stations along the line will be refurbished and the platform lengthened to 180 m. The rail tunnel will be used both by suburban and long-distance services.

Planned extensions:

METRO:
Yenikapi - Bagcilar - Basaksehir 20 km
Otogar - Besiktas 13.5 km (Linear Metro due to steep gradients)

HAFIF METRO:
Bakirköy - Beylikdüzü 21 km
Üsküdar - Ümraniye - Dudullu 17 km
Ümraniye - Göztepe 5 km
Kartal - Hava Alani 9.6 km

MONORAIL: Bakirköy - Incirli 3.4 km (western suburbs)

06:00 - 24:00
Metro every 4 minutes during peak hours, every 6-15 min at other times.
Hafif Metro every 5 minutes during peak hours and every 7.5-15 min at other times.

- FARES (2009)

Basic fare - 1.40 YTL if paid with tokens, or 1.30 YTL with Akbil smartcard

Tünel - 0.90 YTL

Istanbul Ulasim Metro Operator Official Page incl. Map

IETT - Tünel and Tram Operator

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality

Marmaray Project

Tünel