Record rail passenger numbers during Eid al-Adha holiday in Türkiye: Over 7.5M transported
Ankara-Sivas High-Speed Train (YHT) Line, Sivas, Türkiye, Jan. 25, 2021 (AA Photos)
Turkish Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu reported that 7,519,428 passengers were transported via railway over the Eid al-Adha holidays from June 14-22.
Uraloglu provided a written statement regarding the usage data of high-speed trains (YHT) and urban rail systems operated by the Ministry during the Eid holidays. He highlighted measures taken to meet the increased travel demands of citizens during this period.
Additional services and free urban rail travel
To accommodate increased travel demand during Eid, additional trips and extra carriages were introduced on high-speed trains, mainline, and regional trains. Uraloglu also mentioned that urban rail systems, including Marmaray, Baskentray, Izban, and various metro lines, offered free services throughout the holiday.
Increased capacity on the Ankara-Istanbul and Ankara-Konya routes were achieved with the addition of extra YHT sets, providing an additional capacity of 9,660 passengers. “Our YHT services transported 326,819 passengers from June 14-22, with a record of 39,962 passengers on June 14,” Uraloglu noted.
Enhanced comfort and capacity on mainline and regional trains
Uraloglu emphasized that the renewal of rail infrastructure has increased travel comfort on mainline trains. Additional carriages on mainline and regional trains provided 15,800 extra seats. Various mainline express trains, including Izmir Mavi, Dogu, Guney-Vangolu, and others, were supplemented with pullman and sleeping carriages, adding 280 carriages in total, and increasing passenger capacity by 15,800.
During the specified dates, 327,980 passengers traveled on these trains. Additionally, urban rail systems in Istanbul, such as Marmaray, Halkali-Bahcesehir, Sirkeci-Kazlicesme, and Gayrettepe-Istanbul Airport-Arnavutkoy lines, transported 4,433,952 passengers.
Significant use of urban rail systems in Istanbul
Marmaray, which connects the two sides of Istanbul by rail, served 4,152,909 passengers on the Gebze-Halkali route from June 14-22. Uraloglu added, “The Sirkeci-Kazlicesme line was used by 69,290 passengers, and the Gayrettepe-Istanbul Airport-Arnavutkoy line by 211,753 passengers. Thus, 4,433,952 citizens benefited from the urban railway in Istanbul operated by the State Railways of the Republic of Türkiye (TCDD) General Directorate under our Ministry.”
Providing information about Baskentray, which serves the Kayas-Sincan route, Uraloglu stated:
“Baskentray, which passes through the heart of Ankara and connects significant residential areas in the east and west, is integrated with other public transportation systems and YHT services. Consequently, Baskentray, which was free during the holiday, was used by 492,013 passengers. Izban was also heavily utilized during the holiday, with 1,938,664 passengers traveling from June 14-22.”
