Istanbul-Pythio railway

İstanbul-Pythio railway

Pythio station.
Overview
Type Heavy rail
System Turkish State Railways
Status Operational
Locale Thrace
Termini Sirkeci Terminal, Turkey
Pythio railway station (Greek: Σταθμός Πυθίου Stathmos Pythiou), Greece
Operation
Opened 4 April 1873
Owner TCDD
Technical
Line length 281.4 km (174.9 mi)
No. of tracks Double Track (Sirkeci-Halkalı)
single track (Halkalı-Demirköprü)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in) standard gauge
Electrification 25 kV (Istanbul-Pehlivanköy)
Operating speed 100 km/h (62 mph)
Route map
Legend
Distance Station
0 km (0 mi) Istanbul
12.6 km (8 mi) Bakırköy
27.6 km (17 mi) Halkalı
38.1 km (24 mi) Ispartakule
44.6 km (28 mi) Deliklikaya
46.1 km (29 mi) Ömerli
49.4 km (31 mi) Yeşilbayır
Hezarfen airport
61.6 km (38 mi) Çatalca
65.2 km (41 mi) Gökçeali
71.8 km (45 mi) İnceğiz
74.4 km (46 mi) Kabakça
86.4 km (54 mi) Kurfallı
104.6 km (65 mi) Çayırdere
Istanbul/Tekirdağ
114.7 km (71 mi) Çerkezköy
133.5 km (83 mi) Kızılpınar
141.6 km (88 mi) Velimeşe
153.8 km (96 mi) Çorlu
164.5 km (102 mi) Sarılar
169.5 km (105 mi) Balabanlı
182 km (113 mi) Muratlı
Tekirdağ branch
Tekirdağ/Kırklareli
195.1 km (121 mi) Seyitler
199.2 km (124 mi) Kayabeyli
204.3 km (127 mi) Ovacık
208.9 km (130 mi) Müsellimköy
212.7 km (132 mi) Lüleburgaz
229.3 km (142 mi) Alpullu
235 km (146 mi) Mandıra
Kırklareli branch
243 km (151 mi) Doğanca
250.7 km (156 mi) Pehlivanköy
Kırklareli/Edirne
Edirne Cut-off
271.3 km (169 mi) Uzunköprü
279.3 km (174 mi) Demirköprü
Turkey/Greece
Alexandroupoli–Svilengrad railway
281.1 km (175 mi) Pythio
Alexandroupoli–Svilengrad railway

The İstanbul-Pythio railway is the main railway line in Eastern Thrace and is the Turkish State Railways trunk line to Europe. It was built in 1873 as part of the Chemins de fer Orientaux main line between İstanbul and Belgrade.[1] It is 281.4 km (174.9 mi) long. The line is Turkey's only railway connecting to Europe and is an important freight corridor for the country.

When it was opened the line fell entirely within the Ottoman Empire. However after World War I, a new border was established between Greece and Turkey. The line from Pythio to Edirne fell within Greek territory, and only the İstanbul-Demirköprü section still remained in Turkish territory. In 1971, the State railways built a new line from Pehlivanköy to the Bulgarian border at Kapıkule, bypassing Greek territory.

The original line to Pythio is still used for connections to Greece.

Due to construction of the Marmaray commuter rail system in Istanbul as well as the rehabilitation of the eastern part of the railway, service between Çerkezköy and Istanbul is temporarily suspended.

References

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