Type Heavy rail Status Operational Stations 11 Owner Turkish State Railways | System Turkish State Railways Locale Çukurova Opened August 2, 1886 | |
Terminis Mersin railway station, Mersin, Adana railway station, Adana | ||
The Adana - Mersin Main Line is a 67 km (41 miles) long double track rail line from the Adana Railway Station in Adana to the Mersin Railway Station in Mersin. The line passes through the city of Tarsus and has branch lines to the Port of Mersin. The line is one of the busiest rail lines in Turkey with 57 passenger trains and about 20 freight trains daily.
MTA
On January 20, 1883, the Ottoman Government gave a concession to develop railways in Cilicia to two Turkish men. But they could not proceed alone so they sold a part of their rights to a group of English and French investors. This action led to establishment of the Mersin – Tarsus – Adana Railway (MTA), a French company headquartered in London. The line was quickly constructed and completed in 1886 with the line opening on August 2, 1886.
In 1896 the Turkish men sold all their rights to the company, making the MTA fully foreign owned. In 1906 the Deutsche Bank bought the line from the French company. After World War I and the Turkish Independence War, the line was still owned by the Deutsche Bank. On January 1, 1929 the line met the same fate as the Chemins de Fer Ottomans d'Anatolie (CFOA) and was nationalized. It became part of the Chemins de fer d'Anatolie Baghdad Railway, which was a part of the Turkish State Railways (TCDD). TCDD operates the line to this day.
The MTA terminal station in Adana was abandoned by the Baghdad railway which built its own station further north.