Type Heavy rail Status Operational Line length 281.4 km (174.9 mi) Locale Thrace | System Turkish State Railways Opened 4 April 1873 Owner Turkish State Railways | |
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Number of tracks Double track (Sirkeci-Halkalı)
single track (Halkalı-Demirköprü) Electrification 25 kV AC railway electrification (Istanbul-Pehlivanköy) Terminis İstanbul Sirkeci Terminal, Greece | ||
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. 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.