Eskişehir‑İstanbul High‑Speed Train marks 12 years with 62.9 million passengers
Turkey’s Eskişehir‑İstanbul high‑speed train (YHT) line celebrated its 12th anniversary. Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu reported that the route has carried a total of 62.9 million passengers since it opened for passenger service on 27 July 2014.
The line serves five provinces—Eskişehir, Bilecik, Sakarya, Kocaeli and Istanbul—providing direct high‑speed rail access to more than 20 million residents. It runs 44 trips daily, with an average of 25 730 passengers per day. In 2025 the line transported 9.1 million riders, and in 2026 it has already served about 5.3 million.
Uraloğlu highlighted that the Eskişehir‑İstanbul corridor has become the backbone of Turkey’s high‑speed rail network. After its launch, the same route enabled the opening of additional services: Konya‑İstanbul in the same year, Karaman‑İstanbul in 2022 and Sivas‑İstanbul in 2024. A forthcoming superspeed‑train project aims to cut travel time between Ankara and Istanbul to roughly 80 minutes, further expanding the country’s rail capabilities.
Entities: Abdulkadir Uraloğlu · Eskişehir‑İstanbul YHT line · Konya‑İstanbul YHT route · Sivas‑İstanbul YHT route · Turkey
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 10 SOURCES] The line opened for passenger service on 27 July 2014. (Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu)
- [● 10 SOURCES] In 2026, about 5.3 million passengers have used the line. (Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu)
- [● 10 SOURCES] The line connects five provinces—Eskişehir, Bilecik, Sakarya, Kocaeli and Istanbul—and serves over 20 million people. (Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu)
- [● 10 SOURCES] The Eskişehir‑İstanbul line became the backbone of Turkey’s high‑speed rail network, enabling later routes such as Konya‑İstanbul (2014), Karaman‑İstanbul (2022) and Sivas‑İstanbul (2024). (Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu)
- [● 10 SOURCES] In 2025, 9.1 million passengers used the line. (Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu)
- [● 10 SOURCES] The Eskişehir‑İstanbul YHT line has carried a total of 62.9 million passengers since opening. (Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu)
- [● 10 SOURCES] The line carries an average of 25 730 passengers per day. (Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu)
- [● 10 SOURCES] The line operates 44 trips per day. (Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu)