Turkey provides free rail travel on July 15 Democracy and Unity Day
On 15 July 2026, Turkey’s President signed a decree making selected urban rail lines free of charge for the day. Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu announced that the following lines will operate without fare: Marmaray; the Sirkeci‑Kazlıçeşme rail system; the Gayrettepe‑İstanbul Airport‑Arnavutköy metro; Ankara’s Başkentray; and İzmir’s İZBAN. The same decree also extends the existing free‑fare policy on the newly opened Halkalı‑Arnavutköy metro line through 31 July 2026.
The free‑service applies only to the rail lines owned by the Ministry of Transport; city‑run bus networks such as İstanbul’s İETT, Ankara’s EGO and İzmir’s ESHOT have not yet received official confirmation and are awaiting statements from their respective municipalities. The measure is intended to facilitate travel to the 15 July Democracy and National Unity Day commemorations and to ease congestion on the day’s events.