The Taurus Express ( tr, Toros Ekspresi) is a passenger train operating daily between

Konya Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it D ...

and

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana Province, Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart ...

. In the past it was a premier overnight passenger train operated by Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits between İstanbul and

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

. After 1972, passengers could travel down to

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...

via connection to the Express 2 made at

Baghdad Central Station Baghdad Central Station is the main train station in Baghdad. It links the rail network to the south and the north of Iraq. The station was built by the British to designs by J. M. Wilson, a Scot who had been an assistant to Lutyens in New Delhi a ...

. However, service was suspended in 2003, due to the outbreak of war in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. In 2012, the State Railways renewed service between Eskişehir and Adana and will once again service İstanbul when track work in the city is complete. There is a chance that the train may continue to its former terminus in Baghdad in the future, but the possibility remains low for the time being.

History

Poster for railways CIWL Orient-Express and Taurus Express.">Orient-Express.html" ;"title="CIWL Orient-Express">CIWL Orient-Express and Taurus Express. The Taurus Express ran for the first time on 15 February 1930. However, at that time, passengers had to transfer to a motor coach provided by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits for the stage of the journey between Nusaybin and Kirkuk. From Kirkuk, the journey was continued on the meter-gauge railway to Baghdad. In 1939, this service was running three times a week from Istanbul to Baghdad, with connections to Teheran and to Cairo.''

Cook's Continental Timetable The ''European Rail Timetable'', more commonly known by its former names, the ''Thomas Cook European Timetable'', the ''Thomas Cook Continental Timetable'' or simply ''Cook's Timetable'', is an international timetable of selected passenger rail ...

'', August 1939. With the completion of the Baghdad Railway, the first continuous rail journey of the Taurus Express departed from Haydarpaşa Terminal in Istanbul on July 17, 1940, and arrived at

on July 20, 1940. The Taurus Express originally ran on tracks owned by the Turkish State Railways, Southern Railways, Northern Syria & Cilician Railways and the

Iraqi State Railways Iraqi Republic Railways Company (IRR; ar, الشركة العامة لسكك الحديد العراقية) is the national railway operator in Iraq. Network IRR comprises of . IRR has one international interchange, with Chemins de Fer Syrien ...

. The Turkish State Railways acquired the Southern Railways in 1948 and the

Syrian Railways General Establishment of Syrian Railways ( ar, المؤسسة العامة للخطوط الحديدية, french: Chemins de fer syriens, CFS) is the national railway operator for the state of Syria, subordinate to the Ministry of Transportation. ...

acquired the Northern Syria & Cilician Railways in 1965. The train ran twice weekly but after 1972 it ran weekly.

Consist

The consist of the first Taurus Express was this: *TCDD Steam Loco 3688 *TCDD Baggage Car *CIWL Sleeping Car *CIWL Sleeping Car *TCDD Coach *TCDD Coach *TCDD Baggage Car After 1972 the diesel locomotives were the main power and the consists from 1972 to 2003 were like this: *IRR DEM 2000 Locomotive (Baghdad-Karkamış) *TCDD DE 24000 Locomotive (Karkamış-İstanbul) *TCDD Postage Car *TCDD Sleeping Car *TCDD Couchette Car *TCDD Coach *TCDD Baggage Car

In popular culture

The Taurus Express is featured in

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

's crime novel '' Murder on the Orient Express'' (1934). While the main body of the story takes place on another of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits trains, the Simplon-Orient Express, the opening chapter of the book takes place on the Taurus Express.

References

External links

illustrated description of the route and a journey from Haydarpasa station to Basra
Toros Ekspresi
{{TCDD Routes Named passenger trains of Turkey Rail transport in Iraq Rail transport in Syria International named passenger trains Iraq–Turkey relations Night trains