The Van—Sufian railway ( tr, Van-Sufian demiryolu, fa, راه آهن وان-صوفيان) is a long single track railway in eastern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and western

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. The railway begins at the Van Pier in

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

, on the eastern shore of

Lake Van Lake Van ( tr, Van Gölü; hy, Վանա լիճ, translit=Vana lič̣; ku, Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake ...

, and runs east to

Sufian Sufiyan ( fa, صوفيان; also Romanized as Şufīyān, Soofiyan, Şowfyān, and Sūfīyān) is a city and capital of Sufiyan District, in Shabestar County, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2016 census, its population was 9963, in 3273 fa ...

, where it connects to the Tabriz-Jolfa railway.

History

The oldest segment of the railway dates back to the early 20th century, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, when a branch railway was built from Sufian to

Sharafkhaneh Sharafkhaneh ( fa, شرفخانه; also Romanized as Sharafkhāneh, Sharifkhane, Sharifkhaneh, and Sheraf-Khane; also known as Bandar-e Sharafkhāneh) is a city in the Central District of Shabestar County, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Sharafkha ...

. The construction of a railway to Iran, via Van, was approved on 15 June 1937. The railway would continue east from

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

to Van and to the Iranian border at Kapıköy. Construction began shortly after and the railway reached Kurtalan in 1940. Due to the mountainous terrain between Kurtalan and

Tatvan Tatvan ( ) is a city on the western shore of Lake Van. It is the chief city of Tatvan District within Bitlis Province in eastern Turkey, and has about 96,000 inhabitants. The current Mayor is Mehmet Emin Geylani ( AKP). The district is fully Kurdi ...

, the route was changed and its western starting became

Elazığ Elazığ () is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, and the administrative centre of Elazığ Province and Elazığ District. It is located in the uppermost Euphrates valley. The plain on which the city extends has an altitude of . El ...

. From Elazığ the railway would be built to

, via

Muş Muş (; hy, Մուշ; ku, Mûş) is a city and the provincial capital of Muş Province in Turkey. Its population is mostly Kurds. Etymology Various explanations of the origin of Muş's name exist. Its name is sometimes associated with the Arme ...

, reaching Tuğ in 1964. A train ferry was established as a temporary means of transport between Tuğ and Van, as a bypass of Lake Van was planned. In the 1960s, Turkey and Iran came to an agreement to construct a railway from Van to Sharafkhaneh. CENTO sponsored a railway line, some of which was completed, to enable a rail connexion between

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

via

. The Van-Sufian railway from

in Turkey to

in Iran was completed and funded in large part by the Central Treaty Organisation (mainly the UK). The civil engineering was especially challenging because of the difficult terrain. Part of the route included a rail ferry across Lake Van with a terminal at

on the Western side of the lake. Notable features of the railway on the Iranian side included 125 bridges, among them the Towering Quotor span, measuring in length, spanning a gorge deep.Meklis, Y. Along the Path of a CENTO Railway: A Narrative with Text and Photographs Telling how Iran and Turkey, with the Support of CENTO Associates, are Repeating History by Linking Their Countries with a Modern Railway. CENTO Public Relations Division (1959?). https://books.google.com/books/about/Along_the_Path_of_a_CENTO_Railway.html?id=qEUYAAAAIAAJ&hl=en The Van-Razi segment opened in 1971, while the Razi-Sharafkhaneh segment opened in 1977.

Operations

The railway is used primarily for freight rail, although the

Iranian Railways , majoroperators =RAI, Tooka rail, Samand rail , ridership =21 million , passkm =13 billion , freight =31 million tonnes , tonkm =22 billion tonnes , infrastructure = , length = , doublelength = 142 ...

operates passenger trains between Salmas and Sufian. The last passenger rail service in Turkey was suspended in July 2015, due to safety concerns regarding the

Kurdish–Turkish conflict Kurdish nationalism, Kurdish nationalist uprisings have periodically occurred in Turkey, beginning with the Turkish War of Independence and the consequent transition from the Ottoman Empire to the modern Turkish state and continuing to the prese ...

. Prior to suspension of passenger rail, the Trans-Asian Express used the railway between 2001 and 2015 on its journey from

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, later

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

, to

. Other international trains were from Van to Tabriz and

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. The latter was cancelled after the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011. A daily regional train also operated between Van and Özalp until 2015. The line is used mostly for through-traffic since freight rail facilities are minimal. The largest railyard along the route is in Van, adjacent to the city's

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

. Other small yards/sidings are located at Kapıköy and Razi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Istanbul-Ankara Main Line Cross-border railway lines in Turkey Railway lines in Iran Standard gauge railways in Turkey Transport in Van Province Lake Van