The Aegean Express, numbered as B31 ( tr, Ege Ekspresi), is a passenger train operating daily between Basmane railway station in

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban aggl ...

Eskişehir Eskişehir ( , ; from "old" and "city") is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 898,369 with a metropolitan population of 797,708. The city is located on the banks of the ...

. The train operates as a local service on the route, calling at more stations than its counterpart, the Karesi Express; which also operates between İzmir and Balıkesir. Originally the train operated between İzmir and

, via Balıkesir and Kütahya, as a daily inter-city train. The route was then changed to

Afyon Afyonkarahisar (, tr, afyon "poppy, opium", ''kara'' "black", ''hisar'' "fortress") is a city in western Turkey, the capital of Afyon Province. Afyon is in the mountainous countryside inland from the Aegean coast, south-west of Ankara along t ...

, also via Balıkesir and Kütahya and in 2013 it was shortened to a

regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

train service between İzmir and Balıkesir. Then re-extended to

Overview

The northbound ''Aegean Express'' departs İzmir in the morning at 6:45, arriving at Eskişehir at 17:13; while the southbound train departs Eskişehir at 8:30 and arrives in İzmir at 19:08. The train mainly services small towns and villages along the Manisa-Bandırma railway.

History

The direct predecessor of the Aegean Express was the Aegean Mototren, which operated between İzmir and Ankara between 1951 and 1978. The ''Aegean Express'' was one of four daily trains operating between İzmir and Eskişehir. Out of these four trains, the ''Agean Express'' operated during the day, while the other three trains, '' Karesi Express'', ''

9th of September Express The 9th of September Express ( tr, 9 Eylül Ekspresi) was an overnight train, operated by the Turkish State Railways, from Basmane Terminal, İzmir to Ankara Central Station, Ankara. The name of the service refers to 9 September 1922, the date on w ...

'' and the '' İzmir Blue Train'', operated overnight and continued east from Eskişehir to

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 ...

. Scheduled departure from

Basmane Terminal Basmane railway station ( tr, Basmane Garı) is an intercity and regional railway terminal and rapid transit station in İzmir, Turkey. Along with Alsancak station, Basmane is one of two railway terminals in the city. All TCDD Taşımacılık t ...

in İzmir was at 6:45 and scheduled arrival in

was at 18:25 while scheduled departure from Eskişehir was at 7:30 and scheduled arrival in İzmir was at 18:49, however the Aegean Express is famous for its delays and would arrive on average at its final destination 78 minutes late. Service to Basmane Terminal was suspended on 3 March 2006 due to the construction of the

Karşıyaka tunnel Karşıyaka () is a district of İzmir Province in Turkey. The district extends for twelve kilometres along the northern and eastern coastline of the tip of the Gulf of İzmir. Its centre is at a distance of to the north from the traditional cen ...

. The ''Aegean Express'' terminated at

Çiğli Çiğli (''Silleon'' in Greek) is a metropolitan district of İzmir in western Turkey. It covers the northern end of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality around the mouth of the River Gediz, across the Gulf of İzmir from the main city. The Gediz de ...

( from Basmane Terminal), along with other trains from the north, and connection to railway stations in the city were offered by

ESHOT Elektrik Su Havagazı Otobüs Troleybüs ( en, Electricity, Water, Coal Gas, Bus, Trolleybus) or ESHOT is a bus service operating in the İzmir. ESHOT, along with İZULAŞ are the two main bus transit service in İzmir. Buses serve all districts, ...

replacement bus service. In early-2008 the İzmir terminus was pushed further north to Ulukent. During this period, trains would layover at

Menemen Menemen is a district of İzmir Province in Turkey and its central town. The district extends on a fertile plain formed by the alluvial soil carried by the Gediz River. Adjacent districts are, from east to west; Aliağa and Foça to the north and ...

. Due to the rehabilitation of the Eskişehir-Konya railway, the ''Aegean Express'' was cut back by to Kütahya in July 2008. Two months later, in September 2008, the train was extended south to

as a replacement to regional service between Alayunt and Afyon. On 25 May 2010, inter-city service from the north was brought back to center terminals in İzmir; however due to route changes, the ''Aegean Express'' would terminate at Alsancak Terminal instead of Basmane, along with all other trains from the north. When construction to modernize the Balıkesir-Kütahya railway started in 2013, the ''Aegean Express'' was shorted by to

Balıkesir Balıkesir () is a city in Turkey and is the capital city of Balıkesir Province. Balıkesir is located in the Marmara region of Turkey and has a population of 338,936. Between 1341–1922, it was the capital of Karasi. History Close to ...

. The ''Karesi Express'' was also shorted from Ankara to Balıkesir and currently operates as a regional train, along with the ''Aegean Express'', between İzmir and Balıkesir.Karesi express shortened to Balikesir
- yenihabergazetesi

Route details

The ''Aegean Express'' operates on the following railways in Turkey: * İzmir–Afyon railway - Basmane terminal to

Manisa Manisa (), historically known as Magnesia, is a city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province. Modern Manisa is a booming center of industry and services, advantaged by its closeness to the international port ci ...

* Manisa-Bandırma railway - Manisa to Balıkesir * Balıkesir-Kütahya railway - Balıkesir to Kütahya

Gallery

Ege at afyon.jpg, Westbound Aegean Express #71602 ready to depart Afyon in 2009.

References

{{TCDD Routes Named passenger trains of Turkey