The Haydarpaşa suburban ( tr, Haydarpaşa banliyösü), also known as the Haydarpaşa-Gebze line ( tr, Haydarpaşa-Gebze hattı) and numbered as B2, was a

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

line operated by the

Turkish State Railways The State Railways of the Republic of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryolları), abbreviated as TCDD, is a government-owned national railway company responsible with the ownership and maintenance of railway infrastructure in Turkey ...

, between Haydarpaşa Terminal in

Kadıköy Kadıköy (), known in classical antiquity and during the Roman and Byzantine eras as Chalcedon ( gr, Χαλκηδών), is a large, populous, and cosmopolitan district in the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey, on the northern shore of the Sea ...

to Gebze. Since its opening in 1951, it was the busiest commuter rail line and busiest TCDD service in Turkey, until it was discontinued in 2013. Electrified in 1969, the line was the second electrified commuter rail service in Turkey, after the

Istanbul suburban The Istanbul suburban railway, locally referred to as B1 ( tr, İstanbul Banliyösü), was an important rail line in İstanbul, Turkey. It was operated by the Turkish State Railways and was one of Istanbul's two commuter rail lines (the other bein ...

, operating across the

Bosphorus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...

. The route traversed the southern shore of

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

's Asian side, passing through important districts: Kadıköy, Maltepe, Kartal,

Pendik Pendik is a district of Istanbul, Turkey on the Asian side between Kartal and Tuzla, on the Marmara Sea. Home to Sabiha Gökçen International Airport. Population is 711,894. It also neighbours Sultanbeyli, Sancaktepe and Çekmeköy from nor ...

and

Tuzla Tuzla (, ) is the third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 110,979 inhabitants. Tuzla is the economic, cultural, e ...

. The line then crosses into the Kocaeli Province into Gebze, where it terminates. The State Railways has operated its regional service to

Adapazarı Adapazarı () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the central district of Sakarya Province. The province itself was originally named Adapazarı as well. Adapazarı is a part of the densely populated region of the country known as the Marmara Re ...

and mainline service 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 ...

on the line as well, making it one of the busiest rail lines in Turkey, in terms of passengers and number of trains.

History

A railway to Gebze was originally built by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

in 1873, as part of the railway to

İzmit İzmit () is a district and the central district of Kocaeli province, Turkey. It is located at the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea of Marmara, about east of Istanbul, on the northwestern part of Anatolia. As of the last 31/12/2019 estimation, the ...

. This line was at first built for the

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...

, but later served the heavy population along the northeastern shores of the Sea of Marmara. However, few trains ran on the line during the time when the government operated it. The Ottoman government soon sold the line to a private enterprise, the Anatolian Railway (CFOA). The CFOA started regular train service between İstanbul and İzmit (as well as Gebze) in the 1890s. Service was suspended from 1914 to 1919 during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. After the

Republic of 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 ...

was formed in 1923, the CFOA continued to operate commuter service until 1927, when the

acquired the CFOA. The newly formed State Railways (TCDD) continued the commuter service formerly provided by the CFOA. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, new locomotives and railcars were delivered to Turkey and used on the line. In 1962, new E8000

EMUs Emus may refer to: * Emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the ...

were ordered as part of TCDD's plans to upgrade the line. In the following years, the tracks were doubled and electrified, and the stations were all renovated. Beginning in late 1968, these EMUs started test runs on the line. On 29 May 1969 increased commuter service with the new EMUs began operation. In 1971, new E40000 electric locomotives started to operate on the line. In 1972, E14000 EMUs were introduced, and the E40000 were put on regional service between İstanbul and

. The route however deteriorated for the next three decades and during the mid-2000s, the EMUs were in bad shape and the tracks were in need of repair. In 2003, the

Marmaray The Marmaray () is a intercontinental commuter rail line in Istanbul, Turkey. A rail tunnel running under the Bosphorus strait was connected to an upgraded version of the old suburban train service (known as the banliyö), allowing trains ...

project started construction of a tunnel underneath the

, as well as the upgrade to this line. Plans were finalized, and the line was first partially closed between Gebze and Pendik, with the whole line closed as of 19 June 2013 for at least 2 years. The planned reopening in June 2015 was delayed until March 2019 when the line went back into service despite protests from the unions that final tests had not yet been completed.Gebze – Halkalı banliyö hattı ne zaman açılacak
– www.sozcu.com.tr

Gallery

File:Haydarpaşa Terminus And Pier.jpg, Starting point of the line: Haydarpaşa Terminus File:Haydarpaşa banliyösünde eski bir tren seti.JPG, A westbound train at Kızıltoprak station. File:Haydarpaşa banliyösünde çalışan bir Marmaray seti.JPG, A westbound train consisting of E32000 EMUs used for

service.

References

External links

Haydarpaşa-Gebze line timetables
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haydarpasa-Gebze Commuter Line Railway lines in Turkey Closed railway lines in Turkey Rail transport in Istanbul Kocaeli Province