The M4, officially referred to as the M4 Kadıköy - Sabiha Gökçen Airport metro line ( tr, M4 Kadıköy–Sabiha Gökçen Havalimanı metro hattı), is a , 23-station

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...

line of the Istanbul Metro. Running between

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 ...

and

Sabiha Gökçen Airport Sabiha is an Arabic word () meaning "Morning" and a female given name. In Urdu it (خوبصورت، گوری چٹی) refers to beautiful, and blonde hair. People with the name include: People Given name *Sabiha Sultan (1894–1971), Ottoman princes ...

, it is the first rapid transit line operating on the

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

n side 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 ...

. The M4 mostly runs under State road D100, parallel to the Istanbul-Ankara railway and is entirely underground. At 34 km in length, M4 is currently the longest line of the Istanbul Metro. The M4 opened on 17 August 2012 with a large ceremony in Kadıköy, in which

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to ...

personally took part in. On 29 October 2013, with the opening of

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 ...

rail service under 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 ...

, Ayrılık Çeşmesi station was opened to allow passengers to transfer between lines. On 10 October 2016, 3 new station added to the line (Yakacık Station, Pendik Station and Tavşantepe Station). On 2 October 2022, 4 new station were added to the line (Fevzi Çakmak Station, Yayalar Station, Kurtköy Station and Sabiha Gökçen Airport Station). Thus, the length of the line reached 34 km. A plan to build a subway line on the Asian side of İstanbul was approved in 2005. In 2008, a 751 million construction contract was awarded to a consortium of

Astaldi Astaldi S.p.A. is an Italian multinational major construction company based in Rome. The group is active in the fields of civil engineering, hydraulic engineering, Electromechanical Engineering and transportation. Significant subsidiaries inc ...

, Makyol and

Gülermak Gülermak Ağır Sanayi İnşaat ve Taahhüt A Ş. (Gülermak in short form; en, "Gülermak Heavy Industry Construction and Contracting") is a Turkish construction company, especially for rail transport, established in 1958. Overview Gülerma ...

. The rolling stock was ordered from the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

company CAF. In mid-2010, the construction of the tunnels was completed and the track laying started. The route has connections with TCDD's

system at Ayrılıkçeşmesi and the Istanbul Metrobus system at Ünalan. The scheduled opening date was December 2011 up to

Kartal Kartal is a district of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the Asian side of the city, on the coast of the Marmara Sea between Maltepe and Pendik. Despite being far from the city centre, Kartal is heavily populated (total population of 541,209) (2008 ...

, but it was postponed because of signalization works.

Stations

The M4 has a total of 23 stations in operation, with 6 more under construction.

Specifications

The stations Kadıköy, Ayrılıkçeşmesi, Ünalan and Göztepe are situated below sea level. The average distance between the stations is . The distance between the stations at Maltepe and Huzurevi is the shortest at . The distance between Bostancı and Küçükyalı is the longest with . The Operation Control Center of the line is situated in Esenkent and the depot is located in Maltepe. Another depot is to be built in Kaynarca in 2016 when the line extends there . Train frequency is currently every 150 seconds during peak hours and could be shortened to 90 seconds later on. Trains remain at stations for an average of 15 seconds. Four-car trains have a 1,000 passenger capacity and eight-car trains have 2,000 capacity. Ridership capacity in one direction is 70,000 passengers hourly. Total travel time of the entire line is around 40 minutes.

Rolling Stock

M4 is operated by CAF trains (144 cars in total) every 150 seconds during peak hours. The frequency is much less on weekends and during off-peak hours.

References

External links

* {{Public Transport in İstanbul Istanbul Metro Transport infrastructure under construction in Turkey Transport in Kadıköy Ataşehir Maltepe, Istanbul Kartal Pendik Railway lines opened in 2012 Airport rail links in Turkey

Stations

Specifications

Rolling Stock

See also

References

External links