Karaköy is a station on the historic
Tünel funicular railway in
Beyoğlu
Beyoğlu (, ota, بكاوغلی, script=Arab) is a district on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, separated from the old city (historic peninsula of Constantinople) by the Golden Horn. It was known as the region of Pera (Πέρα, meani ...
,
Istanbul. Located on Tersane Avenue, just north of the
Golden Horn, it is the southern and lower terminus of the railway. The station is located at the ground floor of the
IETT General Headquarters Building.
Overview
Karaköy station is located at Tersane Avenue No:9 and is on the ground floor of the IETT General Headquarters Building. The entrance to the station is located on the southeast corner of the building, while the exit is located on the west side of the building. The station is at-grade at the base of Galata hill. The tunnel begins at the northern end of the platforms, as the track head straight into the hill and up to Beyoğlu. Like its counterpart station,
Beyoğlu
Beyoğlu (, ota, بكاوغلی, script=Arab) is a district on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, separated from the old city (historic peninsula of Constantinople) by the Golden Horn. It was known as the region of Pera (Πέρα, meani ...
, the
Spanish solution is used at Karaköy, as the east platform us for boarding passengers and the west platform is for exiting passengers. The station is integrated within the citywide smartcard system,
Istanbulkart, and turnstiles are located at the station's entrance.
Connection to the T1 line of the
Istanbul Tram
The Istanbul Tram ( tr, İstanbul Tramvayı) is a modern tram system on the European side of Istanbul. The first section, the T1 opened in 1992, followed by the T2, which opened in 2006. In 2011, the T1 and T2 merged, with the line retaining ...
to
Kabataş or
Bağcılar is available along with ferry service from the two piers in Karaköy. Municipal ferries, operated by
Şehir Hatları
The city of Istanbul is at a geographic crossroads, straddling Europe and Asia Minor, and is divided by a sea lane called the Bosphorus Strait, which joins the Black Sea in the northeast and the Marmara Sea in the southwest. This strait has play ...
, depart from
Karaköy Pier located east of Karaköy station, on Rıhtım Avenue. Private ferries, operated by
Turyol, depart from Turyol's Karaköy Pier located one block south of Karaköy station. Connection to several
IETT city bus lines on Kemeraltı Avenue are also available.
History
Karaköy station, along with Beyoğlu station, is one of the oldest subterranean
urban railway
The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 ...
stations in the world. Construction began in the summer of 1871 and was completed in 1874, along with the rest of the railway line. Karaköy station officially opened, along with Tünel, on 17 January 1875 as ''Galata station''.
The station was originally built with two tracks and two
side platforms and powered by a steam engine. The station building was a two-story structure, built mostly from wood. On 25 August 1875, the cable carrying the northbound train snapped towards near Beyoğlu and the car began to plunge backwards toward Karaköy. A major accident was averted as the driver was able to hit the emergency brakes and stop the train just short of Karaköy station.
Karaköy station, along with the railway, was nationalized and bought by
IETT in 1939, which continued to operate the railway. Karaköy station temporarily closed down in 1968 in order for IETT to modernize and electrify the railway. Since the steam engine was replaced by an electric engine, the wooden Karaköy station building needed to be replaced. The station was modernized and rebuilt into a stone structure and officially reopened on 2 November 1971. In 1981, the construction of the IETT General Headquarters Building began and was completed in 1983. This 7-story building was built on top of Karaköy station.
Connection to Istanbul's modern tram network became available in 2005, when the T1 line was extended from
Eminönü to Karaköy.
Nearby places of interest
*
Galata Bridge - The oldest bridge across the
Golden Horn.
*
Bankalar Avenue - The financial center of the Ottoman Empire.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karakoy (Tunel)
Rail transport in Istanbul
Railway stations in Istanbul Province
Railway stations opened in 1875
Beyoğlu
Funicular railways in Turkey
1875 establishments in the Ottoman Empire