Ulukent is a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

on the İzmir-Afyon railway, in

Menemen Menemen () is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 573 km2, and its population is 200,904 (2022). The district extends on a fertile plain formed by the alluvial soil carried by the Gediz River. Adjacent distric ...

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

. Located along the D.550 highway, it is a station on the

İZBAN İZBAN, previously known as Egeray, is a commuter rail system serving İzmir and its metropolitan area. Averaging a daily ridership of 185,000 passengers, it is the busiest commuter rail system in Turkey, slightly ahead of the Marmaray commuter ...

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

system. The station is within the Central line of the İZBAN network, with trains running north to

and

Aliağa Aliağa () is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 379 km2, and its population is 104,828 (2022). The town is situated at about north of İzmir. Aliağa has a large port, mainly for oil and bulk cargo. Its e ...

; and south to

Alsancak Alsancak is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Konak, İzmir, Konak, İzmir Province, Turkey. Its population is 5,581 (2022). It is part of the historic center of the city of İzmir. Overview As a notional zone, Alsancak extends ...

, Cumaovası and Tepeköy.

History

Ulukent station was originally opened on 10 October 1865, by the

Smyrna Cassaba Railway The Smyrne Cassaba & Prolongements ( English:''Smyrna Cassaba & Prolongations''), formerly The Smyrna Cassaba Railway, was a railway company operating in Western Anatolia from 1863 to 1934. History The Ottoman Government gave a concession to bui ...

, with the opening of their railway from

Basmane Basmane railway station () 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 trains terminate at t ...

Manisa Manisa () is a city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province, lying approximately 40 km northeast of the major city of İzmir. The city forms the urban part of the districts Şehzadeler and Yunusemre, with ...

. In 1934, the

Turkish State Railways The State Railways of the Republic of Turkey (), abbreviated as TCDD, is a government-owned national railway company responsible for the ownership and maintenance of railways in Turkey, as well as the planning and construction of new lines. TCDD ...

bought the railway, as part of the government's nationalization program. A second-track was added to Ulukent in 1995, when TCDD extended its double-track section from Çiğli to Menemen to connect to the newly built Menemen-Aliağa railway. Ulukent remained as a stop on the line until 1999, when plans to expand the station as part of the new Aliağa-Menderes railway corridor were put forward. The station was electrified in 2002 and an island platform and overpass was completed in 2004. The station was then serviced by regional and some intercity trains to

Uşak Uşak () is a city in the interior part of the Aegean Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Uşak Province and Uşak District.Afyonkarahisar Afyonkarahisar (, 'poppy, opium', ''kara'' 'black', ''hisar'' 'fortress') is a major city in western Turkey. It is the administrative centre of Afyonkarahisar Province and Afyonkarahisar District. Its population is 251,799 (2021). Afyon is in the ...

Bandırma Bandırma ()Greek: Panormos(Πανορμος)is a municipality and district of Balıkesir Province, northwestern Turkey. Its area is 755 km2, and its population is 167,363 (2024). Bandırma is located in the south of the Marmara Sea, in the ...

and

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

. Ulukent became the northern rail head in İzmir in 2008, due to the construction of the Karșıyaka railway tunnel. Train service from Basmane station was originally truncated back to Çiğli on 25 February 2006 and in 2008 truncated further north to Ulukent. During this period, all trains on the railway terminated at the station, with TCDD offering express bus service to stations within İzmir. During this period, a second platform was added to service the north track, which also acted as a layover track for TCDD trains. In anticipation for new commuter rail service, turnstiles and PIS boards were added. With the completion of tunnel, TCDD resumed train service to central İzmir on 19 May 2010, but most trains still stopped at Ulukent. On 29 October 2010, İZBAN began testing on the line, running trains from Halkapınar to Aliağa, via Ulukent. Finally on 30 January 2011, regular commuter rail service began. Due to high demand, service frequency was increased on 15 May 2011 from hourly to half-hourly. With the opening of the system, intercity trains bypassed the station, with only the İzmir to Uşak regional continuing to stop there for a few more years. Ulukent had the last grade crossing on the central İZBAN system until 2013, when a bridge was built over the railway.

Station layout

Connections

ESHOT operates regional bus service, accessible from the station.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulukent (IZBAN) Railway stations in İzmir Province Railway stations in Turkey opened in 1865 Menemen District Railway stations in Turkey opened in 2011