The Van—Sufian railway (, ) is a long single track railway in eastern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and western

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. The railway begins at the Van Pier in

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...

, on the eastern shore of

Lake Van Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...

, and runs east to

Sufian Sufian () is a city in, and the capital of, Sufian District of Shabestar County, East Azerbaijan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Ir ...

, where it connects to the Tabriz-Jolfa railway.

History

The oldest segment of the railway dates back to the early 20th century, during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, when a branch railway was built from Sufian to

Sharafkhaneh Sharafkhaneh () is a city in the Central District of Shabestar County, East Azerbaijan province, Iran. The city is on Lake Urmia Lake Urmia is an endorheic salt lake in Iran. The lake is located between the provinces of East Azerbaijan ...

. The construction of a railway to Iran, via Van, was approved on 15 June 1937. The railway would continue east from

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...

to Van and to the Iranian border at Kapıköy. Construction began shortly after and the railway reached

Kurtalan Kurtalan (, or , ''Harzan'') is a municipality in the Kurtalan District of Siirt Province in Turkey. It was called Garzan until 1938 when it was renamed. The municipality is populated by Kurds of the Pencenarî Kurdish tribe and had a populatio ...

in 1940. Due to the mountainous terrain between Kurtalan and

Tatvan Tatvan (; ) is a city on the western shore of Lake Van, in Bitlis Province in eastern Turkey. It is the seat of Tatvan District.Elazığ Elazığ () is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, and the administrative centre of Elazığ Province and Elazığ District. Founded in and around the former city of Harput, it is located in the uppermost Euphrates valley. The plai ...

. From Elazığ the railway would be built to

Tatvan Tatvan (; ) is a city on the western shore of Lake Van, in Bitlis Province in eastern Turkey. It is the seat of Tatvan District.Muş Muş (; ; ) is a city in eastern Turkey. It is the seat of Muş Province and Muş District.İl Beled ...

, reaching Tuğ in 1964. A train ferry was established as a temporary means of transport between Tuğ and Van, as a bypass of Lake Van was planned. In the 1960s, Turkey and Iran came to an agreement to construct a railway from Van to Sharafkhaneh. CENTO sponsored a railway line, some of which was completed, to enable a rail connexion between

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

via

. The Van-Sufian railway from

in Turkey to

in Iran was completed and funded in large part by the

Central Treaty Organisation The Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), formerly known as the Middle East Treaty Organization (METO) and also known as the Baghdad Pact, was a military alliance of the Cold War. It was formed on 24 February 1955 by Pahlavi Iran, Iran, Kingdom o ...

(mainly the UK). The civil engineering was especially challenging because of the difficult terrain. Part of the route included a rail ferry across Lake Van with a terminal at

Tatvan Tatvan (; ) is a city on the western shore of Lake Van, in Bitlis Province in eastern Turkey. It is the seat of Tatvan District.Towering Quotor span, measuring in length, spanning a gorge deep. The Van-Razi segment opened on 29 October 1971, while the Razi-Sharafkhaneh segment opened in 1977.

Operations

The railway is used primarily for freight rail, although the

Iranian Railways The Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (abbreviated as IRIR, or sometimes as RAI, or as IRI Railway) () is the national state-owned railway system of Iran. The Raja Passenger Train Company is an associate of the IR, and manages its passenger t ...

operates passenger trains between Salmas and Sufian. The last passenger rail service in Turkey was suspended in July 2015, due to safety concerns regarding the

Kurdish–Turkish conflict Kurdish nationalism, Kurdish nationalist uprisings have periodically occurred in Turkey, beginning with the Turkish War of Independence and the consequent transition from the Ottoman Empire to the modern Turkish state and continuing to the pre ...

. Prior to suspension of passenger rail, the Trans-Asian Express used the railway between 2001 and 2015 on its journey from

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, later

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 ( ...

, to

. Other international trains were from Van to Tabriz and

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. The latter was cancelled after the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011. A daily regional train also operated between Van and Özalp until 2015. The line is used mostly for through-traffic since freight rail facilities are minimal. The largest railyard along the route is in Van, adjacent to the city's

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 ...

. Other small yards/sidings are located at Kapıköy and Razi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van-Sufian railway International railway lines Cross-border railway lines in Turkey Cross-border railway lines in Iran Standard-gauge railways in Turkey Standard-gauge railways in Iran Railway lines in Turkey Railway lines in Iran

Railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to roa ...

Railway lines opened in 1971