Editing Eastern Express

{{Short description|Train service in Turkey}}
{{for multi|the Turkish scenic train|Touristic Eastern Express|the newspaper|Eastern Express (newspaper)|the US airline service|Eastern Air Lines}}
{{Infobox rail service
| box_width   = 300
| name        = Eastern Express
| logo        = 
| logo_width  = 
| image       = Doğu ekspresi.jpg
| image_width = 300px
| caption     = 
| type        = [[Inter-city rail]]
| status      = Operating
| locale      = North-Central, Central, North-Eastern [[Anatolia]]
| predecessor = 
| first       = 1936
| last        = 
| successor   = 
| operator = [[TCDD Taşımacılık]]
| formeroperator= [[Turkish State Railways]]
| ridership   = 
| start       = [[Ankara railway station]]
| stops       = 47
| end         = [[Kars railway station]], [[Kars]]
| distance    = {{convert|1944|km|0|abbr=on}}
| journeytime = 32 hours, 27 minutes (Eastbound)
| frequency   = Daily
| trainnumber = 11410 (Eastbound)<br>41409 (Westbound)
| class       = 
| access      = Limited
| seating     = Coach
| sleeping    = 2 Couchettes<br/>Private sleeping cars
| autorack    = 
| catering    = Dining Car
| observation = 
| entertainment = 
| baggage     = Overhead baggage storage
| otherfacilities= 
| stock       = [[TVS2000]]
| gauge       = {{RailGauge|sg}}
| el          = Ankara-Sivas ([[25 kV AC]])
| speed       = {{convert|120|km/h|0|abbr=on}} max<br>{{convert|80|km/h|0|abbr=on}} average
| owners      = [[Turkish State Railways]]
| routenumber = 
| map         = {{Eastern Express|navbar=1}}
| map_name    =
| map_state   = collapsed
}}

The '''Eastern Express''' ({{langx|tr|Doğu Ekspresi}}) is an overnight [[passenger train]] operated by [[TCDD Taşımacılık]]. The train runs from [[Ankara railway station|Ankara]] to [[Kars railway station|Kars]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Doğu Ekspresi |url=https://www.tcddtasimacilik.gov.tr/tr/ana_hat_tren/detay/3 |website=[[TCDD Taşımacılık]] |access-date=2023-10-06 |archive-date=2023-06-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604040411/https://www.tcddtasimacilik.gov.tr/tr/ana_hat_tren/detay/3 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The train was the first overnight service east of [[Ankara]]. The Eastern Express stops in 7 [[provincial capitals]]: [[Ankara]], [[Kırıkkale]], [[Kayseri]], [[Sivas]], [[Erzincan]], [[Erzurum]] and [[Kars]].<ref name=S&R>The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Steam & Rail - By Colin Garratt and Max Wade-Mathews, page 400</ref> The first train ran in 1936 from  [[Istanbul]]'s [[Haydarpaşa Terminal]] to [[Çetinkaya railway station|Çetinkaya]].<ref name=TCDD>[http://www.trainsofturkey.com/w/pmwiki.php/History/TCDD TCDD History] - Trains and Railways of Turkey</ref>

Until the [[Ankara–Istanbul high-speed railway]] project, the train ran between Istanbul and Kars.

Due to the increasing popularity of the train, TCDD Taşımacılık added a second train named the [[Touristic Eastern Express]]. This new train operates three times a week with fewer stops and costs more than the regular Eastern Express train. The Touristic Eastern Express was inaugurated in 2019 from Ankara.

==History==
[[File:Dogu express 1976.jpg|thumb|left|The Eastern Express crossing the [[Euphrates]] in 1976.]]
During the 1930s, railway construction in [[Turkey]] reached its peak, where {{convert|2,846.2|km|0|abbr=on}} of lines were completed.<ref name="TCDD"/> Ever since the [[Turkish State Railways]] were formed in 1927, railways extended to eastern Turkey. A main line was to be constructed from Ankara to [[Erzurum]], where it would connect with the [[broad gauge]] line to the [[Turkey]]/[[Soviet Union]] border built by the [[Russian Empire]] in 1916.<ref>[http://www.trainsofturkey.com/w/pmwiki.php/History/Transcaucasus Transcaucasus Railways] - Trains and Railways of Turkey</ref> Construction of the line started in 1924 (by the CFAB, TCDD took over in 1927) and reached [[Kayseri]] in 1927, [[Sivas]] in 1930 and [[Çetinkaya Railway Station|Çetinkaya]] in 1936. The Eastern Express made its first run with the opening of the line to Çetinkaya. The railway finally reached Erzurum in 1939. In the same year the Eastern Express started operating from Haydarpaşa to Erzurum. By transferring to a broad gauge train in Erzurum, passengers could travel to Kars, the last Turkish city before the [[Soviet Union]].<ref name="S&R"/> In 1962, the broad gauge line from Erzurum-Kars-Akkaya was made [[standard gauge]] by the State Railways. The Eastern Express was extended to Kars in 1962.<ref name="TCDD"/>

==Equipment==
The Eastern Express had many layouts over the years. The Turkish [[steam locomotives]] were the source of power from 1936 to the 1970s when the [[diesel locomotive]] took over. The layout today is:

*[[TCDD DE22000|DE 22 000]],<ref group="note">Sometimes [[TCDD DE33000|DE 33 000]] may be used instead</ref> Head End Power Car, Coach, Coach, Coach, Diner, couchette, couchette, private cars at the end, helper engine if used

==Route==
[[File:The Eastern Express in Eskişehir.JPG|thumb|left|An Istanbul-bound train at Eskişehir in 2009.]]

Prior to the commencement of [[Ankara–Istanbul high-speed railway|high-speed rail service from Istanbul to Ankara]] the train departed from Haydarpaşa Terminal on the [[Bosphorus]] and traveled along the south-eastern shores of Istanbul. The journey out of the extensive suburbs of the metropolis took an average of 45 minutes after which the train followed  the [[Bay of İzmit]] coastline before reaching [[İzmit]] and then traveling across the Sakarya plain. At Arifye, the line headed south through the mountainous route towards Eskişehir. After crossing many gorges and after Bilecik, the train ascended the [[Anatolian plateau]] and arrived in [[Ankara]]. 

The Eastern Express runs east through Ankara's eastern suburbs. After [[Kırıkkale]], the train heads south-east towards [[Kayseri]]. At Kayseri the train is refuelled and has a crew change. The Eastern Express then continues east into the dusk. The route then heads north-east until [[Sivas]], where the train has its second break. After Sivas the tracks travel through very mountainous terrain so the speed is limited. A small portion between [[Çetinkaya, Kangal|Çetinkaya]] and [[Divriği]] is electrified for freight trains carrying iron ore south to the Mediterranean Sea. After Divriği the Eastern Express steadily climbs towards the [[Armenian Highlands]]. After a break in [[Erzurum]], the train arrives in [[Kars]] in the evening.

==References==
{{reflist}}
===Notes===
{{reflist|group="note"}}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Rail travel in Turkey}}

* [https://www.tcddtasimacilik.gov.tr/tr/ana_hat_tren/detay/3 Timetable and tickets] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604040411/https://www.tcddtasimacilik.gov.tr/tr/ana_hat_tren/detay/3 |date=2023-06-04 }} at [[TCDD Taşımacılık]]

{{TCDD Routes}}

[[Category:Named passenger trains of Turkey]]