Pehlivanköy–Svilengrad railway

The Edirne cut-off is a 80 km (50 mi) long rail line from Pehlivanköy, Turkey to Svilengrad, Bulgaria. The line was built in 1971 by the Turkish State Railways in order to avoid crossing the border with Greece twice, on the former Oriental Railway's main line, in order to get to Edirne. The Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE) also built a cut-off from Neo Vyssa to Marasia in the same year. These two new rail lines led to the abandonment of the former CO main line in to Edirne Karaağaç Railway Station.

Pehlivanköy–Svilengrad railway
The Tundzha bridge in Edirne.
Overview
Status	Operating
Owner	Turkish State Railways (Pehlivanköy–Kapıkule) Bulgarian State Railways (Kapıkule–Svilengrad)
Locale	Western Thrace
Termini	Pehlivanköy, Turkey Svilengrad, Bulgaria
Stations	7
Service
Type	Heavy rail
System	TCDD, BDZ
Depot(s)	Edirne Yard, Kapıkule Yard
History
Opened	23 May 1971
Technical
Line length	80 km (50 mi)
Number of tracks	1
Character	Mainline
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	25 kV 50 Hz
Operating speed	100 km/h (62 mph)
Route map Istanbul-Pythio railway to Istanbul 0 km 0 mi Pehlivanköy Kırklareli Edirne provincial border Istanbul–Pythio railway Ana Creek 4.3 km 2.7 mi Sazlımalkoç 11.6 km 7.2 mi Bahçıvanova 12.9 km 8 mi Kırcasalih D.550 20.1 km 12.5 mi Şerbettar 26.2 km 16.3 mi Abalar Sazlı Creek Istanbul–Kapıkule railway 37.4 km 23.2 mi Tayyakadın TMO Edirne wye 46.7 km 29 mi Edirne 49.3 km 30.6 mi Edirne Şehir Tunca D.100 O-3 66.5 km 41.3 mi Kapıkule Turkey Bulgaria border A 4 Maritsa motorway I-8 70.6 km 43.9 mi Kapitan Andreevo Lozenski pat Maritza Alexandroupoli–Svilengrad railway I-80 86.5 km 53.7 mi Svilengrad wye Kalotina–Svilengrad railway

Map of the railway lines around Edirne

Route description

From Pehlivanköy, the line follows the line to Pythio for about 5 km before turning North West to go to Edirne in almost straight line across flat lands. Near Edirne, the line is on the bank of the Meriç River (Maritsa), squeezed between the river itself and the old city. The line goes over the Tunca (Tundzha) river and then goes in almost straight line again to Kapıkule railway station. the Bulgarian border is crossed after Kapıkule and before Kapitan Andrevo. Finally, the line will cross the Maritsa to enter Svilengrad station.

See also

• Istanbul–Pythio railway