Transasia Express
| Transasia Express | |
|---|---|
 Destinations of the route | |
| Overview | |
| Other name | Trans-Asian Epress |
| Native name | Transasya Ekspresi |
| Status | Ceased operation |
| Stations | 11 |
| Service | |
| Type | Transcontinental railroad Regional rail Freight rail |
| Services | 2 |
| Operator | TCDD Transport |
| History | |
| Opened | 1971 |
| Closed | 2015 |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 2394 km (Ankara-Tehran) 2968 km (Istanbul-Tehran) excl. 90 km of Lake Van[1] |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) |
Transasia Express or Trans-Asian Express (Turkish: Transasya Ekspresi) is an historic international railway line between Istanbul and Tehran.[2] This service linking Türkiye and Iran via the Lake Van ferry crossing.
It was first introduced in 1971 and continue until 1979, before being discontinued because of the revolution. It was reintroduced in 2001 but was later starting from Ankara rather than Istanbul and remained in service until its suspension in August 2015 due to security concerns arising from terrorist activities.[3][4][5] 4 year later, in August 2019, it's start again but shortly after suspended again in February 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.[5][6][7]
In March 2025, the Van-Tehran section of the railway line returned to service but no longer under the name of Transasia Express and departure solely in Van and no ferry connection across Lake Van to the rest of the line.[6][8]
Route
[edit]The route begins in Ankara and passes through Kayseri, Sivas, Malatya, and Elazığ before reaching Tatvan. From Tatvan, the route continues by ferry across Lake Van to Van. From Van, the route crosses the Iranian border at Razi and passes through Salmas, Tabriz, and Zanjan to reach Tehran.[9]
Due to the highly rugged terrain south of Lake Van, which made the construction of a railway difficult and following around the northern shore required a considerably longer route, it was decided to establish a train ferry service across the lake.[10]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "How to travel by train from London to Tehran & Iran". www.seat61.com. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- ↑ "Sander Groen | Travel Writer | Travel Feature: Trans-Asia Express". www.sandergroen.nl. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- ↑ "Demir ağlarla ördük Ortadoğu'yu dört baştan". www.hurriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). 2001-09-06. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- ↑ "trains-worldexpresses.com". www.trains-worldexpresses.com. Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- 1 2 Uysal, Onur (2019-08-12). "Transasya treni yeniden yollarda". Rail Turkey Tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- 1 2 Uysal, Onur (2025-03-07). "Van-Tahran seferleri başlıyor". Rail Turkey Tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- ↑ "Transasya Ekspresi ve Van Tahran yolcu tren seferleri durduruldu". birgun.net (in Turkish). Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- ↑ vanpostasigazetesi.com. "Van-Tahran Arası Tren Seferleri 5 Yıl Aradan Sonra Başladı!". https://vanpostasigazetesi.com (in Turkish). Retrieved 2026-08-24.
{{cite web}}: External link in|website= - ↑ "İran treni 'Transasya Ekspresi' yeniden yollarda | NTV Haber". NTV.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 2026-08-24.
- ↑ "VAN GÖLÜ, CENTO VE ULAŞIM". DenizHaber (in Turkish). Retrieved 2026-08-24.