| ISTANBUL |
| Dance with the rhythm of different cultures. |
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By Train: In Istanbul there are two main railway stations, Sirkeci station and Haydarpasa Station. Sirkeci station is also known as the last stop of Orient express. Trains bound for Thessalonica, Athens, Sofia, Belgrade, Bucharest and Budapest (with transfers to Munich and Vienna) leave from Sirkeci station. Trains for Domestic destinations and to Middle East, such as Iran and Syria leave from Haydarpasa Station on the Asian side.
There are trains from Istanbul to the following destinations, To Europe; Kishinev (Mol), Budapest (Hun), Beograd (Ser), Bucharest (Rom), Athens, Thessalonica (Gre) and Sofia (Bul); To Middle East; Tehran, Tebriz (Irn), Aleppo (Syr) and Baghdad (Irq). Baghdad line is temporarily closed. |
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| Trains to European Destinations |
(From Istanbul Sirkeci train station ) |
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| Destination: Thessalonica (Selanik -
Thessaloniki ) |
|
There are two daily trains from Istanbul to Thessa. Dostluk/ Filia Express has started on summer of 2005 to make fast and comfortable connection between these two cities. This journey will run daily between these two cities at 20:00 hrs from each location with air conditioned, comfortable trains. There is also the Pythion express running daily between these two cities. |
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| Istanbul - Thessalonica: |
Dostluk Express |
|
Istanbul - Thessalonica: |
IC91/ Pythion Express |
| Sirkeci |
21.00 |
|
Sirkeci |
08.30 |
| Alpullu |
00.19 |
|
Alpullu |
|
| Pehlivankoy |
00.38 |
|
Pehlivankoy |
|
| Uzunkopru |
01.40 |
|
Uzunkopru (Border TR) |
14.10 |
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|
|
Ormenion (Border GR) |
14.50 |
| Phythion |
02.40 |
|
Phythion |
16.26 |
| Alexandroupolis |
02.40 |
|
Alexandroupolis |
18.01 |
| Komotini |
03.29 |
|
Komotini |
18.53 |
| Xanthi |
04.02 |
|
Xanthi |
19.22 |
| Drama |
05.53 |
|
Drama |
20.32 |
| Serrai |
06.56 |
|
Serrai |
21.15 |
| Kilkis |
07.11 |
|
Kilkis |
22.25 |
| Thessaloniki |
09.33 |
|
Thessaloniki |
22.55 |
| Travel Time |
11.32hrs |
|
Travel Time |
14.25 hrs |
| Price |
23,24 €* |
|
Price |
33,20 € |
|
|
| *
ADDITIONAL BED FARES:
One person in a compartment with 2 beds (double) : 25,-Euro,
One person in a compartment with 1 bed (single) . : 50,-Euro |
| Destination: Athens (Atina - Athina) |
|
When you reach to Thessaloniki you can continue to Athens over Larisa. There are daily 11 trains between Thessa and Athens. However trains from Istanbul to Thessa sometimes do make delays, so care about the connection time. (More info on greek trains OSE.GR |
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| Istanbul - Athens: |
Dostluk Express & IC53 |
|
Istanbul - Athens: |
IC 91 & IC75 |
| Sirkeci |
20.00 |
|
Sirkeci |
08.30 |
| Thessaloniki |
07.53 |
|
Thessaloniki |
22.50 |
| Thessaloniki |
10.21 |
|
Thessaloniki |
01.51 |
| larisa |
11.40 |
|
larisa |
03.11 |
| Athens |
15.16 |
|
Athens |
06.45 |
| Travel Time |
19.16 hrs |
|
Travel Time |
22.15 hrs |
| Price |
22,34 € + 14,10 € |
|
Price |
33,20 € +14,10 € |
|
|
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| Destination: Sofia (Bulgaria) |
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There is a daily train that runs between Istanbul to Sofia. Trains travel first to Dimitrovgrad and make a change to Sofia. (For more Bulgarian trains schedule click ) |
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| Istanbul - Sofia: |
4662- 1662 |
| Sirkeci- Istanbul |
22.00 |
| Kapikule (Border TR) |
04.05 |
| Svilengrad |
05.05 |
| Simeonovgrad |
05.50 |
| Dimitrovgrad |
06.16 - 06.36 |
| Plovdiv |
08.33 |
| Sofia |
10.50 |
| Travel Time |
12.50 hrs |
| Price |
19,50 € |
|
|
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| Destination: Bucharest (Romania), Budapest (Hun), Kishinev(Mol) |
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There is a daily Bosfor Express train that runs between Istanbul to Bucharest. This train is also the connection train for Trans Balkan Express to Budapest and Prietenia express to Kishinev |
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Istanbul - Bucharest: |
Bosfor Express/4662 |
| Sirkeci- Istanbul |
22.00 |
| Kapikule (Border TR) |
04.05 |
| Svilengrad |
05.05 |
| Simeonovgrad |
05.50 |
| Dimitrovgrad |
06.16 |
| Tulovo |
08.30 |
| Ruse (Border Bg) |
14:48 |
| Bucharest (Bucuresti) |
17:18 |
| Travel Time |
19.18 hrs |
| Price |
39,00 € |
|
| Bucharest - Budapest |
|
|
Bucharest - Kishinev |
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| Bucharest Dep. |
19.25 |
|
Bucharest Dep. |
19.53 |
| Budapest Arr |
10.17 |
|
Kishinev Arr |
09.05 |
| Travel Time |
14.52 hrs |
|
Travel Time |
|
| Price
(From Istanbul) |
81.20 € |
|
Price
(From Istanbul) |
52.42 € |
|
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|
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| Destination: Beograd- Belgrade(Serbia) |
| There is a daily Balkan Express train that runs between Istanbul- Sofia to Belgrade. Train travel first to Dimitrovgrad and make a change to Sofia, later on follows to Beograd. |
Istanbul - Beograd : |
Balkan Express |
| Sirkeci - Istanbul |
22.00 |
| Kapikule (Border TR) |
04.05 |
| SVILENGRAD |
05.05 |
| SIMEONOVGRAD |
05.50 |
| Dimitrovgrad |
06.25 |
| Sofya |
11.39 - 13.10 |
| Nis |
16.24 |
| Beograd |
20.36 |
| Travel Time |
22.36 hrs |
| Price |
43.20 € (2nd) |
|
|
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| Trains to Middle East Destinations |
(From Istanbul Haydarpasa train station ) |
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| Destination: Tehran - Iran |
| Trans Asia Express runs once in a week on Wednesday from Istanbul to Tehran. Travel time is 67 hrs including the ferry pass at the Van Lake. Ticket cost ~ 40 € to Tehran and ~32 € to Tebriz. Please note there is 1,5 hrs time difference between two countries |
Istanbul - Tehran: |
Trans Asia Express |
| Haydarpasa - Istanbul |
22.55 |
Wed |
| Ankara |
06.45 |
Thurs |
| Malatya |
00.17 |
Fri |
| Tatvan Arr |
11.32 |
Fri |
| Tatvan Ferry dep. |
11.44 |
Fri |
| Van Ferry arr |
18.25 |
Fri |
| Van Dep |
18.49 |
Fri |
| Kapikoy (Border) |
22.30 |
Fri |
| Razi (Border) |
22.35(00.05) |
Sat |
| Tebriz |
05.15* |
Sat |
| Tehran (Tahran |
18.45* |
Sat |
| Travel Time |
67 hrs |
| Price |
39,50€ (2nd) |
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* Iran Mean Time |
|
|
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| Destination: Damascus - Syria |
| There is a weekly train from Istanbul to Damascus. The train which operates from Gaziantep to Istanbul continues to Damascus with a sleeper wagon. Train from damascus leaves once in weekly every Thursday. Ticket cost is around 34 € to Damascus and 26 € to Haleppo |
Damascus - Istanbul: |
Toros Express |
| Haydarpasa - Istanbul |
08.55 |
Thurs |
| Enveriye (Eskisehir) |
14.19 |
Thurs |
| Kutahya |
15.59 |
Thurs |
| Afyon |
17.49 |
Thurs |
| Konya |
22.01 |
Thurs |
| Adana |
04.38 |
Fri |
| Islahiye (Border) |
08.45 |
Fri |
| Haleppo |
14.34 |
Fri |
| Damascus (Şam) |
20.06 |
Fri |
| Travel Time |
35.11 hrs |
| Price |
34€ |
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