The Aegean Express, numbered as B31 (), is a

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...

operating daily between

Basmane railway station Basmane railway station () is an intercity and regional railway terminal and rapid transit station in İzmir, Turkey. Along with Alsancak station, Basmane is one of two railway terminals in the city. All TCDD Taşımacılık trains terminate at ...

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

Eskişehir Eskişehir ( , ; from 'old' and 'city') is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 821 315 (Odunpazari + Tebebasi), with a metropolitan population of 921 630. The city is l ...

. The train operates as a local service on the route, calling at more stations than its counterpart, the Karesi Express; which also operates between İzmir and Balıkesir. Originally the train operated between İzmir and

, via Balıkesir and

Kütahya Kütahya (; historically, Cotyaeum or Kotyaion; Ancient Greek, Greek: Κοτύαιον) is a city in western Turkey which lies on the Porsuk River, at 969 metres above sea level. It is the seat of Kütahya Province and Kütahya District. In 19 ...

, as a daily

inter-city Inter-city rail services are Express train, express trains that run services that connect cities over longer distances than Commuter rail, commuter or Regional rail, regional trains. They include rail services that are neither short-distance co ...

train. The route was then changed to

Afyon Afyonkarahisar (, 'poppy, opium', ''kara'' 'black', ''hisar'' 'fortress') is a major city in western Turkey. It is the administrative centre of Afyonkarahisar Province and Afyonkarahisar District. Its population is 251,799 (2021). Afyon is in the ...

, also via Balıkesir and Kütahya and in 2013 it was shortened to a

regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

train service between İzmir and Balıkesir. Then re-extended to

Overview

The northbound ''Aegean Express'' departs İzmir in the morning at 6:45, arriving at Eskişehir at 17:13; while the southbound train departs Eskişehir at 8:30 and arrives in İzmir at 19:08. The train mainly services small towns and villages along the Manisa-Bandırma railway.

History

The direct predecessor of the Aegean Express was the Aegean Mototren, which operated between İzmir and Ankara between 1951 and 1978. The ''Aegean Express'' was one of four daily trains operating between İzmir and Eskişehir. Out of these four trains, the ''Agean Express'' operated during the day, while the other three trains, '' Karesi Express'', ''

9th of September Express The 9th of September Express () was an overnight train, operated by the Turkish State Railways, from Basmane Terminal, İzmir to Ankara Central Station, Ankara. The name of the service refers to 9 September 1922, the date on which the Greek occupat ...

'' and the ''

İzmir Blue Train The İzmir Blue Train () is one of the 3, still operating, "'' Blue Train''" services. The train made its first run on 17 May 1984. At first, the train was operating between Alsancak station in İzmir and Central Station in Ankara. But in 2006, ...

'', operated overnight and continued east from Eskişehir to

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 ( ...

. Scheduled departure from

Basmane Terminal Basmane railway station () is an intercity and regional railway terminal and rapid transit station in İzmir, Turkey. Along with Alsancak station, Basmane is one of two railway terminals in the city. All TCDD Taşımacılık trains terminate at ...

in İzmir was at 6:45 and scheduled arrival in

was at 18:25 while scheduled departure from Eskişehir was at 7:30 and scheduled arrival in İzmir was at 18:49, however the Aegean Express is famous for its delays and would arrive on average at its final destination 78 minutes late. Service to Basmane Terminal was suspended on 3 March 2006 due to the construction of the

Karşıyaka tunnel Karşıyaka () is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 51 km2, and its population is 346,264 (2022). The district extends for twelve kilometres along the northern and eastern coastline of the tip of the Gulf of ...

. The ''Aegean Express'' terminated at

Çiğli Çiğli is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 139 km2, and its population is 214,065 (2022). It covers the northwestern part of the agglomeration of İzmir, around the mouth of the river ...

( from Basmane Terminal), along with other trains from the north, and connection to railway stations in the city were offered by

ESHOT Elektrik Su Havagazı Otobüs Troleybüs () or ESHOT is a bus service operating in the İzmir. ESHOT, along with İZULAŞ are the two main bus transit services in İzmir. Buses serve all districts, however, denser network presence attained in the ...

replacement bus service. In early-2008 the İzmir terminus was pushed further north to Ulukent. During this period, trains would layover at

Menemen Menemen () is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 573 km2, and its population is 200,904 (2022). The district extends on a fertile plain formed by the alluvial soil carried by the Gediz River. Adjacent distric ...

. Due to the rehabilitation of the Eskişehir-Konya railway, the ''Aegean Express'' was cut back by to

in July 2008. Two months later, in September 2008, the train was extended south to

as a replacement to regional service between Alayunt and Afyon. On 25 May 2010, inter-city service from the north was brought back to center terminals in İzmir; however due to route changes, the ''Aegean Express'' would terminate at Alsancak Terminal instead of Basmane, along with all other trains from the north. When construction to modernize the Balıkesir-Kütahya railway started in 2013, the ''Aegean Express'' was shorted by to

Balıkesir Balıkesir () is a city in the Marmara Region, Marmara region of Turkey. It is the seat of Balıkesir Province, which is also a Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality. As of 2022, the population of Balıkesir Province ...

. The ''Karesi Express'' was also shorted from Ankara to Balıkesir and currently operates as a regional train, along with the ''Aegean Express'', between İzmir and Balıkesir.Karesi express shortened to Balikesir
- yenihabergazetesi

Route details

The ''Aegean Express'' operates on the following railways in Turkey: *

İzmir–Afyon railway The İzmir–Afyon railway () is a mostly single-track railway in the Aegean Region of Turkey, connecting Afyonkarahisar Manisa Manisa () is a city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province, lying approximately 40 km northeast of the major city of İzmir. The city forms the urban part of the districts Şehzadeler and Yunusemre, with ...

* Manisa-Bandırma railway - Manisa to Balıkesir * Balıkesir-Kütahya railway - Balıkesir to Kütahya

References

{{TCDD Routes Named passenger trains of Turkey