M1A (Istanbul)

M1
A westbound train at Zeytinburnu
Overview
Type	Rapid Transit
Status	Operational
Locale	İstanbul, Turkey
Termini	Aksaray Atatürk International Airport
Stations	17
Services	1 (Branch to Esenler)
Daily ridership	240,000 (2010)
Operation
Opened	September 3, 1989
Owner	Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality
Operator(s)	İstanbul Ulaşım A.Ş.
Depot(s)	Esenler
Technical
Line length	19.6 km (12.2 mi)
No. of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge

M1A or the Aksaray-Airport Line is a rapid transit line in İstanbul. The M1A was the first rapid transit line in Turkey, opening in 1989 and started the revival of mass transit in Turkish cities. It is the busiest rapid transit line in Turkey, serving 240,000 passengers daily.

The line starts in the historic old city of İstanbul in Aksaray. From there, it heads north to Kartaltepe, passes through the Esenler Bus Terminal and back south to Zeytinburnu. From Zeytinburnu it heads west to Atatürk International Airport.

History

With Istanbul's growing population and the city rapidly expanding outward, the operating bus service was not enough. The city did not have a mass transit system, except for a single funicular line Tünel, and the last operating tram line was taken up in 1969. Istanbul desperately needed a rapid transit system to move its large population. In 1989 the Aksaray-Kartaltepe portion of the line opened. In 1994, the line was expanded to Esenler, which also serviced İstanbul's intercity bus terminal. The same year the line was extended to Bakırköy and then to Yenibosna in 1995. In 1999 the line reached Atatürk Airport in Yeşilköy.

References

Stations of lines M1A and M1B