Adana–Mersin railway

The Adana–Mersin Main Line is a 67 km (41 miles) long double track rail line from the Adana Railway Station in Adana to the Mersin Railway Station in Mersin. The line passes through the city of Tarsus and has branch lines to the Port of Mersin. The line is one of the busiest rail lines in Turkey with 57 passenger trains and about 20 freight trains daily.

Adana-Mersin railway Adana-Mersin demiryolu
A regional train at Mersin station.
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Turkish State Railways
Locale	Çukurova
Termini	Adana station, Adana Mersin station, Mersin
Stations	11
Service
Type	Heavy rail
System	Turkish State Railways
Operator(s)	TCDD Taşımacılık Körfez Ulaştırma Omsan
History
Opened	2 August 1886
Technical
Line length	68.4 km (42.50 mi)
Number of tracks	Double track (3rd and 4th tracks under construction)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speed	120 km/h (75 mph)
Route map km Adana–Aleppo railway to Fevzipaşa & Aleppo 0 Adana Adana (1886-1912) 2.8 Şakirpaşa (Airport) 6.8 Şehitlik 16 Zeytinli Adana Mersin Yenice Logistics Center 25.2 Yenice Konya–Yenice railway to Konya   End of electrification 38.7 Çukurova Airport (2024) 42.2 Tarsus 49.4 Huzurkent 29.1 Taşkent 60.2 Karacailyas 62.5 Tırmıl Port of Mersin 68.4 Mersin

At Yenice, between Tarsus and Adana, the main railroad line north to Ulukışla to the north joins the Adana–Mersin line; at Ulukışla, its two branches continue to Konya and Ankara to the northwest and Kayseri to the northeast.

History

Mersin–Tarsus–Adana Railway

On January 20, 1883, the Ottoman Government gave a concession to develop railways in Cilicia to two Turkish men. They sold a part of their rights to a group of English and French investors, leading to the establishment of the Mersin–Tarsus–Adana Railway (MTA), a French company headquartered in London. The line was quickly built and opened on August 2, 1886.

In 1896, the Turkish men sold all their rights to the company, making the MTA fully foreign owned. In 1906, Deutsche Bank bought the line from the French company. After World War I and the Turkish Independence War, the line was still owned by the Deutsche Bank. On January 1, 1929, the line was nationalized, as were the Chemins de Fer Ottomans d'Anatolie (CFOA). It became part of the Chemins de fer d'Anatolie Baghdad Railway, which was a part of the Turkish State Railways (TCDD). TCDD operates the line to this day.

The MTA terminal station in Adana was abandoned by the Baghdad Railway which built its own station further north.

External links

• Trains of Turkey
• Mersin Adana Main Line
• Adana Mersin train route map and timetable