| Ankara | |
| Type: | TCDD Taşımacılık high-speed, intercity and commuter rail station |
| Style: | TCDD |
| Address: | Hipodrom Cd., Anafartalar Mah. 06050 |
| Borough: | Altındağ, Ankara |
| Country: | Turkey |
| Coordinates: | 39.9364°N 32.8438°W |
| Line: | Istanbul-Ankara railway Ankara-Kars railway Ankara-Istanbul high-speed railway Ankara-Sivas high-speed railway |
| Other: | Ankara Metro
|
| Structure: | At-grade |
| Platform: | 6 (1 side platform, 5 island platforms) |
| Tracks: | 13 |
| Parking: | Yes |
| Architect: | Şekip Akalın |
| Architectural Style: | Art Deco |
| Opened: | 31 December 1892 |
| Rebuilt: | 1937 (Art Deco station) 2014-18 (Platforms) |
| Electrified: | 1972 (25 kV AC) |
| Accessible: | Yes |
| Code: | 2503 |
| Owned: | Turkish State Railways |
| Operator: | TCDD Taşımacılık |
| Other Services Header: | Future services |
| Other Services Collapsible: | yes |
| Other Services2 Header: | Former services |
| Other Services2 Collapsible: | yes |
Ankara railway station (Turkish: Ankara Garı) is the main railway station in Ankara, Turkey, and is a major transportation hub within the city. The station is on the rail corridor which connects east and west Turkey, which is high speed between Istanbul and Sivas. Ankara station is also a hub for YHT high-speed trains, with its own exclusive platforms and concourse. TCDD Taşımacılık also operates intercity train service to Kars, Tatvan and Kurtalan as well as Başkentray commuter rail service.
Located within the historic Ulus quarter, the station is a landmark of the city. In 2016, a new building was opened above the YHT platforms known as Ankara Tren Garı (ATG). The ATG building serves as a hub for high-speed rail with its own concourse containing information and tickets booths, waiting rooms and a VIP lounge, and is connected to the rest of the station via a skybridge.
The original builder, the Chemins de Fer Ottomans d'Anatolie (CFOA), was engaged in shipping war materials to the fronts in Palestine and Mesopotamia during World War I. Therefore, between 1914 and 1918 the Ankara station had no passenger service and very little freight service. The CFOA fell under British military control after the war, but the Turkish Nationalists captured Ankara and parts of the CFOA. During the Turkish Independence War, CFOA transported troops from Ankara, as the newly named capital of Turkey, to the front near Eskişehir.[1]
After the Turkish independence war ended, the passenger train services from Istanbul to Ankara resumed. The CFOA, now under Turkish control, finally opened the line to Kayseri and Ankara was no longer the terminus. CFOA was then acquired by the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) on June 1, 1927, and Ankara station was placed under TCDD control.[2] In 1927 the Anatolian Express was inaugurated as a premier overnight train from Istanbul to Ankara operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (CIWL).[3] The current Art deco building was built in 1937 by Turkish architect Şekip Akalın. As TCDD completed rail lines to other cities, new train services from Ankara such as the 9th of September Express (1939) to Izmir, the Eastern Express (1939) to Kars, and the Southern Express (1944) to Diyarbakır and Kurtalan made Ankara station one of the busiest stations in Turkey. In 1972, the station, along with the track between Sincan and Kayaş, were electrified with 25 kV AC catenary for the Ankara Suburban Railway. In 1993 the Istanbul-Ankara line was fully electrified. In 2009 a high-speed train service operated from Ankara to Eskişehir.
The 2015 Ankara bombings occurred on 10 October 2015 at 10:04 local time (EEST) in Ankara. Two bombs were detonated outside the entrance of the Ankara Central railway station, killing more than 105 and injuring more than 400 people.[4] [5] The attack is the deadliest of its kind in Turkey's modern history.[6]
The TCDD Open Air Steam Locomotive Museum was opened next to the station in the 1990's, but was relocated in 2014 due to the construction of the Ankara Tren Garı.
Ankara station has generally been the exchange point between train services in the west and in the east, although trains to the far east of Turkey would originate from Istanbul until 2011. With the exception of commuter rail service, all trains either originate or terminate at the station, continuing Ankara's role as a rail hub in Turkey. TCDD Taşımacılık (TCDDT) operates mainline intercity trains (mostly overnight service) west to Istanbul and İzmir and east to Kars, Tatvan and Kurtalanalong with regional service to Polatlı. Since the opening of Turkey's first high-speed railway in 2009, Ankara has become the main hub for high-speed trains in the country. High-speed Yüksek Hızlı Tren (YHT) service operates frequent service to Istanbul, via Eskişehir,[7] and Konya. However, service is expected to increase with the opening of the high-speed railway to Sivas and Karaman towards the end of 2021, with future service to Afyonkarahisar and İzmir expected to begin in 2023.
Ankara station has 6 platforms with 13 tracks. The station platforms are divided into three areas, each hosting different train service. The platforms are connected via a skybridge.
| G | Ground level | Exit/entrance, parking, buses |
| P Platform level | ||
| Platform 1 | ||
| Track 1 | ← Main line and regional trains → | |
| Track 2 | ← Main line and regional trains → | |
| Platform 2 | ||
| Track 3 | ← Main line and regional trains → | |
| Track 4 | Freight trains | |
| Track 5 | Freight trains | |
| Track 6 | ← Başkentray toward Sincan | |
| Platform 3 | ||
| Track 7 | Başkentray toward Kayaş → | |
| Track 8 | ← Yüksek Hızlı Tren toward Istanbul, Konya or Sivas → | |
| Platform 4 | ||
| Track 9 | ← Yüksek Hızlı Tren toward Istanbul, Konya or Sivas → | |
| Track 10 | ← Yüksek Hızlı Tren toward Istanbul, Konya or Sivas → | |
| Platform 5 | ||
| Track 11 | ← Yüksek Hızlı Tren toward Istanbul, Konya or Sivas → | |
| Track 12 | ← Yüksek Hızlı Tren toward Istanbul, Konya or Sivas → | |
| Platform 6 | ||
| Track 13 | ← Yüksek Hızlı Tren toward Istanbul, Konya or Sivas → |
The Turkish Chamber of Civil Engineers lists Ankara Central Station as one of the fifty civil engineering feats in Turkey, a list of remarkable engineering projects realized in the first 50 years of the chamber.[8]