Capital Express (Turkey)
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25 kV 50 Hz AC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operating speed | 150 km/h (93 mph) maximum | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Track owner(s) | TCDD | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Capital Express (
On 31 January 2012, the Capital Express was discontinued due to the rehabilitation of the railway between Istanbul and Arifye. When trackwork was completed in 2014, YHT high-speed service replaced the Capital Express all the way from Ankara to Istanbul.[3]
History
By the early 1990s, the Turkish State Railways' already bad reputation was worsening. Even TCDD's flagship train, the Fatih Express, running from Istanbul to Ankara, was losing market share to buses and airlines. New modern buses as well as the construction of the Istanbul-Ankara highway nearing completion, made passengers choose bus over train for the route. Even though the Fatih Express made limited stops; the blue-red Pullman fleet, which the train used, was greatly unpopular with the public. The cars lacked proper suspension and air-conditioning, which made journeys in the summer very uncomfortable, due to the generally arid and hot climate of central Anatolia. In the winter, radiators on the train would burn uncontrollably, sometimes even melting shoes rested upon them.
These problems forced the State Railways to introduce a new train service on the line. In 1992, the Capital Express was introduced with new TVS2000 railcars. These new railcars had new bogies with new suspension, which made journeys more comfortable. Along with better suspension, the railcars also had sound insulation, air-conditioning and automatic doors.[1]
When the entire Istanbul-Ankara railway was electrified in 1993, the Capital Express was able to operate at greater speeds, most notably between
References
- ^ a b TVS2000 railcar history - trainsofturkey.com
- ^ "Tren seferleri iptal öğrenciler mağdur" [Students victims of canceled trains]. milliyet.com.tr (in Turkish). 1 September 2012.
- ^ "Baskent Ekspresi". Nereden Nereye (in Turkish).