İZBAN

İzmir Banliyö Sistemi

Southbound train #30085 at Ulukent.
Reporting mark	İZBAN
Locale	İzmir
Dates of operation	2007–
Predecessor	TCDD Basmane-Aliağa, TCDD Alsancak-Torbalı
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification	25 kV AC overhead
Length	110 km (68 mi)
Headquarters	Ataşehir, Çiğli
Website	İZBAN Official Site

İZBAN, also called Egeray, is a commuter rail system serving İzmir and its metropolitan area, mainly on a north-south axis, via two lines: the Northern Line and the Southern Line. Averaging a daily ridership of 185,000 passengers, it's the busiest commuter rail system in Turkey. İZBAN is a portmanteau of the words "İzmir" and "Banliyö" (suburb in Turkish).

Established in 2007 and began operations in 2010, İZBAN was formed to revive old commuter rail in İzmir. Currently, İZBAN operates a 110 km (68 mi) long system, with 38 stations.

İZBAN A.Ş. operates the railway and is owned 50% by the Turkish State Railways and 50% by the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality. İZBAN is a part of the municipality's transportation master plan.

İZBAN has a system wide fare of 2.40 TL for adults and 1.35 TL for students and seniors using the Kentkart RFID smartcard. Passengers also have a 90 minute unlimited free transfer between İZBAN and any of the ESHOT system buses, subways or ferry lines.

İZBAN currently has two routes; The Northern Line, serving the northern districts of the city and into Aliağa, The Southern Line, serving the southern districts, Adnan Menderes Airport, the southern town of Menderes and the southern town of Torbalı.

İZBAN A.Ş. was jointly created on 10 January 2007 by the İzmir Municipality and the Turkish State Railways to operate commuter service within the city. Previously commuter service was operated by the State Railways but service wasn't very frequent and trains weren't as efficient. By 2006 commuter ridership within İzmir was at its all time lowest with only 98,000 boardings that year. This followed a steady decrease in ridership since the 1990s. In order to revive commuter service in the city, the State Railways executed a complete overhaul of their two lines within the city. On 23 July 2006 the State Railways temporarily suspended all rail service into İzmir. Regional and intercity trains would terminate at Çiğli in the north and Gaziemir in the south.