İzmir Alsancak Terminal

İZMİR ALSANCAK
TCDD inter-city, regional and IZBAN commuter rail station
İzmir Alsancak Terminal in 2015.
Location	Konak, Şehitler Cd, 2-10, 35230 Umurbey, İzmir 34726
Coordinates	38°26′20″N 27°08′55″E / 38.43889°N 27.14861°E / 38.43889; 27.14861Coordinates: 38°26′20″N 27°08′55″E / 38.43889°N 27.14861°E / 38.43889; 27.14861
Owned by	Turkish State Railways
Line(s)	Turkish State Railways İzmir Mavi Train Karesi Express 6th of September Express 17th of September Express Alsancak-Uşak Regional Aegean Express İZBAN Southern Line Northern Line
Platforms	6
Tracks	10
Connections	ESHOT: 12, 63, 70, 80,90, 121, 251, 252, 253, 255, 581, 802, 920, 930
Construction
Parking	Yes
Disabled access	Yes (İZBAN platforms only)
Other information
Station code	3515
History
Opened	October 30, 1858
Closed	2006-2010
Rebuilt	2001
Electrified	2001 (25 kV AC)
Previous names	Punta
Traffic
Passengers (2011)	1,483,999 (İZBAN)

Turkish State Railways

İzmir Alsancak Terminal (Turkish: Alsancak Garı) or İzmir Alsancak railway station is one of the two main railway terminals in İzmir and is the second-oldest railway station in Turkey, after Kemer, being completed in 1858. The station houses the headquarters of TCDD District 3 and is one of the busiest stations in Turkey. The station was electrified in 2001, with 25 kV AC overhead wire.intercity trains to Ankara,Bandırma,Afyon and Uşak as well as commuter trains to Menderes, Çiğli and Aliağa service the station.

İzmir was a primary trade city during the 19th century and still is today. The main industry of the area was agriculture. However it took caravans days to transport the goods from the fields to the port. So, the Ottoman Empire gave a concession to a British company to build a railway from Aydın to İzmir, on 22 September 1856. The Ottoman Railway Company (ORC) was formed on that day.

The Ottoman Railway Company chose to start their line in the neighborhood of Alsancak, near the docks. The original station consisted of a small building with a few tracks and a small depot. The station opened on October 30, 1858, when the railway reached Gaziemir and Seydiköy. Passenger traffic was low and the few freight trains that operated, unloaded at Kemer. The railway reached Aydın in 1866 and the ORC opened the whole line on 1 July 1866. When this line opened, freight traffic was too heavy for Kemer to handle and the ORC needed a larger depot. More tracks were added, maintenance depots, train sheds and freight depots were built as well as the Alsancak dock being considerably extended. Also a lot of rich foreign and Ottoman business leviathans lived in İzmir, mainly in Bornova, Şirinyer and Buca. The railway could help them commute to work in Alsancak and back to their homes. Passenger traffic increased once the Şirinyer-Buca branch was opened, in 1870 and a new station was needed to be built for these rich families. In 1871 a new, bigger station with a clock tower was opened. This clock tower became the first in İzmir. Today, this building is the headquarters of District 3.