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Alsancak railway station

ALSANCAK
İZBAN commuter rail station
Alsancak Railway Station 2015.jpg
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)
Platforms 6
Tracks 10
Connections Local Transit ESHOT: 12, 63, 70, 80,90, 121, 251, 252, 253, 255, 581, 802, 920, 930
Construction
Parking Yes
Disabled access Yes (İZBAN platforms only)
Architectural style Late Ottoman
Other information
Station code 3515
History
Opened 30 October 1858
Closed 2006-2010
Rebuilt 2001
Electrified 2001 (25 kV AC)
Previous names Punta
Traffic
Passengers (2011) 1,483,999 (İZBAN)
Services
Preceding station   İZBAN   Following station
Terminus Northern Line
toward Aliağa
Southern Line
toward Tepeköy
  Former service  
  Turkish State Railways  
Terminus Cumaovası suburban
toward Cumaovası
Buca suburban
toward Buca

Alsancak railway station (Turkish: Alsancak garı) 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.


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