YHT

Yüksek Hızlı Tren
High Speed Train

A TCDD HT65000 EMU waiting to depart Ankara
Overview
Service type	High-speed rail
Status	Operating
Locale	Northwest, Central Anatolia
First service	March 13, 2009
Current operator(s)	TCDD Taşımacılık
Former operator(s)	Turkish State Railways
Ridership	3,375,000 (2012)
Route
Start	Central Station, Ankara
End	Central Station, Eskişehir Pendik Station, Pendik/Istanbul Central Station, Konya
Distance travelled	245 km (152.2 mi)
Average journey time	1 hour, 50 minutes
Service frequency	4 daily (Ankara-Eskişehir) 5 daily (Ankara-Istanbul) 7 daily (Ankara-Konya) 2 daily (Istanbul-Konya)
On-board services
Class(es)	First, business and economy class
Disabled access	Fully accessible
Seating arrangements	Airline-style coach seating
Catering facilities	On-board café, and at-seat meals in first class
Entertainment facilities	On-board television with feature films
Baggage facilities	Checked baggage available at selected stations
Technical
	HT65000 and HT80000
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	25 kV 50 Hz AC
Operating speed	250 km/h (155 mph) maximum
Track owner(s)	Turkish State Railways
Route map Distance Station 0 Ankara 25 km (15.5 mi) Sincan 90 km (55.9 mi) Polatlı 99 km (62 mi) 246 km (153 mi) Eskişehir 312 km (194 mi) Konya 296 km (184 mi) Bozüyük 330 km (205 mi) Bilecik 330 km (205 mi) Pamukova (2018) 494 km (307 mi) Arifye 470 km (292 mi) İzmit 517 km (321 mi) Gebze 537 km (334 mi) Istanbul

Route map
Distance Station 0 Ankara 25 km (15.5 mi) Sincan 90 km (55.9 mi) Polatlı 99 km (62 mi) 246 km (153 mi) Eskişehir 312 km (194 mi) Konya 296 km (184 mi) Bozüyük 330 km (205 mi) Bilecik 330 km (205 mi) Pamukova (2018) 494 km (307 mi) Arifye 470 km (292 mi) İzmit 517 km (321 mi) Gebze 537 km (334 mi) Istanbul

Yüksek Hızlı Tren or YHT (English: High-Speed Train) is the high-speed rail service of the Turkish State Railways, currently operating on two lines: Ankara to Istanbul via Eskişehir and Ankara to Konya via Polatlı. YHT is the only high-speed rail service in Turkey, with trains operating at speeds of up to 250 km/h (HT65000) or 300 km/h (HT80000).

Istanbul and Ankara are Turkey's largest two cities, having a combined population over 16,500,000. Transportation between the two cities is high. The Otoyol 4 motorway is a major highway between the two cities, and the Ankara–Istanbul route is the busiest route for the Turkish Airlines. The route between Istanbul and Ankara by rail has been a single-track line, and trains usually were delayed 30 minutes to 2 hours plus the average 7 hours, 30 minutes travel time. Rail transport in Turkey was already at its lowest point, so in 2003 the State Railways and the Turkish Ministry of Transport made an agreement to build a 533 km (331 mi) line between the two cities. The line would be an electrified double trackline. Construction began in 2004 from Esenkent to Eskişehir. The line was completed on April 23, 2007.

On February 28, 2007, TCDD requested bids for high-speed train sets from other networks to be tested on the completed portion of the high-speed line.

On March 30, 2007, TCDD signed an agreement with Trenitalia of Ferrovie dello Stato to rent an ETR 500 train set for 4 months.

The first run was from Haydarpaşa Terminal in Istanbul to the Central Station in Ankara, using the completed portion of the high-speed line between Hasanbey and Esenkent.