I read an article that talked about train travel throughout Turkey and the trains looked beautiful. I know Ist has trains to other countries, but they look a bit "lived in" to put it nicely. Are there any fast and somewhat upscale trains that leave Ist to other countries, especially ones where Turkish citizens don´t need a visa?

If there really isn´t anything can anyone recommend any nice trains that travel from Izmir to Adana, Bodrum, Marmaris or the like. I really want to see Turkey by train too so any suggestions will be most helpful.

Çok teşekkür ederim!

The railroad infrastructure in Turkey is pretty old. The present network has been essentially the same since the Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II who constructed the main hub through the end of the 19th century. The two main railroad stations were built by Germans.

There is a new fast train line between Ankara and Istanbul and it will soon be extended to reach Istanbul. Travel speed is 250kmh.

Regular train travel is cheap but sluggish. For decades, governments in Turkey considered railroad development mainly a communist type development scheme and focused on building motorways instead.

I´ve travelled on overnight sleepers several times between Afyon and Istanbul and Ankara and Istanbul. We had 2 person compartments which were lovely and comfortable with a wash hand basin,fridge and cupboard and big comfy seats that converted into bunk beds. If you´re not in a hurry it´s a very pleasant way to travel.

You can also check http://www.seat61.com/ for info. on train travel all over Europe.

Ahh thanks everyone. There is a train that goes to Selcuk and it looks old, but this article made me think about train travel in Turkey. I guess it will be back to Turkish Airlines and Atlas Jet.