Istanbul–Ankara railway Istanbul–Ankara railway The Istanbul–Ankara railway () is a long electrified railway in Turkey. The line connects Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, to the capital and second largest city, Ankara; making it one the busiest railways in the country in terms of passenger and freight rail traffic. The railway runs parallel to the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed railway and in several sections, the railway hosts YHT high-speed trains. The line begins at Haydarpaşa Terminal in Istanbul and ends at Ankara railway station in Ankara. Before the opening of the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed railway in 2009, the Istanbul–Ankara railway was the busiest line in Turkey as
Ankara Diocletian (284–305), seems to have engaged in a substantial programme of rebuilding and of road construction from Ankara westwards to Germe and Dorylaeum (now Eskişehir). In its heyday, Roman Ankara was a large market and trading center but it also functioned as a major administrative capital, where a high official ruled from the city's Praetorium, a large administrative palace or office. During the 3rd century, life in Ancyra, as in other Anatolian towns, seems to have become somewhat militarized in response to the invasions and instability of the town. The city is well known during the 4th century as a