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The Touristic Eastern Express train 2022-2023 season commenced today (December 13), with the first train leaving Ankara station at 3.55 p.m.
It takes around 32 hours and 1,310km of train tracks, going through Kırıkkale, Kayseri, Sivas, Erzincan, and Erzurum, before arriving at its destination, the eastern city Kars, only a couple of kilometers away from Armenia and Georgia.
The train is scheduled to leave every Wednesday and Friday from Ankara at 3.55 p.m. and from Kars on Friday and Sunday at 10.20 p.m.
"Children love train rides"
Derya Bayram, her partner, and daughter Lena are some of this season's first passengers. They left early in the morning from Tavşanlı, around 350 kilometers west of Ankara, to be on time for the train.
"We are excited and expect beautiful snowy landscapes. Children love train rides, it will be long, and we will sleep in beds, our daughter is captivated. We wanted to give her this excitement," Bayram explains.
Senay Şener bought train tickets one week in advance and will travel with her baby. She had already planned the trip before, but they could not find a ticket. Deniz Şener is excited to discover new cities and is curious about Lake Çıldır, which is completely frozen in winter. Furthermore, Deniz is eager to try Cağ kebabı, the trademark meat dish of Erzurum.
Ticket prices
Tickets for taking the Eastern Express are on sale 30 days before the trip. Food is served, and there are sleeping wagons. This season a sleeping wagon for two people costs 3,100 lira (157,51 Euro). In the Ankara-Kars express, tickets for a wagon for four people are sold for 339 lira (17,22 euro) per person. A normal seat costs 189 lira (9,60 Euro).
Due to the increasing popularity of traveling east by train, the touristic Eastern Express was inaugurated on May 29, 2019. The train traveled 62 times, transporting 13,544 thousand passengers in the 2021-2022 season. (EŞ/AÖ/WM/VK)
