 Istanbul is undergoing one of the most impressive metro expansion programs in the history of the world. I often try to do explainers on cities that people might not appreciate for their transit, like Milan and Taipei, but in comparison to these, Istanbul is truly a hidden gem. The Istanbul Metro, a system few people are really all that familiar with, including me before I visited the city some years ago, is already pretty big, with nine lines and over a hundred stations, despite the system first opening in the late 1980s, and only having a single line until 2000. Today, the network is going absolutely gangbusters with growth, and right now more than 100 stations across at least 6 new metro lines are being constructed. Powed on top of this, we have even more transit, from BRT to trams to cable cars to funiculars to regional and high speed rail. Istanbul in many ways is a transit lover's dream, and a city that will influence the future of transit in Europe and around the world, so without further ado, let's dive in. Explainer videos always start with a rough info sesh on the city we're talking about, but Istanbul has so much to talk about that I'm going to have to compress things into a little less time than usual, because the Istanbul Metro, impressive as it is, is strange and can be a little hard to pin down. I mentioned in my Hong Kong MTR explainer that unusual or difficult geography can drive the success of mass transit, and Istanbul's geography is, well, difficult. The city is covered in hills and split down the middle by the Bosphorus Strait, which ultimately connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean via the Sea of Marmara, to the city's south. On top of this, on the western side of the city, there's a golden horn estuary, which runs next to some of the most famous sites in the city. We won't talk about them in this video, but all of these waterways means that Istanbul has some serious passenger ferry services. These famous sites include the famous Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and the Grand Bazaar to the south, and to the north, Taksim Square, the city's cultural center. I should also mention that the split in the city across the Bosphorus isn't just an interesting piece of physical geography, but also political geography, as Istanbul is an intercontinental city, with the western portion being in Europe and the eastern portion being in Asia. Now, given the topic of the video, we should mention transportation hubs. Istanbul has historically had two major airports, with Ataturk Airport being the main international hub. But it's restrictive size led to its closure in 2019, when it was replaced with a much bigger new Istanbul airport, simply known as the Istanbul Airport, which is some distance from the urban core of the city and is problematic for its own reasons. When it comes to rail travel, Istanbul doesn't have the massive intercity station seen in some other European or Asian cities. There are some historic terminals close to the urban core, but they're very small and thus limited to handling a small number of high-speed trains that otherwise serve more spacious hubs in the suburbs. So, now that we have a better understanding of the layout of Istanbul, let's look at the existing metro system, which thanks to the major barrier created by the Bosphorus is divided into halves, quite unique. Istanbul's metro system is also unique in that it employs many different train styles, mostly for historical reasons. We'll start by looking at the European side. The first line on the system to open was the 23 station 27 kilometer M1 in the late 1980s. The route runs northwest on a mixed above and below ground alignment from the coast of the Sea of Marmara to a station in the center of one of Istanbul's major bus terminals. From here, the line splits into two branches, known as M1A, going west and southwest and M1B going straight west. M1 is quite interesting because it actually uses four and soon five unit high-floor LRT style trains from ABB, as seen in some German cities and systems like the Calgary Sea Train, but on a totally grade separated alignment. It wasn't until 2000 that the second metro route in Istanbul would open with the 16 station 24 kilometer long M2 line, which connects from the eastern terminus of M1 at Yeni Kappa, north across the Golden Horn on a bridge, which plays double duty as a station, and then up through the most important administrative and commercial centers of the city. Roughly two thirds of the way up the line, there's a shuttle service that links the main M2 service with a major stadium, and as is seen with the Taipei Metro, this was created as an addition to the spur designed to serve the line's train yard. M2 is mostly underground and is the most used line on the system. It has trains to match, with eight car trains with three meter wide cars, and 180 meter long platforms. The line also utilizes third rail for power, unlike M1. The trains used on the line are from a mix of Hyundai Rotom and Alstom. In 2012, the fully underground M3 was opened with nine stations along 12 kilometers of track. This line runs north-south in the city's west, with the southern terminus connecting to the western terminus of the M1B branch. The trains operated on M3 can eventually be extended up to eight cars long, as with other lines, but as patronage is still building, four car trains are all that's operated for now. The trains, which are a little less than three meters wide, are manufactured by Alstom, and are actually similar to trains used on the Budapest Metro. M3, as with subsequent lines and seemingly most modern metro lines, is powered by 1500 volt DC overhead power. Jumping ahead, we have M6, which is a rather unique 3 kilometer 4 station line, which spurs off of M2 to the east, and is connected to it, allowing the lines to share rolling stock and a maintenance facility. M6, as it turns out, is the least used line on the system, and is one of the only metro lines I know of that is single track outside of the stations, which all act as passing loops. Weird. M7 is one of the newest lines in the system, opening in 2020, and features 15 stations over 18 kilometers of track. The line broadly runs east-west across the north of the city, connecting to M2 and M3, and is entirely underground, besides two short elevated sections where the line travels across valleys. The line is fully automated, and it's the first in Istanbul to feature full height platform screen doors at every station. All trains are manufactured by Hyundai Rotom, and they're currently 4 cars long, though the stations are built for 8 car trains. This is also probably a good time to point out that while it's great that Istanbul's metro features a decent number of Spanish solution platforms where doors open on both sides of trains, connections between lines are sometimes not the best, due to long walks between the lines and deep stations, forced by the difficult geography in the city. The last of the lines on the European side of Istanbul is M9, which uses identical technology to M3, and shares a yard with it near the northern end of the M9, where the stadium for Istanbul's Olympic bid was located. M9 is 5 kilometers long with 5 stations, running north-south west of M3, which originally contained its northern portion as a shuttle service, with a transfer connection to M3 still being available in the middle. With the European side out of the way, let's take a look now at the Asian side of the city, which currently has two metro lines that aren't connected directly with one another. The first line to open on this side of the city in 2012 is the 27 kilometer 19 station M4. The line is quite long, but runs most of its length from the eastern waterfront of the Bosphorus southeast under a highway, and is entirely underground. As with other lines, M4 can handle 8 car trains. I do have to say one thing I really like about the Istanbul metro, and it may seem like a small thing, but it isn't, is the nicely designed metro signs which mark the entrances to stations. I wish this was something every system had by default, and I do also have to say it's great that the Istanbul metro is future proof with such large trains. The other line on the Asian side of the city is M5, which is 20 kilometers long and has 16 stations, running east from the Bosphorus as with M4. Like with M7, M5 is automated with platform gates, though unlike other lines, M5 uses 6 car trains. The trains on both M4 and M5 were manufactured by Spanish rail car maker CAF. As you've probably noticed, since the construction of M1, besides the 1500 volt DC overhead power supply, specifications, operating mode, and manufacturers of metro trains have varied wildly from line to line. That being said, the city does seem to mostly have converged on quite large 8 car trains, that can be split up into 4 car units for periods or lines where demand is lower. Now, moving beyond the metro, sort of, we have the Metro Bus BRT, and yes, I usually wouldn't feature a BRT system in an explainer, but this is a very special system. Not only is the Metro Bus easily one of the most used BRT lines in the world, with almost a million riders every day. Yes, a million. At 50 kilometers long and with 45 stations, the line is certainly long, but what really makes it substantial is its connections to M1, M2, M4, M5, and M7. As well as the connection across the boss first on a highway bridge, the only such rapid transit connection that existed for a long time. Now, yes, the Metro Bus does run in the middle of a highway, and interestingly, it runs on the wrong side, enabling island platforms with standard buses. Fortunately, you won't have to wait long in that environment, with buses running an average of only a few seconds apart during the day, and only a few minutes apart even in the middle of the night. The Metro Bus is no longer the only form of rapid transit cross straight, as the incredible Marmourai Tunnel, which carries the 80 kilometer long suburban rail service of the same name, opened in 2019, providing the first standard gauge rail link from Europe to Asia. The Marmourai, which shares the new immerse tube tunnels with a small number of high speed trains, as well as overnight freight, runs every five minutes or so for most of the day, and features very impressive 10 car long 25 kilovolt AC powered trains from Hyundai Rotom. These trains are also interesting because they're one of the very few outside of China to feature carriages with ten doors each, five per side. If you're wondering, high speed services do have a single dedicated track outside of the central tunnel, so this will likely limit service somewhat in the future, as will the limited capacity at the historic central terminals, which the Marmourai Tunnel bypasses. Of course, the most important thing about the Marmourai is that it connects the various Metro lines on both sides of the city, including M1 and M2 at the major Yenicapa station, as well as to M4, M5, and the Metro bus east of the Bosphorus. I've already mentioned the significant expansion of the Istanbul Metro, and honestly, it's completely astounding. By the mid-2020s, the city should have at least 14 Metro lines, and a bunch of new projects are set to open this year. To begin, let's talk about extensions. First, M1B will be extended west to Halkula, a major mainline rail station and the western terminus of the Marmourai. M3 will be extended both north and south, with a new southern extension connecting the line to the Metro bus, M1A, and the Marmourai, with a new terminus on the seaside. M7 will be extended west to M9 and beyond, as well as east to the short the Bosphorus. M9 will be extended south from its current terminus to connect to the extended M1B branch, M1A, as well as the Metro bus and the Marmourai, spitting distance from the terminus of M3. The European side of Istanbul is also getting a brand new metro line known as M11. This line is going to be a high-speed metro service northwest to the new Istanbul airport, from the city's main business district, connecting to the M2, the Metro bus, and the M7 along the way. From the airport, the line will run roughly south to connect with the extended M3, M9, and Halkula for connections to M1B and the Marmourai, as well as various other rail services. It's also worth noting that the new bridge built over the north end of the Bosphorus, not far from the airport, has provision for high-speed rail, which will enable high-speed rail connections to the airport. On the Asian side of Istanbul, M4 is being extended east with two new branches, making it the second line in the network to have them. One of them is going to travel to the northeast to connect to the under-expansion airport on this side of Istanbul, including another to the southeast to a major suburban rail hub that has service from the Marmourai. M5 will also be extended further to the east itself. Now, given the comparatively limited network on the Asian side, a number of new north-south lines are being built. These include M10, which will connect the M4 airport branch to the Marmourai and high-speed trains, as well as the other M4 branch. Further to the west, M8 and M12 will both form rough arc shapes connecting M5, M4, and the Marmourai, and both of these lines will be fully automated. A new line, 14, will also connect the northern terminus of M12 west to M4 and the Metro bus. There are also longer-term discussions about a line called the Hisrai, which would be a very high-speed metro line akin to Delhi's RRTS or the Seoul GTX, and will connect major stations on both sides of Istanbul with another crossing of the Bosphorus. What's crazy is the pace of construction. M8 and M11 should open this year, alongside a bunch of other extensions. This is possible because of the incredibly low prices with which projects in Istanbul have been built, even adjusting for differences in currency and labor cost. It's even more impressive as delays have been common, given Istanbul is in a seismic zone, has difficult geography and soil conditions, and given its historical importance, there are frequently major archaeological finds along routes. Now, I was tempted to just cover the metro in this video, but Istanbul has so many different transit modes that it would feel bad not to at least talk a bit about them, and as it turns out, local travel in Istanbul can also be done on rail, as the city has a number of tram lines. The lines are generally broken into two categories. T2 and T3 are heritage routes using coin refurbished vehicles, while T1, T4, and T5 are modern tramways, akin to what you would see in any other modern world city, such as Paris. The history of this network is actually quite interesting, but since it's long, I'll give it to you rapid fire. Originally, when T1 opened in the 90s, it used high-floor trains not unlike the M1 metro line, and T1 itself, which has 31 stops over 19km of route, was actually created as the result of a combination of the previous T1 and T2 routes. Both lines were eventually combined, and converted to low-floor use by two unit trains. T1 connects M1 and M2, and runs next to some of Istanbul's most major sites, being the best way to access them on public transportation. T1 is also actually still busier than a number of metro lines, which just goes to show you how successful it's been. T4, which first opened in 2007, and has 22 stops over 15km of track, still uses high-floor light rail vehicles, as with the original version of T1 and the current version of M1, albeit in multi-car sets. Its alignment is decidedly not really tram-like, bearing resemblance to the Calgary C train, but with a substantial underground section. Unlike M1, T4 does have grade crossings, the line has connections to M1, the Metrobus and M7, and the newest trains running on the line were actually designed and built in-house by Istanbul Metro, which is nuts. T5 is a modern wireless tram line that uses Alstom's APS and runs along the waters of the Golden Horn. The line has 14 stops over 10km of track, with a connection to M7 at its north. T5 is also being extended to the south, to take the line to T1 before it crosses the Golden Horn. And speaking of trams near the Golden Horn, just east of the extended T5 will be the western terminus of a new T6 line, which should open in the next year, and which connects between a number of Marmarite stations, including Yeni Kappa, where connections can be made to the M1 and M2 along the waterfront. Now remember how I said the Marmarite will bypass some of the historic termite in the core of Istanbul, while some of those tracks used to access the historic termite on the European side will actually be handed over to the T6. Now while I don't have a ton of time to get into each line, Istanbul has also completely embraced cable transport, both in the historical and modern sense, and has four different funiculars and two cable cars. F1, F2, F3, and F4, which should open this year. This line is the tonal, and it's very special as it first opened in 1875, making it among the oldest urban underground lines in the world, and undoubtedly the most historic piece of transportation infrastructure in the city. Istanbul as it turns out also has telephareek or passenger gondola lines, including one which connects two halves of a university split by a valley, and another which connects the stop of the T5 near the Golden Horned up along a hillside. Clearly cable-based modes are well adapted to Istanbul, given that difficult geography I keep mentioning. And so with that we have the public transportation system of Istanbul. It's big and it's getting bigger, but I think what it probably has the most to teach the rest of the world is that geography, time, and funding do not have to be a barrier to a cohesive, high quality transportation system. Thanks for watching.