How many railways were built during the time of Atatürk: In January 1924, Başekil İsmet İnönü defined the railway as a means of independence as follows: “Gentlemen, we have a politicians. It exists in a deeded manner, free from all kinds of evil eye and ghost. Let me explain this in two words. As soon as possible to build an inch of railroad in the country, no matter what vehicle and by whom .. '
1856 Turkey in the history of the railroad built by a British company began 130 km of İzmir-Aydın line, after the Thrace, Anatolia and from there he continued with the railway network stretching from Baghdad to the Hijaz. In the last years of the Ottoman state, the total railway network had found 8,619 km. These were the railway lines.
- Rumeli Railways 2383 km normal line
- Anatolia-Baghdad Railways 2424 km normal line
- Izmir Town and extension 695 km normal line
- Izmir Aydın and branches 610 km normal line
- Sam Hama and extension 498 km narrow and normal line
- Jaffa Jerusalem 86 km normal line
- Bursa Mudanya 42 km narrow line
- Ankara Yahşihan 80 km narrow line
In the 8.619 total railway network in the remaining kilometers long border with Turkey from the Ottoman railways were 4.112 km. Since most of the lines were built within the framework of the privileges granted to foreign companies, the right to operate was in the hands of these companies. There was a total 2182 km railway line of foreign companies. The remaining lines were under the administration of the state.
Turkey border railway line were as follows in the remaining period of the Ottoman Empire to Republic:
- Anatolian Line Normal (1.435) 1032 km
- Baghdad Line Normal (1.435) 966 km
- Adana-Mersin Line Normal (1.435) 68 km
- Izmir-Town Line Normal (1.435) 703 km
- İzmir-Aydın Line Normal (1.435) 609 km
- Orient Railways Normal (1.435) 337 km
- Mudanya-Bursa Line Dar (1.050) 41 km
- Erzurum-Sarikamis Line Dar (0.750) 124 km
These lines, built by foreign companies and extending from the ports to the inner areas, were built for commercial purposes. The Izmir-Kasaba line reached Bandırma from Izmir to Afyon and the branch line from Soma. The İzmir-Aydın line extends from Denizli and Dinar to Eğridir. The Anatolian line reached Ankara and Konya via Eskişehir. The Baghdad line, which started from Konya, was going to Iraq via Adana. Orient railways were the link between the country and Europe. There were no railroads in the east of Ankara except the Erzurum-Sarikamis-Border railway line that was left from the Russians.
In the early period of the Republic, the railways were seen as an important problem of the country and it was taken seriously with the motto of 'an inch more shimendifer'. In January 1924, Mr. Virtekil İsmet İnönü defined the railway as a means of independence as follows: “Gentlemen, we have a chimperian policy. It exists in a deeded manner, free from all kinds of evil eye and ghost. Let me explain this in two words. As soon as possible to build an inch of railroad in the country, no matter what vehicle and by whom. Three-quarters of our country is without a car, without a chimney. Şimendifer has been the means to ensure our internal and external independence. My point is that… We should not disrupt our shimendifer one day one day. '
İsmet İnönü speaks at the opening of the Ankara-Kayseri-Sivas-railway (Sivas)
In the same year, Mustafa Kemal would express the importance of railway construction with similar expressions as follows: "The principle of creating an inch more chimpanzee with every vehicle in the country, but not staying behind one day, regardless of the situation, is completely in line with the real need of the nation."
The reasons of the railway policy of the Republican administrators were to reach production centers and natural resources, to establish relations with production consumption centers, especially with ports, to ensure the development of the country in economic sense and to provide national security by preventing unrest in the east of the country.
In addition, it was a great need to connect Ankara, the political center of the country, with other important cities. The railways built for this purpose aimed to connect Central Anatolia, Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia to Ankara. With this policy, Kayseri in 1927, Sivas in 1930, Malatya in 1931, Niğde in 1933, Elazığ in 1934, Diyarbakır in 1935 and Erzurum in 1939 were connected to the railway network. The main lines built during this period were; Ankara- Kayseri-Sivas, Sivas-Erzurum, Samsun- Kalın (Sivas), Irmak-Filyos (Zonguldak coal line), Adana-Fevzipaşa-Diyarbakır (Copper line), Sivas-Çetinkaya (Iron line).
With the construction of new railway lines, 1923 km railway has been added to 4112 km in 1938 as of 2.815. Thus, the total rail length of 341.599.424 has reached 6.927 km.
Railroad policy was actually foreseen for reconstruction. Due to financial insufficiencies, the nationalization of the railways in the hands of foreign companies was not desired. However, the 22 April 1924 decided to purchase the Anatolian line in the TGNA. Thus, the nationalization policy on railroads also walked along with the politics of construction. Nationalization studies started in 1928 with the acquisition of the Anatolian railway line, especially in 1930. 3387 km railway 42.515.486 in the hands of foreign companies has been acquired and acquired by liras.
Source:
İsmail Yıldırım, An Overview of Atatürk's Railway Policy
Y. Sezai Tezel, Economic History of the Republican Period 1923-1950
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