(Turkey )ISTANBUL-T2

Images kindly supplied by Istanbul Ulasim Company. (Thanks)
ABB car (1)	ABB car (2)	ABB car (3)

Istanbul
The first tramway line was opened in Istanbul in 1869; this horse tram electrified in 1914. Like in other towns tram was dismantled after the second world war (in 1961 in the european part of Istanbul, in 1966 in the asiatic one) in favour of a bus network.
Parts of the old tram have been recently re-opened: in 1990 in the european zone (1.6 km from Taksim and Tunel), in 2003 in the asiatic zone.
Contermporaneous to the old tram is the so-called Tunel (above mentioned) an underground cable system (570 m long) opened in 1875 and still working (it was the second metro system in the world, after London); another modern underground cable system (600 m long) was opened in 2006 from Kabata Hizli Tramway stop to Taksim metro stop.
In 1989 an LRT line started its service from Aksaray to Kartaltepe (M1); the so-called Hafif Metro system is totally segregated from road traffic and it has been constantly extended up to Ataturk Airport (2002). A second Hafif Metro line (T4, from Edirnekapi to Mescid-i Selam) opened in 2007 followed by its southern extension towards Topkapi on March 2009. So that the whole Hafif Metro system reached the current lenght of 34 km with a remarkable growth of the ridership.
A modern tram line (Hizli Tramway or T1) is in service since 1992; the first stretch from Sirkeci to Topkapi has been extended in 1993 (Topkapi-Zeytinburnu), 1996 (Sirkeci-Eminonu) and 2005 (Sirkeci-Kabatas). Hizli Tramway is currently 14 km long, with 24 stops. A second tram line (T2) from Zeytinburnu to Bagcilar (about 5 km long) opened in 2006.
A traditional metro line (M2) opened in 2000 from Taksim to 4th Levent (8.5 km, 6 stops). 4 Levent - Ataturk Oto Sanayi (5.5 km, 3 stops) and Taksim - Sishane (1.6 km, 1 stop) extensions opened on 30 January 2009, followed by Sanayi-Seyrantepe section (1 km) on 11 November 2010; another extension (Darussafaka-Haciosman) opened on 23 May 2011. The current ridership is 130.000 pax/day.
A modern bus system in reserved lanes placed in the middle of E5 motorway opened in 2007, for the direct connection of Ataturk International Airport to the city center (Topkapi); some innovative APTS Phileas tram-on-tyres have been introduced since the beginning of 2008. APTS vehicles suffered many technical problems caused by the high ridership and the morphology of the track.
Suburban railways also have an important role; the line from Sirkeci railway station to Alkali (in european territory) will be in the next future connected to the Haydarpasa-Gebze line (in asiatic territory), thanks to the so-called Marmaray, an undersea rail tunnel across the Bosphorus Strait. Metro and Hafif Metro extensions up to Yenikapi (where suburban railway stops) are going to increase the interchange potentialities of the whole transport system.
Istanbul-Ulasim (official site)

CHRONOLOGY
September 2006	Zeytinburnu-Bagcilar

Country	Turkey
Line	T2
Inhabitants	City 2.800.000, District 7.900.000
Date opening	2006
Future development:	--
Length (km)	5
Track sections	ground level
Stops	9, average distance 650 m
Platforms	--
Platform doors	--
general characteristics	--
n. of vehicles	92 (55 Flexity Swift + 37 Citadis)
n. of cars per vehicle	3 (operate in coupled pairs)
Type	steel wheels bi-directional
Vehicle dimensions (m)	length 30, width 2.65 (single tramset)
Vehicle capacity (pax)	250 (single tramset)
Frequency	--
Current/Voltage	--
Guide/gauge	standard gauge rails (1435 mm)
Speed Km/h	--
Accel./Decel. (m/sec2)	--
System capacity	--
Ridership	30000 pax/day
Total cost	--
Staff	--
System builder	ALSTOM, BOMBARDIER
Model	ALSTOM: Citadis; BOMBARDIER: Flexity Swift
NOTE	ABB rolling stock (now Alstom) replaced by Alstom Citadis tramcars