Friendship Express

For the train service between Delhi, India and Lahore, Pakistan, see Samjhauta Express.

Friendship Express
Dostluk Ekspresi
Εξπρές Φιλίας

OSE 220-027 pulls the westbound train near Filadelphia, Greece, consisting of all-Turkish equipment.

Overview
Service type| InterCity
Status| Discontinued
Locale| European Turkey, northern Greece
First service| July 2005 (2005-07)
Last service| February 2011 (2011-03)
Current operator(s)| TCDD, TrainOSE
Route
Termini| Sirkeci Terminal, Istanbul
Thessaloniki railway station, Thessaloniki
Stops| 10
Average journey time| 13h03' (westbound),
12h19' (eastbound)
Service frequency| Daily each way
Train number(s)| 444/445, 81021/81022
Line(s) used| Istanbul–Pythio railway,
Alexandroupoli–Svilengrad railway,
Thessaloniki–Alexandroupoli railway
On-board services
Sleeping arrangements| 5 TCDD Sleepers, 3 OSE Sleepers
Catering facilities| yes
Technical
Track gauge| 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification| Istanbul to Pehlivankoy
Track owner(s)| OSE Thessaloniki–Pythion,
TCDD Istanbul–Hudut
| Route map

Legend

Travel time (h:mm)

|  |

0:00

| Istanbul Sirkeci
|  |

|  | Alpullu
|  |

|  | Pehlivanköy
|  |

4:05

| Uzunköprü
|  |

|  |

| Turkey

Greece
border

|  |

5:18

| Pythio
|  |

7:39

| Alexandroupoli
|  |

8:38

| Komotini
|  |

9:10

| Xanthi
|  |

10:26

| Drama
|  |

11:18

| Serres
|  |

|  | Rodopolis
|  |

12:39

| Kilkis
|  |

13:03

| Thessaloniki
|  |  |  |  |  |

This diagram:

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The Friendship Express (Turkish: Dostluk Ekspresi, Greek: Εξπρές Φιλίας, Exprés Filías), was an international InterCity train jointly operated by the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) and TrainOSE from July 2005 to February 2011, linking Istanbul's Sirkeci Terminal, Turkey and Thessaloniki, Greece. Eastbound trains (service 444/81021) departed daily at 19:48 from Thessaloniki arriving to Istanbul at 08:07. Westbound trains (service 81022/445) departed at 20:30 from Istanbul, arriving to Thessaloniki at 09:33.[1]

There were two trains on this service, one provided by TrainOSE and the other by TCDD. TrainOSE used OSE former SNCF type T2 sleeping cars while TCDD used TVS2000 type cars. The trains changed locomotives and crew at Pythio.

This train service was terminated on 13 February 2011.[2] This is due to cost cutting by Greek state-owned company TrainOSE.[3]

On 8 March 2016 Greece and Turkey signed an intergovernmental agreement for reconnecting the line Istanbul to Thessaloniki with an enhancement to Igoumenitsa (a town facing towards Italy) with the goal to create the Egnatia Railway[4] As of late 2025, the Friendship Express was still not running.

## See also

[edit]

* Budapest–Belgrade–Skopje–Athens railway
* Balkan Express (train)
* Bosphorus Express

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Dostluk/Filia Express Train Timetable". Archived from the original on 26 October 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
2. ^ "02/13/2011 (inclusive) From the date of DOSTLUK/FILIA EXPRESS trains will be canceled until further notice". TCDD. Archived from the original on 12 September 2011. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
3. ^ "Greece severs international links". International Railway Journal. March 2011. [dead link]
4. ^ "Επιταχύνονται οι διαδικασίες για την ακτοπλοϊκή σύνδεση των λιμανιών Θεσσαλονίκης και Σμύρνης. Οι δηλώσεις των δύο πρωθυπουργών" [The procedures for the ferry connection of the ports of Thessaloniki and Izmir are accelerated. The statements of the two prime ministers] (in Greek). 8 March 2016.

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TCDD Taşımacılık routes

High-speed service|

* Ankara–Eskişehir
* Ankara–Istanbul
* Ankara–Konya
* Ankara–Karaman
* Ankara–Sivas
* Istanbul–Eskişehir
* Istanbul–Konya
* Istanbul–Karaman
* Istanbul–Sivas

International Service|

* Istanbul-Sofia Express
* Bosphorus Express
* Trans-Asia Express
* Van–Tehran

Mainline Service|

| Blue Trains|

* 4th of September Blue Train
* İzmir Blue Train
* Konya Blue Train

|

Express Trains|

* 6th of September Express
* 17th of September Express
* Aegean Express
* Ankara Express
* Eastern Express
* Erciyes Express
* Lakes Express
* Lake Van Express
* Pamukkale Express
* Roses Express
* Southern Kurtalan Express
* Taurus Express

Touristic Trains|

* Touristic Eastern Express
* Ankara–Tatvan
* Ankara–Diyarbakır
* Erzurum–Kars
* Blackdiamond Express
* Touristic Salt Express

Regional Service|

| District 1|

* B11 Adapazarı–Gebze
* B12 İstanbul–Edirne
* B13 İstanbul–Uzunköprü

|

District 2|

* B21 Ankara–Polatlı
* B22 Zonguldak–Karabük
* B23 Zonguldak–Gökçebey

District 3|

* B31 Basmane–Denizli
* B32 Basmane–Ödemiş
* B33 Basmane–Tire
* B34 Basmane–Uşak
* B35 Basmane–Alaşehir
* B36 Basmane–Nazilli
* B38 Manisa–Alaşehir
* B39 Söke–Denizli
* B310 Söke–Nazilli

District 4|

* B41 Sivas–Divriği
* B42 Erzincan–Divriği
* B43 Kars–Akyaka
* B45 Samsun–Amasya
* B? Sivas–Malatya
* B? Samsun–Sivas

District 5|

* B51 Diyarbakır–Batman
* B52 Elazığ–Tatvan

District 6|

* B61 Mersin–Adana
* B62 Mersin–İskenderun
* B64 Konya–Karaman
* B65 Gaziantep–Nizip

District 7|

* B71 Kütahya–Balıkesir
* B72 Eskişehir–Afyonkarahisar
* B73 Eskişehir–Kütahya
* B74 Eskişehir–Tavşanlı

Commuter service|

* Marmaray
* Başkentray
* İZBAN
* Gaziray

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