The Kars railway station is a train station

Train station

A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...

, serving the eastern Turkish

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 city of Kars

Kars

Kars is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. The population of the city is 73,826 as of 2010.-Etymology:As Chorzene, the town appears in Roman historiography as part of ancient Armenia...

. It is one of the easternmost stations on the Trans-Anatolian railway. The Eastern Express

Eastern Express

The Eastern Express is an overnight passenger train operated by the Turkish State Railways. The train runs from İstanbul's Haydarpaşa Terminal to Kars Railway Station in Kars. The train was the first overnight service east of Ankara. The Eastern Express stops in 11 provincial capitals: İstanbul,...

 services Kars once a day to İstanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

. Between 1993 and 2011, there was no train service east of Kars due to the Turkish-Armenian border closure. But as of February 2011, a regional train operates twice daily from Kars to Akkaya

Akkaya

Akkaya is a surname shared by several notable people, all of whom were born in Turkey in the latter half of the 20th century:* İlkay Akkaya * Deniz Akkaya * Gülşah Akkaya...

, the last Turkish town before the border.

The station was opened in 1899, by the Transcaucasus Railway

Transcaucasus Railway

The Transcaucus Railway was the first railway in Caucasia. It was funded by the Russian Empire as a strategic railway connecting the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. Caucasia was a land disputed between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire. The railway would allow the Russian army to have better...

, when Kars was under the rule of the Russian Empire

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

 in order to have better control over the Ottoman front. The tracks were originally standard Russian 5-foot gauge

Russian gauge

In railway terminology, Russian gauge refers to railway track with a gauge between 1,520 mm and . In a narrow sense as defined by Russian Railways it refers to gauge....

. After the Turkish War of Independence

Turkish War of Independence

The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...

, Kars was given back to Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

. The Turkish State Railways

Turkish State Railways

The State Railways of the Turkish Republic or TCDD is the government owned, national railway carrier in the Republic of Turkey, headquartered in Ankara...

 took over the station, but Kars remained isolated from the rest of the network until 1939, when a standard gauge

Standard gauge

The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

 line was built to Erzurum

Erzurum

Erzurum is a city in Turkey. It is the largest city, the capital of Erzurum Province. The city is situated 1757 meters above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 361,235 in the 2000 census. .Erzurum, known as "The Rock" in NATO code, served as NATO's southeastern-most air force post during the...

. Passengers would change to a narrow gauge train from Erzurum to Kars. The Narrow gauge line was replaced with standard gauge in 1957 and the broad gauge line was replaced in 1962.

Service

Previous	| Turkish State Railways Turkish State Railways The State Railways of the Turkish Republic or TCDD is the government owned, national railway carrier in the Republic of Turkey, headquartered in Ankara...	| Next
Selim Selim Railway Station The Selim Railway Station is a train station in the town of Selim, Turkey. The station is served by the Eastern Express, operated by the Turkish State Railways from İstanbul to Kars.-Service:... Toward Haydarpaşa Haydarpasa Terminal The Haydarpaşa Terminal or Haydarpaşa Station is a major intercity rail station and transportation hub in Kadıköy, İstanbul. It is the busiest rail terminal in Turkey and the Middle East and one of the busiest in Eastern Europe. The terminal also has connections to İETT bus and ferry service. The...	Eastern Express Eastern Express The Eastern Express is an overnight passenger train operated by the Turkish State Railways. The train runs from İstanbul's Haydarpaşa Terminal to Kars Railway Station in Kars. The train was the first overnight service east of Ankara. The Eastern Express stops in 11 provincial capitals: İstanbul,...	Terminus