Sirkeci railway station

Authorities are actively working to transform Istanbul's historic Sirkeci and Haydarpaşa train stations into hubs of art and culture, with renovations expected to be completed by 2026, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has announced.

Renowned travel guide Lonely Planet has named Istanbul's Sirkeci-Kazlıçeşme railway line as one of Europe's must-see rail routes.

The railway line was recently renovated in line with a project initiated by the Transportation and Infrastructure Ministry.

Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu has stated that in the last 10 years, 1 billion passengers have traveled with Marmaray, an undersea railway tunnel connecting Europe and Asia via the Bosporus Strait.

Located in Istanbul's Kadıköy district, Ragıp Pasha Pavilion, popularly known as the "haunted pavilion," has been put up for judicial sale for 449 million Turkish liras ($26.5 million).

The public auction will be on Sept. 2.

The train services between Istanbul and Bulgaria's capital of Sofia, which were halted on March 11, 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, will begin on April 25, the Turkish Transportation and Infrastructure Ministry has announced.

"Following talks between the two countries' railways administrations, the decision has been taken," the ministry said in a statement on April 20.

The Istanbul Municipality has challenged the result of a concession tender that was held for idle warehouses at the city's landmark Haydarpaşa and Sirkeci train stations.

The train line connecting Istanbul's European side suburb Halkalı with Gebze district of Kocaeli province on the east is expected to be opened to service in the coming months following the completion of a six-year-long renovation process.

Istanbul’s Marmaray train services were suspended in the Kazlıçeşme direction on April 12 after one person reportedly fell on the tracks.