Haydarpaşa Station

Haydarpaşa Garı, located in the Rasimpaşa neighborhood of the Kadıköy district on the Anatolian side of İstanbul, is a historic main railway station owned by the Turkish Republic State Railways (TCDD). The current station building, constructed in 1908, was designed as the starting point of the Istanbul-Baghdad Railway.

^{Haydarpaşa Garı (}Pixabay⁾

The history of Haydarpaşa Garı began in 1871 during the Ottoman Empire with the construction of the Haydarpaşa–İzmit railway line. This first line was completed and opened for service in 1873. The initial station building, opened on 22 September 1872, consisted of a two-story central structure with a broken roof and single-story side wings. However, after sustaining damage in the 1894 earthquake, the structure was reinforced through various repairs and later rebuilt to meet new demands.

As the railway line operated by the Compagnie Franco-Ottomane des Chemins de Fer (CFOA) expanded with the initiation of the Baghdad Railway Project, rising passenger and freight traffic rendered the existing building inadequate. Construction of a new station building, designed by German architects Otto von Kühlmann and Hellmuth Cuno, began on 30 May 1906 and was completed on 19 August 1908. The official opening ceremony took place on 4 November 1909, the birthday of Sultan Mehmed V Reşad. In addition to German engineers, Italian stone masons also participated in the construction.

During World War I, in 1917, a fire caused by sabotage at the station’s ammunition depot inflicted major damage to the building, which was subsequently repaired in the following years. In 1924, with the nationalization of the company, the railway lines were transferred to the Directorate of State Railways and Ports, and then in 1929 to the Turkish Republic State Railways (TCDD).

Haydarpaşa Garı was constructed in the Neo-Classical German architectural style. The building occupies a total area of 3,836 square meters and consists of five floors. The ground level is built upon 1,100 wooden piles, each 21 meters long, driven into the sea. The façades are clad with Hereke granite, Lefke stone, and Osmaneli stone.

The building’s facades are enlivened by rectangular windows and decorative columns. The two circular towers at either end of the structure provide aesthetic balance in accordance with Neoclassical symmetry. The entrance hall, high-ceilinged waiting rooms, spacious platform areas, and loading platforms designed with the technology of the time combine functional utility with visual richness. Stained glass windows created by Otto Linneman added artistic value to the building; however, these were damaged in a tanker accident in 1979.

^{Haydarpaşa Garı İç Mimari (}Anadolu Ajansı⁾

During the Republican era, Haydarpaşa Garı played a central role in freight and passenger transport on long-distance routes to Anatolia, Baghdad, Hejaz, and Ankara. It served as the starting point for trains such as the Eastern Express, Capital Express, Fatih Express, and Kurtalan Express.

In 1969, TCDD upgraded the station with electrification infrastructure and operated the Haydarpaşa–Gebze Commuter Train service until 2013. However, as part of the Marmaray and High-Speed Rail (YHT) projects, train services were suspended on 19 June 2013 and fully discontinued on 24 July 2014. All routes were subsequently transferred to Pendik, Söğütlüçeşme, and Halkalı stations.

^{Haydarpaşa Garı Dış Cephe Restorasyonu (}Pexels⁾

Haydarpaşa Garı suffered severe damage in a fire on 28 November 2010, resulting in the collapse of its roof and rendering the upper floors unusable. Restoration efforts, initiated afterward, aim to preserve the building’s architectural integrity. During these works, archaeological remains belonging to the ancient city of Chalcedon were discovered beneath the platforms, leading to a decision to develop the area as an archaeopark.

Various projects are currently underway to reopen the station building for service. In accordance with an agreement between TCDD and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the station building and the surrounding 500-dönüm area have been transferred to the Ministry of Culture for a period of 29 years. Under the terms of the agreement, the railway tracks and platforms will continue to be used by TCDD, while the upper floors will house a library, exhibition spaces, and cultural projects.

Haydarpaşa Garı is not merely a physical transportation structure; it holds a unique place in Istanbul’s urban memory as a symbol that lives on across a broad cultural spectrum—from cinema and poetry to photography and collective memory.

^{Kalkedon Antik Kenti Kazıları (}Anadolu Ajansı⁾