1996: The Opening of a Transit Line in Turkey’s Capital City

August 30, 1996

The first line of the Ankara Metro, the rapid transit system serving Turkey’s capital city of Ankara, was officially opened. This original segment of the Ankara Metro is called Ankaray, which is a portmanteau of “Ankara” and “ray” (the Turkish word for “rail”).

The opening-day celebration for Ankaray included a concert given by Bariş Manço, a world-famous Turkish rock musician, singer, songwriter, composer, actor, television producer, and show host. Ankaray is the oldest rapid transit line in Ankara. In addition, it ranks second only to the M1 line of the Istanbul Metro as the oldest rapid transit line in all of Turkey.

Ankaray covers a total of 5.3 miles (8.5 kilometers) and consists of 11 stations. The Ankara Metro in its entirety covers 40 miles (64.4 kilometers) altogether and encompasses a total of 56 stations.

Photo Credit: Vikiçizer (licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)

For more information on the Ankara Metro line designated as Ankaray, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankaray