“Tourist Orient Express” will resume its activities on December 15, Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoglu said on Tuesday.
Karaismayiloglu recalled that the Orient Tourist Express project was implemented by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Turkish Railways (TCDD Taşımacılık AŞ) with the aim of developing tourism in the country.
The first flight of the “Tourist Orient Express” was made on May 29, 2019.
The express was suspended in March 2020 amid the spread of a new type of coronavirus (COVID-19).
The “Tourist Orient Express” will leave from Ankara on December 15 and from Kars on December 17, Karaismayiloglu said.
“Trains of the “Tourist Orient Express” will depart from Ankara on Wednesdays and Fridays at 15.55 local time, from Kars – on Fridays and Sundays at 22.20 local time. The number of trains and wagons will be determined based on demand. Trains consist of carriages with beds and meals,” the minister said.
The head of the Ministry of Transport said that 37 thousand people have used the services of the Oriental Tourist Express since the launch.
The express overcomes the distance of 1.3 thousand km in 31 hours 40 minutes on the Ankara-Kars line and in 32 hours 37 minutes in the opposite direction, the minister added.
