Minister Uraloğlu issues warning: Date set for the start of the Tourist Eastern Express services

The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure has issued a warning to citizens regarding the Tourist Eastern Express.

In a written statement from the Ministry, it was stated that Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu will see off the first voyage of the Tourist Eastern Express from Ankara to Kars on December 11.

The statement reported that some travel agencies, which do not have authorization to sell tickets for the Tourist Eastern Express, are attempting to market Eastern Express tickets as if they were Tourist Eastern Express tickets.

It was stated that tickets purchased by these agencies through individual sales channels will be canceled and that these agencies will be reported to the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB).

"NO AUTHORIZATION FOR THIS TRAIN"

In the statement, which requested that citizens pay attention to the differences between the Eastern Express and the Tourist Eastern Express trains while planning their travel on the Ankara-Kars line, the following information was provided:

"The Eastern Express, which consists of Pullman and couchette cars on the Ankara-Kars line, operates daily in both directions and makes stops at 53 stations along the 1,300-kilometer Ankara-Kars route. All tickets for this train are offered for individual sale one month in advance. No travel agency has authorization to sell tourist-oriented train tours for this train.

WARNING TO CITIZENS

The Tourist Eastern Express, which will begin its services departing from Ankara on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and from Kars on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, is a special train for tourism purposes. It makes approximately 3-hour stops in Erzincan and Erzurum on the route from Ankara to Kars, and in İliç, Divriği, and Sivas on the route from Kars to Ankara. While approximately 35 percent of the Tourist Eastern Express train tickets are offered for individual sale by TCDD Transportation 1 month in advance, the sales rights for the other cars were granted to travel agencies authorized by TÜRSAB through a lottery."

The statement noted that the sales rights for the Eastern Express, which operates daily to meet the travel needs of citizens, have not been granted to any travel agency for tourism purposes. In this context, it was reported that travel agencies authorized to sell tickets for the Tourist Eastern Express are announced on the TCDD Transportation website, and that travel agencies other than these should not be trusted.

The statement indicated that the tour prices for the Tourist Eastern Express vary according to the services offered by the agencies, and that authorized travel agencies plan their tour packages based on needs such as the stopover points for tour participants, visits to natural, historical, and cultural sites, food and beverage requirements, and accommodation in Kars, and set prices accordingly. It was noted that TCDD Transportation has no discretion regarding these services and that TCDD Transportation is only responsible for the operation of the Tourist Eastern Express.