Türkiye’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure has announced that the Turistik Doğu Ekspresi (Touristic Eastern Express) will make 70 trips in the 2026–2027 winter season, 35 in each direction, between Ankara and Kars in the north-east of the country.
From Ankara to Kars, the train runs from 21 December 2026 to 10 March 2027, departing on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On the way back it leaves Kars between 23 December and 12 March, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
The journey includes sightseeing stops: Erzincan and Erzurum on the outward trip, and İliç, Divriği and Sivas on the return. The train has sleeping cars, each with 10 two-bed compartments, and a dining car.
According to the ministry, individual ticket sales open on 26 October through the sales channels of TCDD Taşımacılık, the Turkish railway operator.
