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In March 2009, Turkey's high-speed train project reached a milestone as the first high-speed (Yüksek Hızlı Tren, YHT) service was inaugurated between Ankara and Eskişehir (1 hour 30 minutes, one-way/single fare: TL25 normal, TL35 business class).

About 40 minutes after departing Ankara on the route to Eskişehir, the train hits speeds up to 250 km/h (155 mph).

During the journey in Business Class, attendants serve an airline-style snack, coffee, tea, juice and water (no alcoholic beverages).

The YHT high-speed service cuts the travel time between Istanbul and Ankara to about 5-1/2 hours: you travel from the Ankara Gar to Eskişehir at high speed, then transfer to a traditional express train at Eskişehir for the ride to Istanbul's Haydarpaşa Station (5 hours 23 minutes, one-way/single fare: TL32 normal, TL40 business class).

Travel times will no doubt be reduced further as the service develops. When the high-speed tracks between Eskişehir and Istanbul are completed, the 533-km (331-mile) journey on the Istanbul-Ankara route may be in the realm of three hours, challenging the current monopoly held by airlines on such rapid transport between Turkey's two largest cities.

Check these lists of trains listed by name, and trains listed by departure station, to see how to travel between Eskişehir and Istanbul.

Here's the official TCDD timetable as of October 2010.

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