Turkey's most scenic slow train is back on the timetable. Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu has announced that tickets for the Touristic Eastern Express (Turistik Doğu Ekspresi) go on sale to individual travellers at 1:55 p.m. local time on Monday, Oct. 26, via TCDD Taşımacılık's official sales channels.
The 2026-27 winter season will see 70 departures in total — 35 in each direction. Trains run from Ankara to Kars between Dec. 21, 2026 and March 10, 2027, departing on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The return leg from Kars to Ankara operates between Dec. 23, 2026 and March 12, 2027, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
What sets the touristic version apart from the regular Eastern Express is the built-in sightseeing. Rather than a single long haul, the train pauses at stations along the way so passengers can step off and explore. Eastbound services stop at Erzincan and Erzurum, while westbound trains break the trip at İliç, Divriği and Sivas — the latter home to a UNESCO-listed hospital complex and one of Anatolia's great Seljuk monuments.
The route itself is the draw. The overnight journey crosses the Anatolian steppe, climbs through snowy mountain passes and passes over the famous viaducts of the Çoruh valley before reaching Kars in Turkey's far northeast. Kars is the reward at the end: a frontier city with Russian-imperial architecture, the medieval Armenian ruins of Ani nearby, and a winter food scene famous for goose and gruyère cheese.
Tickets sell out fast — the service has become hugely popular with domestic and international travellers alike, and the winter departures often book up within hours of going on sale. If you're eyeing a berth, be ready at the TCDD website or app the moment sales open. Cabins come in sleeping and seated configurations, and groups can book private compartments on the touristic service.
Timing matters too. Late December and January deliver the deepest snow and most dramatic scenery, while early March offers slightly milder conditions and thinner crowds. Either way, pack for serious cold — Kars regularly sits well below freezing in midwinter.
For anyone who has dreamed of crossing eastern Turkey by rail, this is the moment to book. The combination of scheduled sightseeing stops, a handful of weekly departures and heavy demand means the strongest dates disappear first. Whether you start in Ankara and ride east, or base yourself in Kars and head west through Sivas and Divriği, the Touristic Eastern Express is one of the great winter rail journeys — and the 2026-27 season booking window opens now.
Story reported by Daily Sabah Travel.
