New sightseeing train completes promotional run in Black Sea Region

ZONGULDAK

Türkiye's new touristic train, the Karaelmas Express, has completed its promotional tour from the capital Ankara to the northern province of Zonguldak. 

The Karaelmas Express, which will make its first official journey on April 12, finished its promotional "Western Black Sea Touristic Train Tour.” The tour, which was also attended by Culture and Tourism Deputy Minister Nadir Alpaslan, includes a two-day sightseeing program.

The train will serve a capacity of 200 people, but it is emphasized that this number can be revised if demand is intense. Travel agencies will create special package programs for the tour.

The Transportation Ministry will determine the ticket prices for the tour in the coming days. Karaelmas Express aims to carry 10 million tourists from Ankara and neighboring cities.

Passengers had the opportunity to see the rich natural, historical and cultural heritage of the Western Black Sea region during the promotional tour, which started from Ankara and included Çankırı, Karabük and Zonguldak.

The first stops along the route were Ankara's Kalecik district with its vineyards and historic castle, Çankırı with its salt cave and museums, and Çerkeş district with its historic mansions.

The Karaelmas Express offered its passengers the opportunity to walk through the cobblestone streets of Safranbolu district of Karabük, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most beautiful examples of classic Ottoman urban architecture.

Within the scope of the tour, which shed light on the history of mining in Türkiye's first and only mining museum, passengers observed the working conditions of miners, the functioning of the mine and the working process of the mines in the Turkish Coal Corporation Training Quarry in Zonguldak.

"It is extremely important to explain this in a museum concept. There is history and economy that lived here. There are both scientific developments and a great history of life in human terms," Alparslan said.

Touristic train travelers who also visited Gökgöl Cave in Zonguldak, which stands out with its millions of years old coral fossils, watched the galleries, stalactites, columns and travertines in the cave with interest.

The passengers, who had the opportunity to travel through the forests of the Western Black Sea region with its nature by train through the riverbanks, tunnels and bridges, examined the ruins of the historical buildings unearthed in the ancient city of Hadrianapolis in Karabük's Eskipazar district.