Tünel

Galata - Beyoğlu Funicular

Useful Information

Location:	The Tünel, Istanbul. (41.022821, 28.974069)
Open:	All year daily. [2020]
Fee:	we recommend day tickets. [2020]
Classification:	Underground Railway
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	L=554.8 m, W=6.7 m, H=4.9 m, VR=61.55 m.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	yes
Bibliography:	Eugene-Henri Gavand (1876): Chemin de fer métropolitain de Constantinople,
Address:	Tünel, İETT Karaköy Tünel Girişi, Azapkapı, Tersane Cd. No: 9, 34421 Beyoğlu/İstanbul, Tel: +90-212-372-22-22. İETT Karaköy Tünel Girişi, Şahkulu, Gümüşsuyu, İstiklal Cd. No: 261, 34425 Beyoğlu/İstanbul.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1867	Eugene-Henri Gavand, a French engineer, has the idea to construct an underground funicular.
1869	Sultan Abdülaziz, the Ottoman Emperor, gives Eugene-Henri Gavand the concession to construct the underground funicular.
08-MAY-1871	"The Metropolitan Railway of Constantinople from Galata to Pera" is founded .
30-JUN-1871	construction started.
05-MAY-1874	Tünel completed.
18-JAN-1875	Tünel inaugurated and opened to the public.
1971	steam powered train abandoned and replace by a modern subway train which is electrically powered.

Description

Karaköy 1863 The Tünel is the first connection between the districts of Galata and Péra. During the 19th century, when Istanbul was still called Constantinople, this were the most important centers of trade. Péra was part of the old city, with hotels and embassies, Galata was the place of the stock exchange and the customs. Péra was located on a plateau above the strait, Galata was the harbour on the shores close to the Golden Horn. The goods were landed and sold at Galata, which was the harbour of the city. But the merchants and workers had to walk uphill through narrow and steep lanes daily to where they lived.

There was no chance to build a road or railroad as the gradient was around 24%. But finally in 1867, the French civil engineer Eugene-Henri Gavand had the idea to build an underground funicular. He obtained the concession from Sultan Abdülaziz, built the tunnel between 1871 and 1874 and finally it was inaugurated in January 1875. Now the two important district of the city were connected by public transport, which soon became very popular.

The horizontal length of the tunnel is 606.50 m, the climbed height 61.55 m, the average slope 0,1015 m. But the tunnel is not straight, it is parabolic, which means the slope is almost horizontal at the lower end and becomes steeper uphill. In the station of Galata the slope is only 0.01 m, but it increases gradually to reach its maximum of 0.149 m at the top. This was made to increase the thickness of the rock on top, between the buildings above and the tunnel. Also it helped the train to start by just releasing the brakes of the upper train.

The first funicular was steam powered. Today it is a modern subway train which is electrically powered. Sometimes it is called the second subway of the world, as it was inaugurated in 1875, only twelve years after the Metropolitan line in London in 1863. The stations are today both located in the Beyoğlu district, the upper is called Beyoğlu an located on Tünel Square, while the lower is called Karaköy and located at Tersane Avenue No:9. The lower station is actually on the ground floor of the IETT General Headquarters Building, the company which operates the funicular since 1936.