The construction of railways in Malatya

Railway had constructed in the lands of Ottoman Empire in early time of its existence in the world. However, the mileage guarantees and other concessions related to the cost of construction of railways have become a problem of survivability for Ottoman Empire in time. The collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the formation of the New Turkish state as a republic and nation state in 1923 caused a fundamental change in the way of approaching the transportation policy. The administrators of the new state, in the light of their experiences from Ottoman period have demonstrated a strong commitment and a more independent policy on the issue of railway construction. The arrival of the railway to Malatya in 1930s realized as part of the policy that the Republic of Turkey has launched since 1923 in order to improve the transportation infrastructure of the country. In this context, firstly by the construction of Fevzipaşa-Diyarbakır line in 1930, then by the construction of the Malatya-Çetinkaya line in 1937 Malatya met with railway. Thanks to these two lines, Malatya has connected to the Mediterranean ports and eastern Anatolia from one side and to the central and western regions of the country including the capital Ankara, from the other side. The railway has made significant, especially in the economic area, contributions to the city's structure.