While the Ankara Metro system was planned in the early 1990s, Kızılay station was chosen to be the transfer station between the original two line. The station was first opened on 30 August 1996 as part of the 11-station Ankaray line, which is the second-oldest rapid transit line in Turkey. 16 months later, the M1 platform was opened on 29 December 1997. Kızılay remained the only hub and transfer station on the Ankara Metro until 12 February 2014, when the M3 line entered service from Batıkent. A month later, on 13 March, the M2 line from Kızılay to Koru entered service, making Kızılay one of two metro stations in Turkey serving more than two lines, along with Yenikapı Transfer Center in Istanbul. Following the failed 2016 coup d'état, the station, along with the square, was renamed "15 Temmuz Kızılay Milli İrade".