Epidemics and the Importance of Railway!

What can be done to avoid the 2020 Food Problem?

Due to the Corno Virus epidemic, travel, vacation and accommodation habits within the country and between countries will change.

The number of tourists coming from metropolitan cities such as Istanbul, Ankara and foreign countries to Antalya and its region will decrease. The workforce and consumption balance established in the transition years will also change.

With the decrease in the number of tourists, food products grown in Antalya and its region will need to be evaluated and shipped.

With the decrease of domestic tourism;

1-) In the summer period, especially in Istanbul and Ankara Metropolitan cities, the need for food will be higher than in previous years. (These two cities Turkey is hosting approximately 20 percent of the population)

2-) Food consumption will decrease in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions.

Only in Antalya province, the registered bed capacity is 600.000. It is clear how much the movement in the North-South direction of our country is in the summer period when tourism workers and summer holiday owners are included.

3-) People living with food and animal husbandry in these regions will have problems in marketing and shipping the products. The producer, which has an annual agreement with the hotels, will remain in a difficult situation. It should be ensured that those who carry out food packaging collections work without losing their health.

4-) Incentives and supports should be determined urgently as greenhouse, poultry and stockbreeding and their livelihoods stop production, which may endanger our country's food safety. The monitoring of hotel operators' debts to producers should be made by the state.

5-) Precautions must be taken for the shipment and distribution of these products. Especially for Istanbul and the railway should be used for cheap transportation of food from the Thrace region. Railway can be used for cheap transportation of meat and meat products from the Erzurum-Kars region where fattening is done.

6-) The incomplete railway line between Konya and Karaman has gained more importance. It should be finished urgently for fast and cheap delivery of food. It should also be carried out in the plan regarding the extension of the route.

7-) Delivery and distribution should be accelerated so that the food is not affected more by the heat, especially in the summer. A plan should be established for the close proximity of the street markets to the train stations and a food delivery plan to the street train stations.

In the spring and summer period, an annual contract should be made with food producers for the cheap supply of food and a purchase guarantee should be given.

Planning and alternative distribution methods should be considered for the transportation and distribution of these products to the North of our country. Instead of making the food distribution of a mega city such as Istanbul by means of a small number of state buildings, the alternative of making it from more points, preferably in places where railway stations are located, should be considered.

It is certain that there is more need for Ankara-Sivas, Konya-Karaman, Bursa high-speed train projects that are announced to be completed in 2015 and still unfinished. Even if these lines are designed for high speed train, it is true that freight transportation is as important as passenger transportation for our country.

We see examples of high-speed trains used as an ambulance for collecting patients to different places. We see that countries with strong railway passenger and freight infrastructure have more easily got out of crises by including this power in their emergency action plans.

Railway freight transport will reduce the risk of transporting and spreading the disease, as it will be carried out with fewer staff than transport by truck or truck. Infrastructure should be prepared for railway food transportation for cheap and fast supply of the public's food needs.

Heavenly Young