National Electric Train Counts Days to Get Down on Rails

According to a statement from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, Turkey's first indigenous design and production process of the national electric train set was completed. On Monday, June 29, at 10.00, the train will be on the tracks and test drives will start in Sakarya-TÜVASAŞ.

The design speed of the first train set produced was planned as 176 kilometers per hour and the operating speed as 160 kilometers. The produced vehicles are made of aluminum extrusion profiles designed to withstand the loads, impacts and collisions that may occur during operation. Works are also ongoing for the domestic high-speed train, which can reach operating speeds of 225 kilometers per hour.

In addition, the seat capacity of a set of 5 vehicles is 324, two of which are reserved for disabled passengers. There will also be special sections within the train for citizens with disabilities. Ergonomic passenger seats were used in the produced sets.

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu, who stated that the train will be put on the rails and the tests will be started as soon as possible, said yesterday: “We will start operating and carry passengers this year. Within the scope of the project, we primarily established the infrastructure. The aluminum body production, painting and sandblasting tests of our train were put into operation in 2019.

Karaismailoğlu emphasized that the national train plays the role of locomotive in the development of the domestic industry and expressed that they prioritize passenger safety and comfort in the train.

Stating that the seat capacity of a set of five vehicles is 324, Karaismailoğlu said, “We reserved two of them for our disabled passengers. There will also be special sections for our disabled citizens in our train. We used ergonomic passenger seats in the sets we produced. We equipped our train with security and control, monitoring, automatic stop, fully automatic air conditioning, fire warning, audio and visual passenger information and camera systems. Despite all these features, our prototype set was 20 percent more economical than its counterparts. We continue our efforts to lower costs. ” he spoke.