Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu emphasized that they will increase the railway investment share to 2023 percent in 63,4, and said that they are working to produce at least 80 percent of rail system vehicles and sub-components with domestic and national facilities. Stating that a total of 313,7 kilometers of urban rail system was built by the ministry, Karaismailoğlu said, “We have contributed 4 billion TL to the Turkish economy with 7 metro projects we have undertaken in 22 provinces. Currently, we have 6 projects under construction in 10 more provinces. When these projects are completed, we will save 10,8 million hours of time and 146 thousand tons of fuel, as well as contributing 136 billion TL to our economy.”
Stating that they have shaped the future vision of Turkey, whose face has been enlightened by the investments made in the field of transportation and communication, for 19 years, keeping the pulse of the world and following the technological developments closely, Karaismailoğlu said, “We see that the railways were neglected for almost half a century before 2003 and that no nails were hammered. However, our job is not to deal with the literature of neglect and complaints. We have considered the railways as a state policy since 2003 and determined it as a priority sector”.
Noting that they clinched this importance to railways with the decisions taken at the "Turkish Railway Summit" held in Istanbul between 21-23 October 2020, Karaismailoğlu said that with the 12th Transport and Communication Council held in October, they strengthened both the importance given to the railway and the vision in the field of transportation and communication. .
WE INVESTED 19 BILLION TL IN RAILWAYS IN 222 YEARS
Explaining that they are planning the future together with all the representatives of the sector, Minister of Transport Karaismailoğlu continued his speech as follows:
“We have started a new breakthrough in railways so that the opportunities provided by the geographical location of our country, which acts as a bridge between Asia and Europe, can turn into economic and commercial advantages. By connecting our railway lines to ports, airports and logistics centers, we handled our railways with a new approach suitable for combined transportation. With our projects, we planned to make railway transportation contribute to the economy not only on the east-west line, but also between our north-south coasts. In the last 19 years, we have invested 222 billion Liras by giving the lion's share to the railways. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of our Republic; We have been the ones who took care of the motto 'Railways bring hope and prosperity' and the vision of the Republic 'Weaving our homeland with iron nets'. Those who have again developed this vision have also been fortunate enough for us to plan and start taking steps to build an environmentally friendly, sustainable and carbon-free future in Turkey's railway reform.”
TURKEY IS THE CENTRAL LOCATION OF 67 COUNTRIES
Referring to the framework drawn specifically for the railway within the scope of the 12th Transport and Communication Council, Karaismailoğlu said that Turkey has only 4 hours of flight time, 1 billion 650 million people live, 38 trillion dollars Gross National Product and 7 trillion 45 billion dollars trade volume. He pointed out that 67 countries are also in the central position. “With the mission that this strategic position imposes on us, our country; Karaismailoğlu said, “We are making it a regional intersection and hub point in all transportation modes, especially the railway.” Reminding that they also published the National Green Deal Action Plan for the Green Deal, which aims to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, Transport Minister Karaismailoğlu said, “Within the framework of the action plan, sustainable and smart transportation, green maritime and green port practices We aim to develop railway transportation. Thanks to this breakthrough, which is a result of the management and political understanding of the AK Party governments; The concepts of load, data and people are now evaluated separately under the headings of logistics, mobility and digitalization; The transportation and communication approaches of the future are designed within this framework”.
WE HEARD THE OPINION LEADERS WHILE DETERMINING THE ROADMAP
Under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Karaismailoğlu stated that they are continuing their efforts to achieve the goal of "Strong, Great Turkey" and to have Turkey's name written among the top 10 economies of the world, and made the following assessments:
“While determining our roadmap; First of all, we listened to local and foreign sector representatives and opinion leaders. We have been in favor of a participatory approach while preparing the infrastructure for the steps that Turkey will take to develop its sphere of influence not only within its borders but also in its region. We determined this table with 'common wisdom'. More than 500 academicians, NGO representatives, private sector representatives and our friends in public institutions and organizations, what needs to be done for Turkey to have a sustainable transportation and communication infrastructure; 'financial management, energy efficiency, environmental and social sustainability, governance, human assets and education, quality and efficiency, safety and security, technology and innovation and legislation', in 5 sectors, especially railway, Communication, Air, Highway and Seaway. collected under the headings.
WE WILL MAKE TCDD ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST FAVORITE BUSINESSES.
Karaismailoğlu stated that these topics, called "Basic Policy Areas", were embodied in the areas of digitalization, mobility, logistics, which are the focus topics of the Council, and 5 targets specific to 470 sectors, and said that there are four main targets set for TCDD. Karaismailoğlu said, “We will be the most reliable transportation brand in Turkey and the railway brand that carries the most freight and passengers in Europe. With the express lines, we will have Europe's leading experience and culture-oriented tourism lines. We will establish a modern Customer Relationship Management model based on customer satisfaction. We will never be satisfied with our railways, just as we are never satisfied with what we have in any subject, in any mode of transportation. We will achieve these 4 basic goals and make TCDD, one of the most rooted institutions of our country, one of the most popular businesses in the world.
IT IS TARGET TO PRODUCE AT LEAST 80 PERCENT OF RAIL SYSTEM VEHICLES AND SUB-COMPONENTS WITH DOMESTIC AND NATIONAL FACILITIES.
Drawing attention to the steps to be taken in the railway sector in the short term, Karaismailoğlu listed the targets as follows:
“To develop the national railway industry, to increase the support for the R&D and technology projects needed by the sector, and to implement it with the cooperation of TÜBİTAK, Scientific Institutions, the private sector and universities, to provide junction line connections to logistics centers, factories, industry, OIZ and ports. length to 580 km, attaining a modern customer relationship management model based on passenger satisfaction, creating new cultural and tourism routes, preparing the Railway Energy and Climate Change Action Plan and determining and implementing strategies to reduce carbon emissions, taking into account the Logistics Master Plan Developing business models in order to increase the efficiency and productivity of the centers, producing rail system vehicles and sub-components with at least 80 percent domestic and national resources, increasing the rate of rail freight transportation in land transportation to 11 percent. We will work for you.”
IN THE MEDIUM TERM, RAILWAY LINE LENGTH WILL BE INCREASED TO 21 KILOMETER
Explaining that these steps will be supported by the steps planned to be implemented in the medium term, Karaismailoğlu noted that the continuity of the reformist approach in railways will be ensured. Referring to the medium-term goals, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Karaismailoğlu said that the developed "National Signal System" should be made widespread by making it a brand, increasing the rate of signaled lines from 65 percent to 90 percent, TCDD Taşımacılık A.Ş. Increasing the annual amount of freight transported by TCDD to 50 million tons, making TCDD the most reliable transportation brand in Turkey, preparing the Railway Energy and Climate Change Action Plan, determining and implementing strategies to reduce carbon emissions, increasing the length of the railway line to 21 thousand 130 kilometers. He said that they will work to remove TCDD and make it the brand that carries the most cargo and passengers in Europe.
WE INCREASED THE INVESTMENT SHARE OF RAILWAYS TO 48%
Underlining that the priority target set in the long term is to increase the length of the railway line to 28 thousand 590 kilometers, Karaismailoğlu emphasized that it is among the most important agendas to reduce the emissions from the railway by at least 2035% compared to 1990 by 75. Underlining that they built a total of 2003 thousand 213 kilometers of new lines, 2 kilometers of which were YHT, after 115, Karaismailoğlu said:
“We have extended our railway network to 12 kilometers. We have overhauled and renewed all of the railways that have been untouched for 803 years. 50 percent of our signaled lines to increase efficiency and safety in the railway; On the other hand, we increased our electric lines by 172 percent. In 180, we increased the investment share of railways from 2003 percent to 33 percent. Of course, we will not be satisfied with this, we will increase the railway investment share to 48 percent in 2023. We introduced our country to YHT management, which is our dream of half a century. Ankara-Eskişehir high-speed train line, which first started service in 63,4, was followed by Ankara-Konya and Ankara-Istanbul lines. We delivered YHT transportation to 2009 percent of the country's population with "4 provinces in 13 destinations". To date, approximately 44 million passengers have traveled with YHT. We did not leave our High Speed Train works here. We continue our work on very important routes all over our country. Of these lines, we have achieved 59 percent physical progress in the infrastructure construction works of the Ankara-Sivas YHT line. We started loading tests in Balıseyh-Yerköy-Sivas section. Infrastructure work continues between Ankara Baliseyh.”
ANKARA-IZMIR SPEED TRAIN LINE IS TARGETING 13,5 MILLION PASSENGERS
Stating that 1,5 million citizens of Kayseri will be included in the YHT line with the Yerköy-Kayseri High Speed Train Line, Karaismailoğlu said, "Another important project is the Ankara-İzmir High Speed Train line. We made 47 percent physical progress in infrastructure works. With this project, we will reduce the rail travel time between Ankara and İzmir from 14 hours to 3,5 hours. When finished, we aim to transport approximately 525 million passengers and 13,5 million tons of cargo per year over a distance of 90 kilometers. Construction work in progress Halkalı- Our Kapikule High Speed Train Project also constitutes one of the most important links of the Silk Railway route that forms the European connection. With this project; Halkalı- The passenger travel time between Kapikule (Edirne) will be increased from 4 hours to 1 hour and 20 minutes; we aim to reduce the load carrying time from 6,5 hours to 2 hours and 20 minutes. We achieved 82 percent progress in the infrastructure works of the Bursa-Yenişehir-Osmaneli high-speed train line, which is still under successful construction. By completing the superstructure tender, there are no obstacles in front of our line.”
WE PROVIDED 83% PHYSICAL PROGRESS IN INFRASTRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION WORKS BETWEEN KARAMAN-ULUKIŞLA
Minister Karaismailoğlu, who stated that they carried out the final tests between Konya and Karaman within the scope of the Konya-Karaman-Ulukışla High Speed Train line works and that they will open them soon, emphasized that they achieved 83 percent physical progress in the infrastructure construction works between Karaman and Ulukışla. Karaismailoğlu pointed out that with the opening of the line, the distance between Konya and Adana, which is about 6 hours, will decrease to 2 hours and 20 minutes, and made the following evaluations:
“We will complete the Aksaotomatik-Ulukışla-Yenice Mersin High Speed Train Project with a total length of 192 kilometers through external financing. Adapazarı-Gebze-YSS Bridge-Istanbul Airport- Halkalı High Speed Train Project. Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, which has more than one critical economic value for Turkey, will once again integrate the two continents with railway transportation. We will also reduce logistics costs in production by carrying loads from our high-speed train lines. In addition to our high-speed train projects, where we will carry out passenger and freight transport, our efforts to improve our conventional lines continue uninterruptedly. We are increasing the passenger and cargo carrying capacity of our railways. Within the scope of the Transport and Logistics Master Plan studies, we aim to increase the share of railways in freight transportation from 5 percent to 10 percent in the first place. We are working to reduce transportation costs.”
DUE TO THE PANDEMIC, DOMESTIC LOAD TRANSPORTATION BY RAILWAYS HAS NOT DECREASED
Underlining that there was no decline in domestic freight transport by rail despite the pandemic in 2020, Karaismailoğlu also drew attention to the Middle Corridor, which is the route that passes through Turkey and connects Far East countries, especially China, to the European Continent. Karaismailoğlu, Minister of Transport, said, “With the entry into service of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway Line, the possibility of using the Middle Corridor effectively in the railway freight traffic between China and Europe has emerged,” and said, “We can reach Europe from China via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Iron Silk Road. It went down in history as the first freight train to reach Europe by using Marmaray. The 11 thousand 483 kilometer China-Turkey track is completed in 12 days. In the following years, we are working to shift 5 percent of the annual 30 thousand block train to Europe via China-Russia (Siberia), which is designated as the northern line, to Turkey. We aim to operate 500 blocks of trains per year from the Middle Corridor and BTK route, and to reduce the total 12-day cruise time between China and Turkey to 10 days,” he said.
WE CONTRIBUTED 7 BILLION TL TO TURKISH ECONOMY WITH 22 METRO PROJECTS
Emphasizing that they have also invested heavily in urban rail systems along with the international and national railway business, Karaismailoğlu continued his speech as follows:
“To date, a total of 313,7 kilometers of urban rail system lines have been built by our ministry. We have contributed 4 billion TL to the Turkish economy with 7 metro projects we have undertaken in 22 provinces. We have carried approximately 990 million passengers with the metros we have implemented in Istanbul, Ankara, Kocaeli and Antalya. We saved 305 million hours of time and 282 thousand tons of fuel. We have achieved a reduction of 156 thousand tons in carbon emissions. Currently, we have 6 projects under construction in 10 more provinces. The contribution of urban rail systems to the economy and the environment is at a level that we cannot ignore. When these projects are completed, we will save 10,8 million hours of time and 146 thousand tons of fuel, in addition to contributing TL 136 billion to our economy. Marmaray in Istanbul, Başkentray in Ankara, İZBAN in İzmir and KONYARAY in Konya serve our citizens. GAZİRAY project continues in Gaziantep. Our Ministry undertook an important part of Istanbul's urban rail system network. We continue the construction of 103.3 kilometers.”
Karaismailoğlu stated that they have made approximately 120 percent physical progress in the 37,5 kilometer Beşiktaş (Gayrettepe)- Kağıthane-Eyüp-Istanbul Airport Subway, which will have the title of “Turkey's Fastest Subway” with 95 kilometers per hour. He explained that the Gayrettepe-Kağıthane crossing is planned to be put into operation as of the second quarter of 2022.
Another line is 31,5 kilometers from Küçükçekmece (HalkalıNoting that there is Başakşehir-Arnavutköy-Istanbul Airport Metro, Minister of Transport Karaismailoğlu made the following evaluations:
“We have completed 71 percent of our tunnel work. We plan to complete the entire project by the end of 2022. With the Sabiha Gökçen-Pendik Kaynarca Metro at another international airport of Istanbul, we are integrating this place into the metro lines. Kadıköy-We will connect the Kartal-Kaynarca Rail System Line to Sabiha Gökçen Airport with this 7,4 kilometer long line. We achieved 87 percent physical realization. We plan to complete this project in the first quarter of 2022. Another project in Istanbul, the Bakırköy (IDO)-Bahçelievler-Güngören-Bağcılar Kirazlı Metro, which will directly connect the Kirazlı- Başakşehir Line with Bakırköy İDO, has a physical realization of nearly 60 percent. We will put the line into service at the end of 2022. Since Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality did not do it, we took over; We aim to complete the 6,2 km Başakşehir-Çam and SakuraŞehir Hospital-Kayaşehir Metro, which we started to work on last year, in a short period of 18 months. On the other hand, we are adding 2 new metro lines to Istanbul. We started to work on the Altunizade-Çamlıca-Bosna Boulevard Metro Line and Kazlıçeşme-Sirkeci Rail System and pedestrian-oriented new generation transportation projects.”
WE MADE TÜRASAŞ THE LARGEST RAIL SYSTEM VEHICLE MANUFACTURER IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Expressing that they know how effective logistics activities are in the growth and development of production, Karaismailoğlu said, in this context, from the 25 logistics centers they plan to bring to Turkey; He said they have commissioned 12 of them. Stating that while developing the railway transportation network in Turkey, another goal is to follow the developments in the world and to develop the domestic railway industry equipped with new technologies, Karaismailoğlu said, “In line with this goal, we have completed all kinds of legal arrangements that can be made by the state and paved the way for our private sector. We want our private sector to follow the world carefully and implement new developments in our country.”
Expressing that they have created a serious national railway industry in the last 19 years, Minister Karaismailoğlu noted that they established high-speed train switchgears in Çankırı, high-speed train sleepers in Sivas, Sakarya, Afyon, Konya and Ankara, and facilities that produce rail fastening materials in Erzincan. Underlining that high-speed train rails and wheels have started to be produced in Karabük, KARDEMİR, Karaismailoğlu said, “We have achieved a new momentum and synergy in the rail system production processes in our country by combining the three factories in our country, where different parts of the rail system vehicles are made, under the roof of TÜRASAŞ. We made TÜRASAŞ the largest rail system vehicle manufacturer in the Middle East. We develop products with national design in the rail systems sector, open them to the world market and bring them to high brand value. While we continue to produce diesel and electric locomotives, railway maintenance vehicles, modernization of railway vehicles, train control management system, wagons and diesel engines, we also carry out R&D studies for the development of national railway vehicles. We have completed the test processes of the National Electric Train set, which has a speed of 160 kilometers per hour. In 2022, we will start the mass production of the national electric locomotive. With the experience gained from the production of National Train Sets, we also started the Train Set Project studies at a speed of 225 km/h. We plan to complete the prototype in 2022 and start mass production in 2023. With these projects, we will reach an important stage for our country in the production of all rail system vehicles, including metro, suburban and tram design and production.”
WE SAVED CARBON EMISSIONS EQUIVALENT TO A TOTAL OF 780 TREES
Karaismailoğlu said, “In our planning until 2035, our railway vehicle requirement will be 17,4 billion euros, and TCDD's rail system vehicle need will have a volume of 2050 billion euros until 15,” and said that they are carrying out production plans accordingly. Emphasizing that creating environmental benefit is one of their primary goals, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Karaismailoğlu said, “With the investments we have made for this purpose, the annual total; We saved 975 million tons of carbon emissions, 20 million dollars worth of paper, and a total of 780 trees. Railways are the most efficient mode of transportation in land transportation. With the increase in the use of railways, we provide more carbon emissions and fuel savings. We aim to establish a more environmentally friendly transportation network by increasing the use of railways in passenger and freight transportation in our country. We save 770 million dollars every year with our railway investments. With all our transportation investments, our total savings in 2020 reached 13,4 billion dollars.”
Explaining that they will carry out important studies on the concepts of decarbonization, autonomous transportation and universal access in the coming period, Karaismailoğlu concluded his words as follows:
“We set our goals, we sowed the seeds, now we wait for it to sprout, flourish and grow. As you can see, the seeds we scatter one by one are sprouting. Our projects are being completed one by one. We offer them to the service and benefit of our people. We focus on doing business. We are not content with it, we aim for something better and bring it to life.”
Be the first to comment