The Turkish State Railways (TCDD) is taking important steps towards supporting domestic and national production in rail system vehicles. The information provided by the General Manager of the Turkish Rail System Vehicles Industry Corporation (TÜRASAŞ) Selim Koçbay and the General Manager of TCDD Taşımacılık AŞ Ufuk Yalçın at the Public Economic Enterprises Commission of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) revealed the determination in this direction.
National Electric and High Speed Trains on the Road
TCDD Taşımacılık AŞ General Manager Ufuk Yalçın announced in his statement that important projects will be implemented in order to renew the aging vehicle fleet with modern, efficient and domestically produced vehicles. In this context, it was stated that the procurement process of 160 National Electric Trains, which can reach a speed of 22 kilometers per hour and are produced by TÜRASAŞ with domestic and national resources, is planned.
Another important piece of information provided by Yalçın was about high-speed train investments. It was announced that the order for 225 high-speed train sets capable of reaching a speed of 14 kilometers per hour with local and national resources was given to TÜRASAŞ. The first batch of these high-speed train sets is targeted to be delivered by the end of 2026, and the rest by the end of 2028. In addition, it was announced that 56 new generation national electric train sets with low maintenance and energy costs, 95 electric mainline locomotives and 40 diesel electric mainline locomotives were also included in the investment program.
National Metro and Powerful Diesel Locomotive Production
TÜRASAŞ General Manager Selim Koçbay, in his presentation to the commission, announced that design work has begun for the national metro production. This development shows that domestic production will also gain importance in urban public transportation. Koçbay also stated that they are working on an important project in the diesel locomotive field. It was stated that with this project called “6-Axle National Main Line Locomotive Project (CoCo)”, a diesel locomotive with 4 thousand horsepower, which will be the most powerful locomotive in Türkiye, will be produced. This locomotive will provide significant power especially in freight transportation.
These comprehensive investment and development projects are considered critical steps towards reducing Türkiye’s external dependency in rail systems and increasing domestic production capacity. With the entry into service of new generation, fast and domestically produced vehicles, it is expected that a more comfortable, faster and more economical period will be entered in both passenger and freight transportation.
