The liberalized railroads rival the automotive industry: Özcan Salkaya, President of the Association of Railway Transportation, said that if the liberalization of railways is completed with all the legal regulations, an industry such as the automotive industry will also occur in the railway sector.
Salkaya Ozcan, AA correspondent in his assessment, the abolition of the state monopoly on the railways, and stated that the sector is a belated case for Turkey to open up to private operators.
A country in Eurasia ports, logistics infrastructure so late and voicing take the mind not to slow organize Salkaya Turkey's western neighbor, the former iron curtain countries Bulgaria and trying to live with the constant blockade and repression eastern neighbor that opened the way to liberalization before even Iran and drew attention to the implementation.
Salkaya said that they had been waiting for almost four years to organize the railway sector and that there was a law that would pave the way for liberalization, but the secondary and most important arrangements had not yet taken place.
Stating that there are four regulations that they are waiting for to be published, Salkaya said, “We follow the efforts of TCDD to prepare the transportation network and infrastructure for the sector, and the intense efforts of the Railway Regulation General Directorate due to impossibilities and we endeavor to support them. The aim is correct, the road is long and tiring. Therefore, it is necessary to give some speed before the hope and energy of the parties run out ”.
"Unilateral regulation harms the industry"
Özcan Salkaya said that they were in close contact with the General Directorate of Rail Regulatory Affairs, but they had no idea how TCDD would undergo a process of restructuring, how the system would change, the price tariff and the cost of the service would be affected.
Claiming that TCDD did not share any information on this issue, Salkaya said, "Moreover, the information given to us in our informal meetings with TCDD management is that they do not have a road map on this issue."
Salkaya stated that the companies that provide and receive services in the sector do not have formal and consistent information on basic issues such as price tariff, equal and fair service procurement process, preventing unfair competition.
Pointing out that the means and capabilities of the transportation company to be established within TCDD and the need to reorganize its relations with the private sector, Salkaya said, “The consequences of making this arrangement unilaterally will seriously damage the emerging railway sector. The working model we expect is to create working groups that will act in a more formal order with TCDD management and / or the relevant presidency and managers within the regulation and the management and presidencies of the General Directorate of Railway Regulation and to have information and contribute to the right experience of change with regular meetings. He spoke in the form.
"The railway industry is not difficult to form"
Özcan Salkaya stated the effects of the opening of railways to the private sector on the sector:
“One of the most important ways to achieve the economic targets set for our country is the ease of producing logistics services, high speed and low costs of these services. It is not possible for a logistic operations management, where the private sector, free market conditions and competition conditions are not valid, and where the state monopoly and management style are dominant, can achieve these goals. When we look at the statistics, we can see how the sector has developed not only in transportation but also in terms of production in the last 10 years where such a limited and overly controlled change has been experienced.
Transportation companies, infrastructure and superstructure construction companies, wagon and spare parts manufacturing companies, road construction equipment and parts production companies such as rail, sleeper, switch, security monitoring signaling systems production companies and many other issues are experiencing a very rapid development. Now, in our country, the private sector is working on the production of wagons and locomotives and the related sub-industry is formed. If the liberalization is completed with all legal regulations, it is not even a job for an industry such as the automotive industry to emerge in the railway sector. "
Asked about the interest of foreigners in railway transportation, Salkaya said, “Among foreign companies, especially European and Chinese companies are leading, showing very close interest. We can say that transportation companies are focusing on international lines for now. Most of the companies we interviewed cooperation opportunities, we are more concerned with moving to Asia to Europe via Turkey and the domestic connection "was the answer.
"Local companies are just babies"
Salkaya pointed out that foreigners will determine their positions and increase their positions in parallel with the completion of legal regulations.
On the one hand, although the satisfaction of this interest for two reasons, but also seen as frightening voicing Salkaya, said:
“First, if we cannot regulate and control the entrance and exit of the sector correctly, if we cannot ensure the integration and order between the institutions, our country will turn into a scrapyard of foreign companies in a very short time and we will not be able to clean it again. Second, domestic companies operating in the railway sector in our country are still babies. Unfortunately, we do not have the chance to compete with foreign companies that have been working under free market conditions for almost a century in some countries and have sufficient development. A company in Romania has 8 thousand wagons and nearly 150 locomotives. about 40 cars total number of firms in the private sector in Turkey is around 3 thousand 500, not counting the current line locomotive maneuvers the machine does not have any of that. "
TCDD to be established for the transportation company to prepare for this transition period of 5 year is specified by the law that transfers the transfer Salkaya, private sector companies will be a uncertainty about what is to be expressed
Salkaya emphasized that it is imperative that the secondary regulations to be prepared should be prepared in a way that will pay attention to this and protect and protect domestic producers and transport companies in the transition period, “This is why non-governmental organizations representing the private sector are in a position to generate ideas, direct and contribute directly to this process. and the political will needs to pave the way to allow this. Otherwise, it is inevitable that we will experience the bad experiences we had in different sectors and subjects in the past, ”he said.
