Minister Karaismailoğlu: “In the coming years, policies will be developed that can extend the Eastern Express from here to Baku, Kazakhstan and beyond. We will see trains like the Orient Express, which depart from Paris and arrive in Istanbul, on our rails.” said.
The “Starts Upon Arrival Photo Contest Award Ceremony” organized by the General Directorate of TCDD Taşımacılık AŞ under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure was held at The Ankara Hotel.
Karaismailoğlu, in his speech here, stated that they made an examination at the Station of Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM)-Gar-Kızılay Metro Line before the meeting and said that they will put this place into service at the beginning of 2023.
Reminding that the world railway sector started with the Industrial Revolution in the 1830s, Karaismailoğlu noted that with its 166-year history, Turkey is one of the leading countries in the world in this field.
Karaismailoğlu explained that in the first years of the Republic, great works were carried out within the framework of the vision of "weaving the homeland with iron nets", however, no railway investment was made in the 1950-2002 period, and even the existing lines were not protected.
Emphasizing that they have done important works in the railway sector under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Karaismailoğlu said, “Today, we have 8 cities that meet with high-speed train, our goal is to increase this to 52. In 2002 there was an extremely inadequate transport infrastructure. After a 65 percent land-based investment period, with emphasis on road infrastructure first, production and mobility increased in all parts of Anatolia. Citizens started to work in their own country.” said.
Karaismailoğlu pointed out that they have also completed their infrastructure in the airline sector, and stated that they have entered a period of investment mainly on railways.
The Number of Logistics Centers Will Increase from 13 to 26
Karaismailoğlu stated that 4 thousand 500 kilometers of railway investments continue throughout Turkey, and that there are feverish works on the Bursa-Ankara and Ankara-İzmir lines.
Karaismailoğlu informed that they will open the Ankara-Sivas High Speed Train Line in April 2023 and stated that they aim to increase the current railway network from 13 thousand kilometers to 2053 thousand kilometers in 28.
Pointing out that railways are also very valuable in terms of reducing emissions and logistics costs in production, Karaismailoğlu said that their investments to connect organized industrial zones (OIZ) and ports with junction lines continue.
Karaismailoğlu pointed out that the logistics center activities are also continuing and noted that they aim to increase the number of logistics centers from 13 to 26.
Informing that they predict that the number of passengers carried on the railways will increase from 19,5 million to 2053 million in 270, Karaismailoğlu said, “Last year, we transported 38 million tons of freight by rail. As a result of the investments we will make, we aim to increase the freight capacity on the railways to 448 million tons.” he said.
Touristic Orient Express Begins New Expeditions
Karaismailoğlu explained that they had important meetings and studies with neighboring countries to increase the capacity and efficiency of the Middle Corridor.
Emphasizing that the Touristic Eastern Express will also start new flights, Karaismailoğlu continued as follows: “Hopefully, policies will be developed that will extend the Eastern Express from here to Baku, Kazakhstan and beyond in the coming years. Likewise, we will definitely see trains like the Orient Express, which departed from Paris and came to Istanbul years ago, on our rails in the coming years. Because these are the needs and capacity issues. As we make our investments and make our infrastructure suitable for this type of transportation, there will be important developments in reflecting the railway culture to the whole world. We have investment ideas that will increase comfort and safety on both the freight and passenger sides, and will have a significant impact on tourism.”
Countdown for the Introduction of the National Electric Train
Karaismailoğlu drew attention to the importance of the vehicles and equipment used in the railways, and stated that Turkey has become self-sufficient in this field and that they have included and will include domestic and national production in various projects they have implemented recently.
In addition, Karaismailoğlu stated that the national electric train with a speed of 160 kilometers will be introduced in the coming days.
“We are continuing our efforts to develop our train, which can reach 225 kilometers after it, locally and nationally. Railway vehicles and equipment are very important in the growing and developing sector. For this reason, our country has left behind important steps in both producing this and exporting these vehicles abroad.”
Karaismailoğlu thanked the photographers participating in the competition for reflecting the railway culture with their photographs.
452 Photographers Participated in the Contest with 1445 Artworks
TCDD Taşımacılık AŞ General Manager Ufuk Yalçın said that in its 166-year history, locomotives with crescent and star crest not only transported passengers and cargo from one place to another, but also brought abundance, education, health as well as civilization and art to the farthest corners of Turkey.
Stating that they are proud to reach the finals of a new photography contest they have implemented with this understanding, Yalçın said, "It Begins When It Arrives Photo Contest," by expanding the scope of the "Just That Moment" contest, which they held twice before, and with the theme of the Orient Express, by including photographs taken all over Turkey. He stated that they organized the
Yalçın informed that 452 photographers participated with 1445 works of art in the competition, which was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure in cooperation with the Turkish Photography Art Federation.
Stating that the photographs that capture the “moment” on many trains from the Eastern Express to the Izmir Blue Train, from high-speed trains to the Marmaray are evaluated by the jury, which includes representatives of the Ministry and the General Directorate, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and photographers who are members of the Turkish Photography Art Federation. Yalçın thanked everyone who contributed, especially Minister Karaismailoğlu, for their support.
After the opening speeches, Karaismailoğlu presented the awards to the winners of the competition.
Gülay Kocamış became the winner of the gold medal and a gift certificate of 10 thousand lira. The silver medal was given to Gamze Bozkaya with a gift certificate of 7 thousand 500 liras.
The photograph taken by Gülay Kocamış was presented to Minister Karaismailoğlu as framed.
Be the first to comment