The Logistics Coordination Board convened under the chairmanship of Enver İskurt, Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure. Deputy Minister of Treasury and Finance Yunus Elitaş, General Manager of Turkish State Railways (TCDD) Hasan Pezük, General Manager of Infrastructure Investments Yalçın Eyigün, General Manager of TCDD Taşımacılık AŞ Ufuk Yalçın, Interior, Foreign Affairs, Industry and Trade and Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change. Officials from the ministries attended. The development of the logistics sector and the importance of railway transportation in the logistics chain were emphasized at the meeting, which was attended by representatives of local governments and non-governmental organizations.
Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Enver İskurt, who chaired the meeting, drew attention to the importance of transportation and especially railway investments in Turkey's growth.
TCDD General Manager Hasan Pezük gave information about the works carried out in line with the "2053 Transport and Logistics Master Plan", which was determined by taking into account the geographical location of our country in the world. “In the logistics and transportation chain that spans a wide geography, our country is also on important corridors.” Hasan Pezük, who said, underlined that with the right strategies, the importance of our country in railway transportation is gradually increasing. Providing information about the existing railway network, Hasan Pezük said, “All of our existing conventional main lines have been modernized and renewed. We carry out many activities in order to reach the determined targets in freight transportation. Hopefully, we will be able to see the results of these activities in the short, medium and long term. Our domestic and international shipments continue with an ever-increasing momentum. We connect ports, OIZs and logistics centers with junction lines. We want to increase the block train operation in the next period by connecting the junction lines to large factories and production centers. In order to make our country the logistics base of the region, it is planned to increase the number of existing 12 logistics centers to 26. About 13 percent of our total transportation is made from logistics centers.” said.
Emphasizing the importance of planning logistics centers in the right regions with the right capacities, Pezük said, “We have drawn up our road maps by getting service from TÜBİTAK - TÜSSIDE for the management of logistics centers with the right operating models. The studies and plans were aligned with the Transport and Logistics Master Plan of our Ministry. The majority of our new railway projects are designed with a speed of 200 km, where passenger and freight transportation will be carried out together, and the construction works are carried out accordingly. Considering the completed, ongoing and planned railway projects, local and national procurement of locomotives and wagons to be used in freight transport is coordinated with the General Directorate of TÜRASAŞ. E-5000 Electric Locomotives are planned to be put into operation at the end of this year. In terms of sustainability, we attach great importance to the production of domestic national locomotives and wagons.” used his statements.