Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu made the first body weld of the Domestic and National Electric High Speed Train Set with a speed of 225 kilometers per hour. Minister Uraloğlu said, “Our national electric high speed train sets, which will consist of 65 vehicles with aluminum bodies with a 8 percent local content rate, will have a total capacity of 584 passengers.”
Uraloğlu, who said that the process was a symbol of the Turkish nation's rise with its own power, its self-confidence and its bright future, said, "Turkey, which once could not produce flag rope and imported even pins, is now producing the world's most important and strategic technologies. What once seemed impossible to produce, what was called a figment of imagination, has now become reality."
TÜRASAŞ Became One of the Largest Rail System Vehicle Manufacturers in the Middle East
Uraloğlu stated that under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, they have considered railways as a state policy since 2002 and determined them as a priority sector, and continued his words as follows:
“We increased our railway length, which was approximately 2002 thousand kilometers in 11, by approximately 2 thousand kilometers, 251 thousand 3 kilometers of which are YHT and High Speed Train Lines, to 13 thousand 919 kilometers. We made Turkey the 6th high speed train operator in Europe and the 8th in the world.”
Uraloğlu, who explained that another goal while developing the railway transportation network was to develop the local and national railway and rail transportation systems industry, said, “We made every legal arrangement that could be made in this regard and paved the way for our private sector. We transformed TÜRASAŞ, which brought us together, into one of the largest rail system vehicle manufacturers in the Middle East.”
160 More Sets of National and Local Electric Trains with a Speed of 19 Kilometers Will Be Produced
Uraloğlu, who stated that they have produced main, critical and sub-products such as new generation locomotives, diesel and electric train sets, passenger and freight wagons, traction converter and engine, Train Control Management System at international standards in the process to date, said, “In 2023, we put our first national and domestic electric train sets with a speed of 160 kilometers per hour into service. Our 3 sets, which we named Yeni Sakarya, are currently transporting passengers between Adapazarı-Gebze. We will produce a total of 2025 more sets, 10 sets in 2026 and 9 sets in 19.”
Uraloğlu, who reminded that they also put the domestic and national driverless metro vehicle on the rails, said, “We started using our first domestic and national metro signaling systems. With the ‘Eskişehir 5000’ National Electric Mainline Locomotive Project, we produced a new generation electric mainline locomotive with a speed of 140 kilometers per hour that can carry freight and passengers, with domestic and national resources. Within the scope of our project, which we have started mass production; we will produce 20 locomotives until 2027, 95 of which will be this year, and deliver them to the TCDD General Directorate of Transportation.”
Uraloğlu stated that they have completed the production of the first set within the scope of the National Suburban Train Set Project and that they plan to produce 8 more sets this year, and that they will use these sets in Gaziray in Gaziantep.
“The National Electric High Speed Train Set Will Have a Capacity of 584 Passengers”
Minister Uraloğlu stated that they are experiencing the rightful pride and happiness of starting production by making the first weld of the National Electric High Speed Train Set Project with a speed of 225 kilometers per hour. Uraloğlu said, “Our National Electric High Speed Train sets, which will consist of 65 vehicles with aluminum bodies with a 8 percent local content rate, will have a total capacity of 584 passengers. Our vehicles forming the set will be equipped with a train control and monitoring system that ensures passenger comfort and safety, an automatic train stopping system, electromechanical passenger entrance doors, fully automatic air conditioning, fire alarm, audio and visual passenger information and camera systems.”
“We Plan to Produce a Total of 2026 Sets Between 2028-14”
Uraloğlu said that there will be Wi-Fi access that passengers can easily use during their journey, automatic machines where they can easily meet their food and beverage needs, and a kitchen section on the train, and added, “In addition, this vehicle will have two passenger compartments for disabled passengers and elevators that will allow them to get on and off the platform and from the vehicle to the platform with their wheelchairs. In short, we have designed our trains to meet current and future needs with high comfort and innovation. We plan to produce a total of 2026 sets between 2028-14 within the scope of the project. Considering that 31 sets are currently in service on our YHT lines, we will have produced almost half as many national trains.”
“In the Very Near Future, There Will Be No Need to Purchase Vehicles from Abroad”
Minister Uraloğlu underlined that Turkey will now produce its own high-speed trains and high-speed trains and said, “In the very near future, there will be no need to procure vehicles from abroad. Look, we also calculate that Turkey will need more than 10 thousand urban rail system vehicles in the next 4 years. Of course, it is of great importance that this large urban rail system vehicle need is produced domestically and we have started project design studies in this context.”
“We Produce at European Standards”
Uraloğlu, who recalled that they opened the new “Bogie Production Factory” of TÜRASAŞ Sivas Regional Directorate last year, said, “We experienced the pride of opening the bogie production factory, which is the most important component of railway vehicles, and bringing the first factory to TÜRASAŞ Sivas Regional Directorate after 74 years. We increased the annual production capacity from 500 units to 4 units and we are producing at European standards.”
Uraloğlu emphasized that they plan to establish 100 new factories within TÜRASAŞ, which is the largest representative in the rail systems manufacturing sector of Turkey with over 3 years of experience, to develop rail system vehicles and increase production capacity, and continued his words as follows:
“Hopefully, this year we will start the construction of our National Electric Locomotive Manufacturing and Electrical Systems Factory in Eskişehir, our National Electric Train Set Manufacturing and Testing Factory in Sakarya, and our National Rail System Vehicles Parts Manufacturing Factory in Sivas. With these factories, we will increase our machinery and production capacity and reach much higher levels in our production activities.”
Uraloğlu, who stated that the economic size of the global high-speed train market reached 2024 billion dollars in 42.8, said, “Today, we earn approximately 1 billion dollars of income annually with both the railway infrastructure projects undertaken by our contractors abroad and the products exported by our railway system vehicle manufacturers. But we know that this is not enough for us and we are working together on this path. We will develop our capacity and increase it even more. We are working harder to get a larger share of the railway vehicle market. We are expanding our goals in the railway industry and will go even further beyond the limits of our dreams.”
Minister Uraloğlu Performed the First Body Welding
Minister Uraloğlu, who performed the first body welding of the Domestic and National Electric High Speed Train Set developed in cooperation with TÜRASAŞ, TÜBİTAK RUTE, ASELSAN and Canray, said, “It was our fortune to have done the welding of the 225 km/h high speed train set that we will produce domestically and nationally. We are making a note of this happy day in history in Turkey’s technology and future moves.”
