The National Electric Train statement came from the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoglu. Minister Karaismailoglu said, “The trip safety and comfort tests under the control of accredited institutions will be passed. We will put our train into service this year.”
Visiting TURASAS Sakarya Regional Directorate, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoglu said, “Following the prototype production and factory tests of the National Electric Train set, which reaches a speed of 160 kilometers per hour, road tests have started. After that, navigational safety and comfort tests under the control of an accredited institution will be started. And we will put our train into the service of our nation this year. In the National Electric High Speed Train Project, which will reach a speed of 225 kilometers per hour, the design process continues.”
NATIONAL ELECTRIC TRAIN WILL REACH 160 KM PER HOUR
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoglu came to Sakarya for a series of visits. Minister Karaismailoglu, who made his first visit to TURASAS Sakarya Regional Directorate, will then continue his program with Sakarya Governorate and Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality visits. Making a press statement at TURASAS, Minister Karaismailoglu received information about national projects, which are among the most important projects in the history of the Republic. He stated that the road tests of the National Electric Train set, which reaches a speed of 160 kilometers per hour, have begun and will be put into service for the nation this year, and emphasized that the design process continues in the train project that will reach 225 kilometers.
“IT WILL SPEED THE DEVELOPMENT OF RAIL SYSTEMS”
Speaking during his visit to TURASAS, Minister Adil Karaismailoglu said, “We received information about our national projects, which are among the most important projects in the history of Turkey, which will accelerate the development of our rail systems in the passenger and freight transportation of our country. As our Ministry, the railway has a special meaning among our investments in every field of transportation. For this reason, we are very happy that our projects have been completed one by one and that the works have made significant progress. A short time ago, we examined the ongoing construction works in the Baliseyh region of the Ankara-Sivas High Speed Train line. In the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project, as of last week, the total number of freight transported via the line exceeded 1 million tons. Today, a freight train departing from China can change continents via Marmaray and reach its address in Europe without using any other mode of transportation. We are excited to continue our work to take the big steps we have taken in the railway even further, thanks to the ‘Railroad Reform’ we announced last year.”
“WE STARTED A NEW MOVEMENT IN DOMESTIC AND NATIONAL PRODUCTION”
Expressing that Sakarya has become an important center in the region and in the country, with the railway investments, Karaismailoglu said, “The first step to evaluate the importance of Sakarya for our country and the region today, as it was yesterday, was taken with the Presidential Decision dated March 4, 2020, by gathering three important companies under one roof, where different parts of the rail system vehicles in our country are made. Thus, we gained a new momentum in the rail system production processes in our country and started a new move in domestic and national production. With the reorganization of the directorates in Sakarya, Eskisehir and Sivas, TURASAS has transformed our country into a strong actor in the rail systems sector all over the world with its experience of more than 100 years in the sector and a qualified manpower of nearly 4 thousand. TURASAS, formed by the merger of TULOMSAS, TUDEMSAS and TUVASAS, leads very important projects on the way to national economy and national independence. TURASAS is leading our railway reform with the National Electric Train Set (EMU), which we aim to start mass production in the last quarter of this year, Electric Mainline Locomotive (E5000), Hybrid Locomotive, Dual Locomotive and the National Commuter Train Set projects, which started to be produced as prototypes this year, as well as original engine projects.”
“WE WILL OFFER OUR TRAIN TO THE SERVICE OF OUR NATION THIS YEAR”
Providing information about the national electric train sets, Karaismailoglu said, “As you can remember, in December 2020, the first prototype set of the National Electric Train Set Project was on the rails after the design and manufacturing works of the TURASAS Sakarya Regional Directorate within the scope of domestic and national projects. Following the prototype production and factory tests of the National Electric Train set, which reached a speed of 160 kilometers per hour, road tests began. After that, navigational safety and comfort tests will be carried out under the control of an accredited institution. And we will put our train into the service of our nation this year. The design process of the National Electric High Speed Train Project, which will reach a speed of 225 kilometers per hour, continues. Design work continues in the Gaziray (Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Suburban Project) project, the tender of which has been won thanks to the knowledge gained from this Project. As you can see, we are working with the motivation and enthusiasm of the first day for the holistic development of Turkey, with our ongoing actions since 2003, with our plans and projects targeting 2023, 2053 and 2071. All these efforts are to transform New Turkey, which acts on the principle of national independence and national economy, into a ‘global power’ and one of the few logistics centers in the world.”
19 SETS OF NATIONAL ELECTRIC TRAINS FOR 95 VEHICLES WERE ORDERED
Stating that they are constantly working to make Turkey the ‘playmaker’ of the global railway network, Karaismailoglu said, “As of 2021, 19 Sets of National Electric Train (EMU) orders for 95 vehicles have been received and purchasing activities have been initiated for the mass production process. With the production of the National Train, our TURASAS Sakarya Regional Directorate also gained the ability to produce aluminum vehicle bodies. In addition, an automation system was established that enables the production of bogie chassis with robotic welding systems. In our project, we aim to increase the share of domestic production in the project to 80% with the mass production of the National Electric Train set, which has a local rate of 60%. In our TURASAS Sakarya Regional Directorate, our Sleeping Wagon and VIP Sleeping Wagon project studies continue to meet the needs of TCDD Transportation. The production of 5 VIP and 12 Sleeping Wagons will also be completed this year. Likewise, very important works continue increasingly in our Eskisehir and Sivas Regional Directorates. With the advantage of our geopolitical position, we are working hard to become the leading country in the region in freight and passenger transportation on the East-West line ‘Silk Railway’ Middle Corridor. We continue on our way to make Turkey the ‘playmaker’ of the global railway network.”
After his visit here, Minister Karaismailoğlu visited the Governorship of Sakarya.
Source: Sabah / Translated by Irem Yildiz