TURKEY: National railway TCDD has issued a tender notice requesting offers by May 9 for the supply of a further 10 high speed trainsets. Respondents are requested to include in their bids three years of maintenance and the supply of 47 kits of spare parts.
Last July TCDD placed an order for seven Siemens Velaro TR trainsets capable of operation at up to 300 km/h. These would complement the 12 six-car CAF trains already in service at 250 km/h on the high speed routes linking Ankara, Konya and Eskişehir.
TCDD needs to expand its fleet ahead of the phased opening of the fast corridor between Eskişehir and Gebze, the first sections of which are now open for trial running. Once this route is completed, TCDD hopes to be able to offer a 3 h timing between Istanbul and Ankara.
Three other fast passenger lines are also under construction at present. These would link Ankara with Sivas, Bursa with Vezirhan on the Eskişehir – Gebze line, and Izmir with Polatlı. TCDD is expected to require a fleet of at least 90 trains to support this expansion, although some of these may be provided as part of the ‘National Train’ programme to develop a locally-designed EMU for 250 km/h operation. This project is being led by vehicle manufacturer Tülomsaş with support from technical universities in Istanbul and Ankara and several local sub-suppliers.
