TURKEY: Private sector freight operator Arkas Rail has taken delivery of three Stadler EuroDual six-axle electro-diesel locomotives, with two more to be delivered by the end of the year.
Arkas Rail placed the €38·5m order with Stadler Valencia in May 2022 in as part of its Arkas Anatolia Project to boost its rail operations.
It will use the locos and its fleet of more than 700 wagons to handle Middle Corridor traffic arriving on the Baku – Tbilisi – Kars line, as well as for transporting domestic freight between key industrial regions including Ankara, Eskişehir, Gaziantep, Kayseri and Konya.
Arkas already handles transit freight via the BTK line, including block train services from China. It also operates the 265 000 m² Kartepe Railport Intermodal Logistics Terminal on Turkey’s East-West rail corridor at Kocaeli in partnership with Duisport, as well as five rail connected warehouses in industrial zones in Gaziantep, Kayseri, Konya, Yenice and Mersin.
