Turkey rail news
News about railway and urban rail infrastructure, operations, policy, projects and the supply industry in Turkey.
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Metro Report International
Local elections prompt flurry of Istanbul metro openings
TURKEY: Four extensions to existing metro lines have been opened in Istanbul to coincide with the municipal elections which took place at the end of March. On March 11, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan inaugurated a seven-station southern extension of line M3 from Kirazlı to Bakırköy Sahil on ...
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News
Turkish E5000 electric locomotive order signed
TURKEY: An agreement for state-owned locomotive and rolling stock manufacturer Türasaş to supply national operator TCDD Taşımacılık with 95 E5000 electric locomotives was signed on March 15. The prototype E5000 designed by Tübitak and manufactured by Türasaş was unveiled last year. The 5 MW four-axle TSI-compliant ...
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News
Turkish elections bring rail plan announcements
TURKEY: Plans to develop inter-city and suburban rail lines have been announced by the government ahead of municipal elections on March 31. Speaking in the Black Sea port of Samsun on February 28, Minister of Transport & Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said the government would push ahead ...
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Metro Report International
Istanbul’s Sirkeci – Kazlıçeşme ‘light rail’ line opens
TURKEY: A ‘light rail’ line on the alignment of the former railway to the historic Sirkeci station on the European side of Istanbul was opened by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan February 26. The Halkalı – Sirkeci section of line closed in August 2013 as part of ...
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Metro Report International
Izmir metro extension opens
TURKEY: Passenger-carrying pre-operation started on the 6·5 km western extension of Izmir metro Line 1 from Fahrettin Altay to Sehitlik on February 24 with a ceremony attended by Izmir Mayor Tunç Soyer. Passengers can travel free of charge until April 15. A ...
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News
Turkish rail sector receives another bumper budget
TURKEY: The government has announced a 2024 rail programme which includes continued high levels of investment in both infrastructure and operations, and in the domestic design and manufacture of rail vehicles. State railway infrastructure manager TCDD has been allocated TL49·4bn towards its portfolio of agreed capital expenditure ...
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Metro Report International
İzmir opens third tram line
TURKEY: A 12 km long tram extension opened in İzmir’s Çiğli district on January 27 with a ceremony attended by Mayor Tunç Soyer. Services run in both directions around the ring, meeting at the northern terminus at Katip Çelebi Üniversitesi. The Çiğli tramway serves 14 stops ...
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News
UK underwrites financing for another section of Turkish high speed rail network
TURKEY: The UK government’s export credit agency UKEF has agreed to underwrite a €1·03bn loan arranged by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group for three Turkish companies to construct Turkey’s 140 km long Yerköy – Kayseri route modernisation scheme. UKEF has partnered with export credit agencies from Italy ...
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Metro Report International
Istanbul M8 passengers stay connected
TURKEY: Wireless networking technology company Rajant Corp and distribution partner AIRadio have rolled-out wi-fi access on Istanbul metro line M8 trains and at stations. The 14·3 km automated line linking Bostancı with Dudullu on the Anatolian side of Istanbul opened on January 6, and the wi-fi ...
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News
Turkish treasury to extend support for TCDD
TURKEY: The national treasury is to continue to fund budget deficits run up by state railway infrastructure manager TCDD for a further 10 years until the end of 2033, according to a presidential decree published in the state gazette on October 6. The existing agreement on ...
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News
Turkic states meet to promote Middle Corridor
ASIA: The Organization of Turkic States is assessing the potential for increasing Eurasian rail freight traffic and boosting the Middle Corridor transit route.
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Metro Report International
Bozankaya delivers its first driverless metro trainset
TURKEY: Bozankaya has delivered the first of seven domestically-developed four-car driverless trainsets for the Gebze metro. It was handed over on September 1 in the presence of Minister of Transport & Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, who described it as the ‘first Turkish driverless metro train’, with 63% ...
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News
Work starts on next phase of Turkey – Bulgaria railway reconstruction
TURKEY: Work has started on construction of an 8·4 km alignment between Halkalı and Ispartakule as part of the rebuilding of TCDD’s main line between Istanbul and the Bulgarian border.
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News
Guarantee creates more UK export opportunities in Turkey
TURKEY: The UK government’s export credit agency has underwritten €781m of financing to support the renovation and full electrification of the 286 km Mersin – Adana – Gaziantep line for 200 km/h operation, in return for a commitment to provide export opportunities for British suppliers. Loan ...
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Metro Report International
CRRC Zhuzhou starts local metro car building in Turkey
TURKEY: CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co formally marked the start of local assembly of driverless metro trainsets for Istanbul with a ceremony in Ankara on June 7, describing the occasion as ‘a historic moment for Turkey’s rail transit industry’. The Chinese builder was awarded a TL1·5bn contract ...
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Metro Report International
Izmir to add two stations to Izban rail network
TURKEY: Contracts have been awarded for the construction of two infill stations on Izmir’s 136 km İzban suburban rail line, which will take the total to 43. Lale Mahallesi station will be added between the existing Şirinyer and Kemer stations, improving access to the future 13·5 ...
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News
Turkey’s National Train enters service
TURKEY: TCDD Taşımacılık has put into service the first National Train domestically designed and manufactured electric multiple-unit. The 25 kV 50 Hz EMU entered service on May 27 on the route between Adapazarı in the northwest and Gebze on the eastern outskirts of Istanbul. The National ...
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News
Alstom opens Istanbul engineering centre
TURKEY: Alstom has opened its first Engineering Centre in Turkey, which will focus on signalling. The site at Teknopark Istanbul is part of the company’s strategy to develop a local pool of highly qualified engineers responsible for interlockings, automatic train control and ETCS. It will initially ...
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Metro Report International
Bozankaya to supply trams to growing network
TURKEY: Kocaeli municipality centred on Izmit has awarded Bozankaya a TL697m contract to supply 10 trams. The 100% low-floor bidirectional trams will be 33 m long and able to carry 298 passengers, including 66 seated. Bozankaya says that the trams are to be designed and built ...
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News
Körfez Ulaştırma sees traffic and fleet growth
TURKEY: Private rail freight operator Körfez Ulaştırma has reported an increase in traffic for the first quarter of the year and confirmed its intention to expand its locomotive fleet. The subsidiary of Turkey’s largest oil refiner Tüpraş was the first private operator to be granted a ...