Country’s railway network to be expanded to 17,500 kilometers

ISTANBUL

Türkiye aims to expand its railway network to 17,500 kilometers by 2028, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, adding that the country also wants to develop its own railway technology.

The railway network, which was approximately 11,000 kilometers in 2002, has now reached 13,919 kilometers, including 2,251 kilometers of high-speed train lines, according to the minister.

Türkiye has risen to the position of the sixth largest high-speed train operator in Europe and the 8th in the world, Uraloğlu said, adding that the ultimate aim is to have a railway network of 28,500 kilometers.

“Our goal is not only to expand our railway network but also to produce each vehicle to be used in this network with domestic and national resources, shaping and developing the technology with our own hands," he said.

Uraloğlu attended the delivery ceremony of next-generation vehicles, including electric locomotives and train sets, as well as freight and fire-extinguishing wagons, between TÜRASAŞ and TCDD Taşımacılık.

The E5000 National Electric Locomotive, produced at the facilities in Eskişehir, has been designed and manufactured for the first time as a mainline locomotive with 100 percent domestic and national components, he said.

Uraloğlu stated that by delivering the first five of the 95 locomotives to be produced for TCDD Taşımacılık, “a new era has begun.”

“This year, we will deliver 15 more locomotives, bringing 20 locomotives into service in 2025. In 2026, we will produce 30 more, followed by 45 in 2027,” he said.