Explaining that the railway adventure in Anatolian lands started with the construction of the Izmir-Aydın line on September 23, 1856, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu stated that railways were considered as one of the basic tools of the economic, social and geographical integration of the country with the establishment of the Republic after the Ottoman period.
Pointing out that the railway development, which started with the granting of the concession of the Izmir-Aydın Railway Line, has now moved into a new era with high-speed train lines, modernized conventional railways and international railway corridors connecting Türkiye between Asia and Europe, Uraloğlu emphasized that the journey that started 170 years ago has turned into a large transportation network that directly affects Türkiye's logistics capacity and international trade connections.
"2028 RAILWAY NETWORK TARGET IS 17 THOUSAND 287 KILOMETERS"
Uraloğlu drew attention to the transformation that Türkiye has achieved in the field of railways in the last 25 years and stated that the railway network was increased from 10 thousand 948 kilometers to 13 thousand 919 kilometers.
Stating that 2 thousand 251 kilometers of high-speed train lines were built from scratch, Uraloğlu said, "We have made railways a strong element in Türkiye's transportation system again. We not only built new lines, but also renewed and modernized the existing railway infrastructure. We made 61 percent of the lines signaled and more than half of them electrified." he said.
Underlining that the expansion of high-speed train networks is at the center of Türkiye's railway investments in the future and that it is aimed to increase the number of provinces directly connected to high-speed trains from 11 to 27 by 2028, Uraloğlu said, in this context, Ankara-İzmir, Halkalı-Kapıkule, Bandırma-Bursa-Yenişehir-Osmaneli, Mersin-Adana-Osmaniye-Gaziantep, Yerköy-Kayseri, He emphasized that work continues on the Kırıkkale-Çorum and Karaman-Ulukışla lines.
Uraloğlu stated that construction work on the 4 thousand 158 kilometer line is continuing in line with the 2053 targets, and that the total railway network is planned to be increased to 17 thousand 287 kilometers and the number of logistics centers from 12 to 25 in 2028.
Pointing out that railways are state policy, Uraloğlu said, "In order to close the gap in the railway mobilization that started with the first years of the Republic and to ensure that the railways take the place they deserve again, our Ministry has determined the railways as the sector that needs to be improved as a priority. As a result of this choice, which turned into a new railway mobilization, we have increased the railway construction, which decreased from 134 kilometers per year to 18 kilometers on average, to an average of 135 kilometers per year." shared his knowledge.
"THE CONNECTION OF THE CENTRAL CORRIDOR WITH TURKEY WILL BE STRONGER"
Pointing out that as the planned works are completed, Türkiye's importance in the field of railways on an international and regional scale will increase greatly, Uraloğlu explained that Türkiye will receive a much larger share of the approximately 75 billion dollar transportation volume between Europe and Asia and will become the heart of railway transportation.
Uraloğlu emphasized that investments to strengthen Türkiye's position on the Central Corridor are continuing and made the following evaluations:
"Intercontinental transportation times, which can be up to 45 days by sea, can be reduced to 18 days by rail via Turkey. With the introduction of Marmaray, the railway connection between Asia and Europe has been strengthened. With the completion of the Kars-Iğdır-Dilucu Railway Line, the connection of the Middle Corridor to Turkey will be further strengthened. In this context, our railway investments will not only be used as transportation projects connecting the cities of Türkiye, but also as a broader logistics aiming to make Türkiye an important center in international freight transportation." "We consider it as part of the strategy."
"WORKS ON DEVELOPING RAILWAY VEHICLES WITH DOMESTIC OPPORTUNITIES CONTINUE"
Uraloğlu emphasized that they attach great importance to localism when investing in the railway field.
Stating that TÜRASAŞ facilities were renewed and production capacity increased, the E5000 National Electric Locomotive, National Electric Train and suburban train sets were put into mass production, and the production of the National High Speed Train Set started, Uraloğlu stated that in parallel with the growth in the railway infrastructure, efforts to develop railway vehicles with domestic resources are continuing rapidly.
Pointing out that today's railway policy aims, on the one hand, to connect Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, Bursa, Konya, Kayseri, Çorum, Gaziantep and other cities with high-speed train networks, and on the other hand, to strengthen Türkiye's railway connection between Asia and Europe with the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and planned new lines, Uraloğlu said:
"There has been a significant transformation in the adventure of Türkiye's railway network, dating back to 1856, in recent years. We have increased the weight of the sector in the transportation system again, with investments ranging from the railway mobilization in the first period of the Republic to high-speed train lines, from Marmaray to international railway corridors. We have made our railways a strong part of Türkiye's transportation system again. We aim to continue the railway journey through a much wider network in line with Türkiye's 2053 transportation targets."
