A Society That Is Not Able To Establish Its National Industry Cannot Be Free – Dr. İlhami Pektaş

The fast run of the rail horses on the steel rails started during the period of Ottoman Empire in 1850 with the completion of the line between İzmir and Aydın Cities, and continued during the first years of the Republic. One of the outstanding developments in the Republic period is the railway investments including the examples for the honour of our history such as Hejaz Railway built between 1900 and 1908. In the years following 1923, the steps for extending the rail transportation network became the focal point of the financial policies.

The ideal of “surrounding the country with rail nets” constituted the roadmap of the ideal of “nationalization” in the sector in this period. Mehmet Nuri Bey who is one of the heroes building 1,250 kilometers of the 10-thousand-kilometer-railway net in Turkey was given the surname “Demirağ” which means “rail net” by Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

However, after 1940, the development of the rail nets decelerated, and after 1950’s it suffered a period of stagnation for more than fifty years. The targets set by Demirağ with his belief in Turkish industry could not be understood during that period. Nor the ones set by Vecihi Hürkuş. Railways suffered from the negligence.

In addition to the steps taken on the way of nationalization, this period during which steel rails were defeated by the rubber wheels were imprinted on the memories. The first domestic steam locomotives which are national brand KARAKURT produced in Eskişehir and BOZKURT produced in Sivas, and National brand DEVRİM, the first domestic car produced in Eskişehir passed into history.

In contrast to the developments in the world, this period in Turkey between 1950 and 2003 passed into history as the years of loss with only 945 kilometers of new railways. This period of loss ended in 2003.

With the ending of the ill luck of the railways which was considered as the primary sector, projects for the rail systems were devised in succession to reimburse the years of loss. The sector began to revitalize, our citizens started to meet the developed high-speed trains.

2012 Has Been the Milestone

Producers, supporting institutions and universities from all corners of Anatolia that believe the freedom of the country will be gained not only in the battlefront but also with economic development, and domestic and national manufacturing came together under the umbrella of Anatolian Rail Transportation Systems Cluster ARUS.

Consisting of the staff believing in domestic and national manufacturing, ARUS got its first success during the metro tender in Ankara with the signature of the agreement which increased the domestic contribution rate in public acquisition to 51% for the first time.

The projects of Silkworm, Panorama, Talas, Green City, Istanbul tram and light rail transportation systems, TCV Trambus, E-1000 and E-5000 electric locomotives of TÜLOMŞAŞ -the affiliate company of TCDD-, National High Speed Trains of TÜLOMSAŞ and TÜVASAŞ became the good news for the full independence and the strong Turkey.

We are at the bottom of the ladder for the great targets…

While the projects of the National High-Speed Train, National Electric Train and National Diesel Train Set which were planned to be manufactured at least 53% of domestic contribution first and 80% of local content later continued, the national freight car production was successfully completed in TÜDEMSAŞ which is the affiliate company of TCDD.

In order to serve for the passengers at the standard of metro, Başkentray project in Ankara, Egeray project in İzmir, Gaziray project in Gaziantep and Balray project in Balıkesir are conducted under the guidance of TCDD in addition to Marmaray in Istanbul which is the project of the century.

2023 Vision in Rail Systems

The length of the inner-city rail systems in Turkey which started with the motto “The Metro Everywhere, the Metro to Every Place” will have reached 1,200 kilometers and the length of the rail nets all over the county will have reached 25,000 kilometers by 2023.

Mobilizing 170 companies and 32.000 employees all over the country for the domestic and national manufacturing with the understanding “Rail Systems are Our National Action”, ARUS has the technological power and the determination to produce 7,000 trams, light rail transport vehicles and metros; 1,000 electric locomotives, diesel locomotives and high-speed trains by 2023 which are the needs of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, and will cost 20 Billion Euros in total, 50 Billion Euros with their infrastructure costs.

The industrialists who collaborate with Anatolian Rail Transportation Systems Cluster, which struggles for the national brands to operate from design to production, believe in the enlightenment of the future of our country and make a great effort for manufacturing national transport systems and making our national brands become world-known.

We definitely have to ensure domestic and national manufacturing to reach the target of 500 Billion Dollars of export, narrow the foreign trade deficit, generate employment, prohibit unemployment and currency going abroad, and support the development.

As ANATOLIAN RAIL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS CLUSTER, we declare that we are the leader of the mobilization of domestic and national manufacturing for our future and full independence of our country.

Domestic and National Manufacturing is the key of our full independence.

A society that is not able to establish its national industry can never be free…

For the independent and more powerful Turkey…

For our future… 

We have to think domestic and national, and manufacture with the belief in Collaboration-Coalition and National Brand!