DEVELOPMENT OF RAIL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS IN OUR COUNTRY and ARUS- Dr. İlhami Pektaş

Railway was the most significant transportation system used for providing the connection between interiors and coastal regions of country since the recent periods of Ottoman Empire. In that period, highway construction was seen generally as an element completing railway in accordance with the transportation policy based on the railway; and the investment opportunities were transferred to the railways. The most investment was made to the railways at the time of Atatürk in the first years of Republic. However, after 1950 the importance attached to the railways was decreased, highway construction was speeded up by helps of Marshall. As a result of the highway weighted transportation policies implemented in that period, the highways took place on the top among the transportation systems. In the later years, a foreign-dependent developing automotive industry was set up by increasing further the number of motor vehicles along with coming into prominence of highway transportation.

Railway and Urban rail transportation systems were ignored from 1950 to 2003. Big investments have been made by being realized huge projects on the railways with our changing government and new government policy within the recent 15 years. Nowadays, a high speed train line of 10 thousand kilometer, 4000 km new conventional train line, electrification and signalization works continue at a great pace in accordance with the aims of 2023. The aim is to reach totally 26.000 km railway in 2023 and 30.000 km railway in 2035 by means of speed train lines. The works to augment the share of railway transportation in total transportation in Turkey are continuing with all speed with the investments of logistic center opened within TCDD and whose construction has been already proceeding, Baku-Kars-Tiflis railway project, Viking Project, ‹pek Rüzgarı Block Train Project, Marmaray Project, BALO project, Turkey-Russia Train Ferry Line, Increasing of Harbor Engaged Railway Transport, Pakistan-Iran-Turkey Railway Line, etc. the other projects as well as renewal and signalization works conducted on the railways. The railway sector has attracted the attention of both private sector and foreign companies with the investments about 30 billion TL made in the recent years and there is a need for reconstructing of railways. The law stipulating the liberalization of TCDD got through for this purpose on 24 April 2013, thus the reconstruction of TCDD and dramatic changes in the sector have been led up. This process that we can describe as liberalization on the railways has a strategic importance for 2023 and 2035 targets of Turkey; the rivalry will provide further development of railways.

In accordance with all these targets and plans it is aimed that raising of railway transportation share to 10 percent at passenger transportation and 15 percent at load transportation in Turkey in 2023; and these rates are planned to raise to 15 percent at passenger transportation and 20 percent at load transportation in 2035. In addition to these, a great importance has been given to Smart transportation systems which are aimed to equip with smart transportation infrastructure and solution systems in a way to provide the integration of railway network with other public transport systems, logistic centers.

In addition to these developments on the railways, as a result of the orientation of metropolitan municipalities to urban rail system passenger transport as of 1990, the investments of public and private sector have gradually increased in the railway sector in our country. Rail system network, which was about 45 km in Istanbul before 2004, will constitute the main backbone of the system by reaching to 150 km next year and to 441 km until 2019. The line length which is aimed to be completed in 2023 with new metro lines whose construction is still proceeding and newly planned, Marmaray project, 3-storey (highway-railway) bosphorus tube tunnel, 3rd bosphorus bridge projects will raise over 700 kilometer.

While all these investments are made, on the other hand a great effort is made for the production of native and national brand rail transportation systems by industrialists in our country. Especially ARUS has focused completely on the national production with all its management personnel and members. Intense works of ARUS have produced fruit; and our companies such as Durmazlar and Bozankaya have won the production tender of 224 native and national brand vehicles by Domestic goods notice, Industry collaboration program and government policy of national brand production from 2012 to present. Indigenousness rate in the last metro vehicle tenders made by Istanbul and Ankara municipalities has been given as 50% and 51%. National brand vehicle production has been aimed for all the rail transportation systems; National speed train, National passenger and National load train, DMU and EMU locomotive, Metro, Tramway and LRT tenders to be made hereafter.

The extraordinary success of ARUS industrialists gained in a short time is a warrant of things to do until 2023.

Because we believe that the only development model to save and to develop our Country is:
DOMESTIC PRODUCTION ECONOMY and OUR NATIONAL BRANDS.