TCDD to energize railway transport with high-speed trains
Posted by meb at May 23rd, 2008
The Turkish State Railways (TCDD) received its first order of diesel raybuses, a Turkish term coined to refer to high-speed trains, yesterday from South Korean rolling stock producer Hyundai Rotem.
TCDD General Director Süleyman Karaman accepted the first set of the trains, which will provide interurban railway transportation, from Hyundai Rotem Overseas Sales Team General Manager Dong-Ik Woo in a symbolic ceremony at the company’s main production facility in Seoul.
Karaman had a test ride in the train, which can travel at up to 140 kilometers per hour, and received information on the other sets of trains being built for the TCDD for use in İstanbul and elsewhere in the country, especially on routes between cities separated by short distances, such as Adana-Mersin, Denizli-İzmir, Ankara-Kırıkkale and Kütahya-Eskişehir. Karaman said the Adana-Mersin line would be the first to be put into service.
“The engines of these trains start fast and stop fast. They are appropriate for passenger transportation. I’m sure the Turkish public will like them,” Karaman told the Anatolia news agency in Seoul. He explained that Hyundai Rotem will deliver 12 sets of trains, with two carriages each, this year. He added that the TCDD is opening a license tender for the production of these trains in Turkey. A single carriage can hold 72 passengers and each set costs 42 million euros.
“These trains have been designed for the passengers’ comfort. The have very good suspension systems. The air-conditioning system is quite good, too. The seats are ergonomically designed and safety comes first in these trains,” Karaman said.
In addition, television, Internet and radio services will be available in the trains. Karaman said the trains feature the most modern technology in the world, adding that the trains distribute power to the carriages instead of leaving the entire traction burden to the locomotive.
Hyundai Rotem’s Woo said they are also providing vehicles for the İstanbul metro system and that they have received orders from Turkey totaling approximately more than 500 million euros.
source: Today’s Zaman
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