AI-generated illustration

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu conducted a test run of the national high-speed train developed by TÜRASAŞ on the Ankara-Kırıkkale route, with an Anadolu Agency team accompanying the drive.

Uraloğlu said testing of the domestically built train will be finished before the end of the year, after which certification work will follow and the sets are expected to enter regular passenger service early next year.

Test run between Ankara and Kırıkkale

Uraloğlu rode the national high-speed train on the Ankara-Kırıkkale line during a test drive. The minister recalled that Ankara, Kırıkkale, Yozgat and Sivas have been connected by high-speed rail, and said the goal is not only to build railway infrastructure but also to compete with the world in rolling stock.

The train is designed for commercial service at 225 kilometers per hour, and engineers ran it at about 250 kilometers per hour on the Ankara-Kırıkkale route, roughly 10 percent above the required test speed. "Our domestic high-speed train is now on Turkey's roads and rails," Uraloğlu said.

Domestic content and production

Uraloğlu said TÜRASAŞ operates three factories, in Sakarya, Eskişehir and Sivas, where the company has produced suburban sets, wagons, and diesel and electric locomotives. Turkey previously built and put into service a national electric train running at 160 kilometers per hour, and the high-speed train followed a demanding process from design to production.

The train currently reaches a domestic content rate of 65 percent, Uraloğlu said, praising the work of the engineers involved. Two train sets have entered the production line, and the high-speed train factory in Sakarya is due to open by the end of the year, enabling fuller serial production. More than 200 tests have been carried out on the vehicle, in cooperation with ASELSAN and TÜBİTAK.

Defects corrected during testing

Shortcomings identified during the testing phase have been corrected, and those fixes are being taken into account in new production, according to Uraloğlu. The minister drove the train himself in a closed area with all safety measures in place, describing the experience as exciting.

Certification and planned service

Testing will continue, and Uraloğlu said the trials must be completed before international certification can be obtained. He expects the tests to be wrapped up before the end of the year, followed by several months of certification procedures.

Passenger service with the trains is expected in the first months of next year, in the first quarter, Uraloğlu said. The sets are expected to be used mainly on the Çerkezköy-Kapıkule high-speed line, while current sets are sufficient on other routes; the new trains could be deployed there as needed.

Uraloğlu also said railways are the strongest means of cutting carbon emissions, since heavy road vehicles produce most emissions and their shift to electric power still has some way to go. After the test run, the minister was briefed on the Rail Systems Data Monitoring Test and Validation Infrastructure set up on the train for the trial.

Key takeaways

• Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu test-drove the TÜRASAŞ-built national high-speed train on the Ankara-Kırıkkale line.
• The train reached about 250 km/h in testing and is designed for service at 225 km/h, with 65 percent domestic content.
• Testing is to finish before year-end, with passenger service expected in the first quarter of next year.
• The sets are planned mainly for the Çerkezköy-Kapıkule high-speed line.