Page 247 - Turkiye'de_Ulastirma

Turkish State Railways is a rooted establishment After being adopted as a state policy, investment
with a century and a half. The institution has allocation of railways has seen a 16-fold increased
witnessed the last one and a half centuries of this within a decade and has risen from 480 million TL
land. It saw of an era when the train was the only to 7 billion 968 million TL. Amount of investment
means of transport in the country, when Turkey made on railways in the last decade is even over
weathered countless storms. Witnessed the years the total investment made in the 1940-2002
of war, poverty, famine, migration… period.

It is a fact that Turkey’s railways thrust that RAILWAYS IN THE GOLDEN AGE
began in 1856 slowed down by the 1940s.
But intensive efforts by Binali Yıldırım, the Similar to first years of the Republic, railways
Minister of Transportation, Maritime Affairs, and enjoy a golden age today. Changes in the last
Communications, which were launched in 2003 decade are evident also in numbers:
for railways to “bear prosperity and wealth” again
have come to fruition today. Turkey has promoted - In 2002-2012, 3523 kilometers of track renewal
to the league of countries that have High-Speed and 3578 kilometers of major maintenance work
Rail lines. Records have been broken over and was carried out which amounts to a total of 7261
over again in railways, passenger and freight kilometers.
transportation. TCDD has transported the highest
amount of freight in the last decade since its - Amount of freight carried by rail was 14
foundation. In these last 10 years, freight amount million 616 thousand tons in 2002, which is now
increased by over 50 percent compared to 2002. 25 million 666 thousand tons.

In the post-2003 period, projects one larger - Track length has expanded from 8671
than the other have been designed and put into kilometers to 9642 km.
effect for Railways. Construction of the High-
Speed Rail Line, renewal of railways untouched - 888 kilometers of high speed rail line was
for 150 years, modernization of locomotive and built. There is ongoing construction works for
passenger rolling stocks, creating a national 1848 kilometers of track section.
railways industry, developing urban rail systems,
connecting manufacturing areas and industrial - In order to increase the number of hauled
sites to railways and establishing logistics centers stock, 5205 freight cars and 155 passenger cars
to make Turkey a logistics base, realizing the Silk were manufactured in Eskişehir, Adapazarı, and
Railway that reaches from the Far East to Western Sivas. Thus, the available stock increased by 22
Europe and from Beijing to London have all been percent with new wagons.
regarded as priority railway investments that
complement each other. - 42 road maintenance and repair machines, 65
mobile railroad cars, and 19 emergency response
New railway lines have been built while and rescue vehicles were obtained in order to
renewing the current ones. 109 kilometers of mechanize the road maintenance and repair
railways were built in the period between 1923 teams.
and 1950 while the 1950-2003 period saw only
11 kilometers of railway construction. Total annual - 96 percent of stations in cities were renovated.
average of projects launched after 2003 and that
are still ongoing amount to 135 kilometers per year. - 3341 of the level crossings at the intersection of
highway and railway were rehabilitated to further
In 2003-2012, 1086 kilometers of new railways increase traffic safety, and 1084 were turned into
were built as the currently under construction controlled level crossings.
railway length reaches as long as 3434 kilometers.

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