TURKEY: National operator TCDD Taşımacılık has taken delivery of the last of the 19 Velaro TR high speed trainsets ordered from Siemens Mobility.
TCDD bought its first Velaro in 2013, when a Velaro D trainset for Germany was taken from the production line and refitted for operation in Turkey. This entered service between Ankara and Konya in May 2015.
The operator placed a order for six eight-car Velaro TR trainsets in July 2013, worth around €285m including the initial trainset and seven years of maintenance. An order for a further 10 trainsets was confirmed in April 2018 at cost of around €340m, and two more were ordered in 2019. Siemens said the average time between contract signing and passenger operation was 24 months.
The Velaro TR sets have three business class compartments each with four seats, 45 seats in first class and 426 in economy class. The dining car has eight bistro and 28 restaurant seats. Passengers can access video on demand, e-books or games from their own mobile devices, or from at-seat screens in business and first class.
‘Delivering the last train of the Turkish Velaro fleet well ahead of schedule marks an important milestone in our partnership with the Turkish state railways’, said Siemens Mobility’s CEO Rolling Stock Albrecht Neumann on June 3. ’Our proven high speed trains, developed for the global market, enhance passenger experience by providing comfort and convenience. We are proud to contribute to a project that significantly develops the infrastructure of Turkey and enables people in this large country to travel at high speed yet with a low CO2 footprint.’
