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TCDD Transport

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TCDD Transport or Turkish State Railways Transport (Turkish: TCDD Taşımacılık, reporting mark TCDDT) is a government-owned railway company responsible for the operations of most passenger and freight rail in Turkey. The company was formed on 14 June 2016, splitting off from Turkish State Railways (TCDD) to take over railway operations, while TCDD would continue to administer railway infrastructure.[1] TCDD Taşımacılık officially began operations on 1 January 2017.

TCDD Transport
Native name
TCDD Taşımacılık A.Ş.
Company typeClosed joint-stock company
IndustryRailway transport, Logistics
PredecessorTurkish State Railways
Founded14 June 2016; 8 years ago (2016-06-14)
Headquarters
Ankara
,
Turkey
Area served
Turkey
Key people
Veysi Kurt (Chairman)
Mehmet Uras (Vice Chairman)
ProductsRail transport, Cargo transport, Services
OwnerMinistry of Transport and Infrastructure (Turkey) (100%)
Websitewww.tcddtasimacilik.gov.tr Edit this at Wikidata

TCDD Taşımacılık operates trains on a network of over 12,430 km (7,720 mi) within 59 of the 81 provinces in Turkey.

Organisation

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TCDD Taşımacılık is a government-owned company responsible for the operation of passenger and freight railways within Turkey, including logistical centers and train ferries,[citation needed] using infrastructure owned and maintained by the Turkish State Railways.[1]

Passenger operations

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TCDD Taşımacılık operates passenger rail service on most of its network. Passenger trains service most major cities in Turkey, although a few are without train service, such as Bursa and Antalya. TCDD Taşımacılık operates five types of passenger rail on its network:

  • High-speed (Yüksek Hızlı Tren): TCDD Taşımacılık's premier rail service.
  • Mainline (Anahat): Standard intercity passenger rail service, between major cities.
  • Regional (Bölgesel): Regional rail service, connecting major cities to surrounding cities, towns and villages.
  • Commuter (Banliyö): Commuter rail service within major cities.
  • International (Uluslararası): International train service to Europe.

List of TCDD Transport routes

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TCDD Transport operates on the 12,532 km long Turkish rail network, and currently 90% is served by passenger trains.

High-speed services

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Name Type Route Numbers Daily round trips Route kilometres
Yüksek Hızlı Tren High-speed Ankara – Eskişehir 81100, 81103 1x daily 246
Ankara – Eskișehir – Bilecik – İzmit – Istanbul 81001-81030 14x daily 594
Ankara – Konya 81200, 81203, 81204, 81205, 81208, 81209, 81210, 812013 4x daily 312
Ankara – Konya – Karaman 81201, 81206, 81207, 81212 2x daily 414
Istanbul – İzmit – Bilecik – Eskişehir 81501, 81502 1x daily
Istanbul – İzmit – Bilecik – Eskişehir – Konya 81301, 81302, 81303, 81305, 81306, 81308, 81309, 81310 4x daily
Istanbul – İzmit – Bilecik – Eskişehir – Konya – Karaman 81304, 81307 1x daily

Mainline services

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The second main intercity service of the company are the mainline trains known as Express or Main Line (Turkish: Ekspres, Ana Hat). These trains connect major Turkish cities throughout the country but they are progressively stopped as the YHT network expands.

Name Type Route Numbers Daily round trips Route kilometres
4th of September Blue Train Blue Ankara – Kırıkkale – Kayseri – Sivas – Malatya 22018, 52019 Daily
İzmir Blue Train Blue İzmir – Manisa – Balıkesir – Kütahya – Eskişehir – Ankara 22006, 32005 Daily 824
Konya Blue Train Blue İzmir – Manisa – Uşak – Afyonkarahisar – Konya 72008, 32007 Daily 693
6th of September Express Express İzmir – Manisa – Balıkesir – Bandırma Suspended 341
17th of September Express Express Bandırma – Balıkesir – Manisa – İzmir Suspended 341
Aegean Express Express İzmir – Manisa – Balıkesir – Kütahya – Eskişehir 32011, 72018 Daily 576
Ankara Express Express Istanbul – İzmit – Bilecik – Eskişehir – Ankara 22001, 12002 Daily 610
Eastern Express Express Ankara – Kırıkkale – Kayseri – Sivas – Erzurum – Kars 22010, 42009 Daily 1,365
Erciyes Express Express Kayseri – Niğde – Adana 22002, 62001 Daily
Lakes Express Express İzmir – Aydın – Denizli – Burdur – Isparta 32015, 72016 Daily
Lake Van Express Express Ankara – Kırıkkale – Kayseri – Sivas – Malatya – Elazığ – Muş – Tatvan 22012, 52011 Twice-weekly
Pamukkale Express Express Eskişehir – Kütahya – Afyonkarahisar – Denizli 72013, 72014 Daily 421
Roses Express Express İzmir – Aydın – Denizli – Burdur – Isparta Daily
Southern Kurtalan Express Express Ankara – Kırıkkale – Kayseri – Sivas – Malatya – Diyarbakır – Batman – Kurtalan 22014, 52013 5 weekly roundtrips
Taurus Express Express Konya – Karaman – Adana 62005, 62006 Daily 668
Touristic Eastern Express Touristic Ankara – Kırıkkale – Kayseri – Sivas – Erzurum – Kars 3 times a week 1,365
Blue Train
Mavi Tren
Overview
SuccessorYüksek Hızlı Tren
Current operator(s)TCDD Taşımacılık
Former operator(s)TCDD
Route
Train number(s)2
Blue Train
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The Blue Train (Turkish: Mavi Tren) is the Turkish State Railways premier passenger train service started in the 1980s. The first, simply called Blue Train, operated between Istanbul and Ankara, entering service in 1979.[2] More Blue Train services were added later on. The İzmir Blue Train, Central Anatolia Blue Train, Çukurova Blue Train and 4th of September Blue Train were are overnight trains. These trains had custom railcars, built by TÜVASAŞ, all painted blue with a blue painted DE 24000 series locomotive pulling the train. The current remnant is just a branding with regular rolling stock. Today there are only three blue trains are in service.

Service
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Regional services

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District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7

Former services

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High-speed rail

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Main article: Yüksek Hızlı Tren
 
A high-speed trainset[clarification needed] in Ankara.

High-speed rail service is TCDD Taşımacılık's premier trains service, currently operating eight routes between Istanbul, Ankara, Eskişehir, Sivas, Karaman and Konya along the Ankara-Istanbul, Ankara–Sivas, Konya-Karaman and Polatlı-Konya high-speed railways.[3] High-speed trains are branded as Yüksek Hızlı Tren or YHT and operates at speeds of up to 250 km/h (160 mph). YHT train service is expected to expand further to Bursa and İzmir in 2027.

YHT trains use Ankara station as their main hub, with an exclusive concourse and lounges within the Ankara Tren Garı building, built over the southern platforms at Ankara station.

High-speed train service began on 13 March 2009, between Ankara and Eskişehir and in its final year before TCDD Taşımacılık took over, YHT trains carried over 5.89 million passengers.[4]

Intercity rail

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The Pamukkale Express running through rural Afyon Province.

Intercity rail in Turkey is known as Mainline (Turkish: Anahat) service. Mainline trains operate between major cities, often as overnight trains, and make limited stops. Mainline trains also operate at greater speeds than regional and commuter trains when the route permits it. Intercity trains were operated the most between Istanbul and Ankara and reached speeds of up to 140 km/h (87 mph) in certain sections. The Capital Express, Anatolian Express and the Republic Express were a few notable mainline trains that ran on the Istanbul to Ankara rail corridor. Once the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed railway was completed in 2014, all mainline train service between the two cities was replaced with high-speed rail service.

Mainline trains are usually equipped with TVS2000 air-conditioned cars, however refurbished Pullman cars are also used on some trains. Overnight mainline trains consist of sleeping and dining cars while some trains also have couchette cars in addition to sleepers.

During the final year before TCDD Taşımacılık took over operations, mainline trains carried over 1.3 million passengers.[4]

Regional rail

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An Afyon-bound regional train from Eskişehir at Alayunt station.

Regional rail (Turkish: Bölgesel treni) service connects major cities to neighboring towns and villages, as well as other cities. These trains are usually the slowest in the whole TCDD Taşımacılık system, making frequent stops along its route. Some trains, like the Ada Express, however operate at faster speeds similar to mainline trains. All regional rail service operates within their respective districts, using one city as a hub.

The most frequent regional rail service in Turkey is between Adana and Mersin with 27 daily trains in each direction. The second most frequent route is between İzmir and Torbalı, with 18 daily trains in each direction.

Regional trains can be locomotive-hauled or consist of diesel or electric trainsets (MUs) or even diesel railcars. Locomotive-hauled trains consist of TVS200 or regular Pullman coaches. DM15000 and DM30000 DMUs are standard along many routes, especially south of İzmir. Regional trains lack any on-board services except at-cart catering services on most trains.

During the final year before TCDD Taşımacılık took over operations, regional trains carried over 13.5 million passengers.[4]

Commuter rail

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A Marmaray train at Ayrılık Çeşmesi station.

Commuter rail service is currently provided in Istanbul, Ankara and Gaziantep; with new networks under planning stage in Konya and Afyonkarahisar. The Marmaray network operates between Halkalı in Istanbul province and Gebze in the neighboring Kocaeli province. The tunnel that Marmaray uses to cross Bosphorus is the deepest immersed tube tunnel in the world, and the tunnel is also used by freight trains. There is another commuter rail service between Halkalı and Bahçeşehir (both in Istanbul province), but due to the lack of a signalling system and double tracks, trains only operate once in the morning and once in the evening in each direction.

The Başkentray network in Ankara provides commuter rail service along an east-west axis between Sincan and Kayaş, with Ankara station as a hub.

All commuter rail service operates on its own right-of-way, similar to some S-Bahn systems in Germany, and are fully integrated with their respective cities' transportation network. The only commuter railway in Turkey not operated by TCDD Taşımacılık is İZBAN, which operates commuter rail on two lines in the İzmir metropolitan area.

International rail

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The Istanbul-Sofia Express waiting to depart Sofia.

While TCDD used to operate several international trains to Europe and the Middle-East, most of these trains were cancelled due to the outbreak of war in Syria and Iraq, and the economic crisis in Greece. Currently, TCDD Taşımacılık operates two international trains from Istanbul to Sofia and Bucharest in Bulgaria and Romania respectively. These two routes operate out of Halkalı as a single train and later split in Bulgaria. Once the rehabilitation of the railway east of Halkalı is completed in late 2018, international train service will resume from their former terminus, Sirkeci station. An agreement between Greece and Turkey to revive the Istanbul to Thessaloniki train, cancelled in 2011, was signed in March 2016, but no progress has been made since and it is still unclear whether or not the train will resume service.

A new international passenger service from Kars to Baku, Azerbaijan, was expected to start June 2018 via the recently completed Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway. A train such as this would be the first revenue passenger train service from Turkey to the Caucasus.[5]

Due to the volatile situation in Syria and Iraq, all international train service to the middle-east is suspended indefinitely.

International services to Europe

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See also: Halkalı railway station
 
Sirkeci Terminal on the European side of Istanbul was inaugurated in 1890 as the terminus of the Rumelia Railway and the Orient Express.

Freight operations

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A freight wagon of the company

From 1980 onwards, rail freight tonne-kilometers transported by the TCDD rose slightly from ~5000million tonne-km in 1980 to ~7000million tonne-km in 1990 and to ~9000million tonne-km in 2000.[6] Approximately 50% of freight moved is minerals or ores, with construction materials increasing to ~10% in 2000 from less than 5% in 1980, food/agricultural products, chemicals/petroleum, and metal sectors each account for between 5 and 10%. International freight accounted for approximately 5% of totals in 2000.[6]

In 2012, 25.7 million ton were transported by rail in Turkey. Two steel companies, Erdemir and Kardemir, top 2 customers of TCDD, had transported 4.5 million ton in 2012, mainly iron ore and coal.[7] 2.1 million tons of rail freight belong to international traffic. Most of international traffic between Turkey and Europe are done via Kapikule and mainly using container trains.[8]

As of 2016, the number of goods transported by rail is stable (25.8 million ton) with 7.1 million being done with private wagons (domestic only). International transport is also stable since 2013 (1.8 million).[9]

Containers are widely used both in international and domestic transportation. 7.6 million tons is carried in containers. TCDD supports transportation by containers. Thus, almost all of the private railway companies invested in container wagons, and carry 20% of all rail freight by their own wagons.[10]

TCDD has plans to strengthen its freight traffic with the construction of 4000 km conventional lines until 2023. That includes new international rail connections to Georgia, Iraq and Iran.[11] This will be complemented with the construction of 18 logistic centers in order to increase the ratio of domestic freight transported by rail.[12] The company is also planning to increase its international transit traffic (as little as 7000 ton in 2016) by constructing an "iron silk road" that will be connecting Europe and Asia and thus taking share from one of the world's highest freight traffic routes.[13] Marmaray and the YSS bridge are the most important parts of this project which were completed in 2015 and 2016 respectively.[14] Another key project is the Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway which is planned to be completed in 2016 and start functioning in 2017.[15] Also, plans for another supplying project to Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railway, the Kars-Igdir-Nakhcivan railway has been completed.[16]

Freight rail transport in Turkey

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A freight train at Torbalı

TCDD Transport operate freight trains on all TCDD lines.[citation needed] TCDD Transport has a big fleet of covered goods wagons, flat wagons, tank wagons, open wagons and hoppers. TCDD Transport also has a few schnabel cars and crane cars. TCDD Transport carries freight such as bulk, shipping containers, liquids and goods.

As of 2012, 25.7 million ton is transported by rail in Turkey. Two steel companies, Erdemir and Kardemir, top 2 customers of TCDD, had transported 4.5 million ton in 2012, mainly iron ore and coal.[17]

2.1 million tons of rail freight belong to international traffic. Most of international traffic is between Turkey and Europe, done via Kapikule. Several container trains are running in this route as well as conventional wagons.[18]

Containers are widely used both in international and domestic transportation. 7.6 million ton is carried in containers. TCDD is supporting transportation by containers. Thus almost all of the private railway companies invested in container wagons, and carrying 20% of all rail freight by their own wagons.[19]

TCDD has plans to strengthen freight traffic by adding 4000 km conventional lines until 2023. That includes new international rail connections to Georgia, Iraq and Iran.[20] TCDD is also constructing 18 logistic centers to enable transportation of more loads by rail.[21]

TCDD is planning to increase its transit traffic (11000 to in 2011) by constructing "iron silk road" to connect Europe to Asia. Marmaray is the most important part of this project which is supposed to complete in 2015.[22] Another project is Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway which will be completed in 2014. TCDD wants to have share from the freight traffic between Europe and China.[23]

Container lines to Europe

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As of May 2014, there are 3 companies organizing regular container trains between Turkey and Europe: IFB, Balo and Metrans. The weekly departures by these 3 companies is about 10 in each direction in total.[24] By 16 June 2014 IFB ended direct container service to Turkey and started using vessel connection via Constanta powered by Global Multimodal.[25]

There are also other services started in 2014 such as intermodal trailer service by Ulusoy Logistics[26] and swapbody train by Transfesa.[27]

Fleet

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TCDD Taşımacılık acquired its entire fleet from the Turkish State Railways on 28 December 2016, when the handover between the two organizations was signed. In total, TCDD Taşımacılık possesses 125 electric locomotives, 543 diesel locomotives, 19 high-speed trainsets, 49 EMUs, 64 DMUs, 872 passenger cars and 19,870 freight cars.[4][obsolete source]

Locomotives

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Model Picture Numbers Built Number built Type Power Builder (Designer) Notes
Road power
DE24000   24001-24418 1970–84 418[28] Diesel Electric 2160 hp (1600 kW) TÜLOMSAŞ (MTE) Ordered for TCDD's complete dieselization of its fleet
DE18100   18101-18120 1978 20[29] Diesel Electric 1800 hp (1320 kW) MTE Ordered for use in District 3
DE22000   22001-22086 1985–89 86[30] Diesel Electric 2000 hp (1470 kW) TÜLOMSAŞ (Electro-Motive Division)
E43000   43001-43045 1987 45[31] Electric 4260 hp (3180 kW) TÜLOMSAŞ (Toshiba)
DE33000   33001-33089 2003–04 89[32] Diesel Electric 3000 hp (2220 kW) TÜLOMSAŞ (Electro-Motive Diesel) Based on the DE22000
E68000   68001-68080 2013– 80[33] Electric 6800 hp (5000 kW) Hyundai Rotem, TÜLOMSAŞ First 8 built by Hyundai Rotem, later 72 are being built by TÜLOMSAŞ
DE36000   36001-36020 2013– 20[34] Diesel Electric 3600 hp (2680 kW) TÜLOMSAŞ (General Electric) GE PowerHaul type
Switchers
HSL700 TBA 2018 80 Electro-Diesel 710 hp (522 kW) TÜLOMSAŞ Based on E1000 electronics (in turn, DE 11 000)[35]
DE11000   11001-11085 1985 85[36] Diesel Electric 1065 hp (780 kW) Krauss-Maffei, TÜLOMSAŞ First 20 built by Krauss-Maffei later 60 built by TÜLOMSAŞ
DH7000   7001–7020 1994 20[37] Diesel Hydraulic 710 hp (522 kW) TÜLOMSAŞ
DH9500   9501–9526 1999 26[38] Diesel Hydraulic 950 hp (700 kW) TÜLOMSAŞ Diesel-hydraulic redesign of TCDD DE11000 to work around short of spare parts for the traction motors of TCDD DE11000
E1000   1000 2015– 1 Electric 1360 hp (1000 kW) TÜBİTAK MAM, TÜLOMSAŞ Prototype, mainly used for shunting operations (electric-only adaptation of TCDD DE11000)

Trainsets

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Model Picture Numbers Built Number Built Type Power Builder (Designer) Notes
MT15000   15001-15012 2008 12 DMU 650 kW Hyundai Rotem Used for regional services
HT65000   65001-65012 2009–???? 12 EMU 4800 kW CAF TCDD high-speed train sets
E23000   23001-23033 2009–???? 33 EMU EUROTEM Başkentray commuter rail
MT30000   15401-15452 2011– 52 DMU 650 kW TÜVASAŞ Used for regional services
E32000   32001-32054 2011–???? 54 EMU EUROTEM Marmaray commuter rail
HT80000   80001 & 80101-80118 2013–2021 19 EMU 8000 kW Siemens TCDD high-speed train sets

Railcars

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Model Picture Numbers Built Number Built Type Power Builder (Designer) Notes
MT5700   5701-5730 1993 30 Railcar Fiat Used for regional services

Passenger cars

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Model Picture Built Type Builder (Designer)
Regional Fleet   1972 Coach TÜVASAŞ
Pullman Fleet 1980–90 Coach, Couchette, Diner, Generator TÜVASAŞ
TVS2000   1992 Coach, Diner, Couchette, Sleeper, Generator TÜVASAŞ (Past), TÜRASAŞ (Present)

References

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  1. ^ a b "Hakkında". tcddtasimacilik.gov.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  2. ^ Ergin Tönük Archived March 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine - Mavi Tren Lokomotifleri
  3. ^ "YHT Timetable" (PDF). tcddtasimacilik.gov.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d "TCDD Annual Report (2016)" (PDF). tcddtasimacilik.gov.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  5. ^ "Azerbaijan Railways' head: Passenger trains via rail route Baku-Tbilisi-Kars to operate from June". abc.az. 22 February 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  6. ^ a b Restructuring options for reform of TCDD, World Bank report 2003, hwtsk.com
  7. ^ Uysal, Onur. "Leading Railway Clients 2012", Rail Turkey, 16 December 2013
  8. ^ Uysal, Onur. "Leading Railway Companies In Turkey 2012 – European Traffic", Rail Turkey, 14 June 2014
  9. ^ Uysal, Onur. "TCDD Annual Statistics 2013", Rail Turkey, 23 October 2014
  10. ^ Uysal, Onur. "Leading Railway Companies In Turkey 2012 – Railcar Owners", Rail Turkey, 15 July 2013
  11. ^ Uysal, Onur. "2023 Targets in Rail Freight – Network", Rail Turkey, 11 July 2013
  12. ^ Uysal, Onur. "2023 Targets in Rail Freight – Logistic Centers", Rail Turkey, 5 December 2013
  13. ^ Uysal, Onur. "Is Marmaray Key for Europe-Asia Rail Connection?", Rail Turkey, 12 November 2013
  14. ^ Uysal, Onur. "When Asia and Europe Will Be Connected?", Rail Turkey, 10 December 2013
  15. ^ Uysal, Onur. "10 Things to Know About Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway Project", Rail Turkey, 20 October 2014
  16. ^ Kars-Iğdır-Nahçivan Hızlı Tren Projesi (KIN)
  17. ^ Uysal, Onur (16 December 2013). "Leading Railway Clients 2012". Rail Turkey.
  18. ^ Uysal, Onur (14 June 2014). "Leading Railway Companies In Turkey 2012 – European Traffic". Rail Turkey.
  19. ^ Uysal, Onur (15 July 2013). "Leading Railway Companies In Turkey 2012 – Railcar Owners". Rail Turkey.
  20. ^ Uysal, Onur (11 July 2013). "2023 Targets in Rail Freight – Network". Rail Turkey.
  21. ^ Uysal, Onur (5 December 2013). "2023 Targets in Rail Freight – Logistic Centers". Rail Turkey'.
  22. ^ Uysal, Onur (10 December 2013). "When Asia and Europe Will Be Connected?". Rail Turkey.
  23. ^ Uysal, Onur (12 November 2013). "Is Marmaray Key for Europe-Asia Rail Connection?". Rail Turkey.
  24. ^ Uysal, Onur (8 April 2014). "Container Trains from Turkey to Europe – Part I". Rail Turkey.
  25. ^ Uysal, Onur (18 June 2014). "Interferryboats Announced New Route for Turkey". Rail Turkey.
  26. ^ Uysal, Onur (7 June 2014). "Ulusoy's Intermodal Trailer Train to Depart from Cologne Today". Rail Turkey.
  27. ^ Uysal, Onur (22 July 2014). "Renault Loads to Turkey by Rail". Rail Turkey.
  28. ^ "DE24000". trainsofturkey.com. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  29. ^ "DE18100". trainsofturkey.com. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  30. ^ "DE22000". trainsofturkey.com. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  31. ^ "E43000". trainsofturkey.com. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  32. ^ "DE33000". trainsofturkey.com. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  33. ^ "E68000". trainsofturkey.com. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  34. ^ "DE36000". trainsofturkey.com. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  35. ^ "Türkiye'nin ilk hibrit lokomotifi görücüye çıkıyor". Rail Turkey Tr (in Turkish). 2018-09-11. Retrieved 2018-10-14.
  36. ^ "DE11000". trainsofturkey.com. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  37. ^ "DH7000". trainsofturkey.com. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  38. ^ "DH9500". trainsofturkey.com. Retrieved 30 April 2018.


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