Turkey begins building national high-speed train factory to boost domestic rail production and reduce imports

Credit: TÜRASAŞ

Turkey’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, has announced the start of construction for the country’s first National Electric High-Speed Train Set Manufacturing and Test Factory. The facility is being built within the TÜRASAŞ Sakarya Regional Directorate and will mark a major step forward in Turkey’s domestic rail production capabilities.

The factory will cover approximately 15,000 square metres and is set to become a key production centre for the nation’s rail systems. Minister Uraloğlu said, “With this project that we will implement in Sakarya, we will bring a new production centre to our country. In this new facility, many domestic and national trains that will shape the future of Turkey in the field of rail systems, especially the first domestic and national Electric High Speed Train of our country with a speed of 225 kilometres, will come to life in this facility.”

The new factory will have the capacity to produce and test 12 high-speed train sets. Uraloğlu highlighted that while Turkey continues to invest in its railway infrastructure, it is also focusing on expanding vehicle production to reduce foreign dependency and strengthen the domestic industry.

The Minister noted that excavation and filling work has been completed and that ground improvement efforts are underway before the official groundbreaking.

Emphasising the economic benefits, Uraloğlu said, “Thanks to the high value-added products we will obtain in our production facility; we will provide strong support to our country’s R&D and technology infrastructure, the development of our domestic industry, employment and our general economy.”

The project is expected to employ around 250 people and contribute approximately 3.5 billion liras annually to Turkey’s economy once operational.