European Rail Industry hosts General Assembly in Istanbul

UNIFE, the European Rail Industry, decided to host its General Assembly 2010 in Istanbul to celebrate the impressive developments of Turkish rail. Focusing on the benefits high-speed and urban rail bring to society, chief executives of the rail industry were joined by senior officials from the Turkish railways and public transport to discuss the future of Turkish rail.

UNIFE, representing more than 80% of European rail industry turnover and more than 50% worlwide, is hosting its General Assembly 2010 in Istanbul. As UNIFE Chairman Dr Hans-Jörg Grundmann stated, “in less than one year after opening the first high speed line in March 2009, more than 1 million people have already travelled with Turkey’s high speed trains. This great success should become even more striking in future as more than USD 12bn is to be invested in high speed rail over the next decade.”

Deputy Director-General of Turkish State Railways Veysi Kurt presented the extensive investment programme to modernise the Turkish rail network, which will improve both passenger and freight rail traffic to neighbouring countries considerably through vast investments.

Dursun Balcioglu (Director Department of Transportation, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality), and Ömer Yildiz (General Manager, Istanbul Ulasim) outlined ambitious plans to improve the public transport network in Istanbul, that evolve around but also extend beyond the large-scale Marmaray tunnel project.

Michael Clausecker, UNIFE Director-General stated that “Turkey, an economy determined to grow, invests heavily in rail as a means to trigger economic growth. No question, the country is on a good way to provide its citizens with an efficient and sustainable transport system.”