Türkiye's first domestically produced high-speed train will begin dynamic track tests in the final quarter of 2025, a senior official announced on Friday.
The trials will follow the completion of factory static tests, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said in a written statement.
The high-speed train will reach speeds of up to 225 kph (139.8 mph) and will have a total capacity of 584 passengers across eight cars in each set, said Uraloğlu.
It will be manufactured by Turkish Railway Vehicles Industries Inc. (TURASAŞ). Uraloğlu stressed the construction is progressing with entirely domestic resources.
The design phase is expected to conclude by the last quarter of this year, after which the assembly phase will begin.
Uraloğlu highlighted Türkiye's transformation into a self-sufficient nation in railway vehicle production.
“Our investments in transportation and infrastructure continue to bear fruit. Türkiye has now emerged as a country that designs, produces and develops railway technology," he noted.
"We began passenger services with our national electric train sets on May 27, 2023, and now we are advancing with our national high-speed train.”
The train sets will be designed with state-of-the-art technology, according to the minister.
"The trains will be equipped with integrated ghost screen technology indoors and partition walls, foldable tables with contactless quick-charging stations, comfortable leather and fabric seat designs, a bistro area with 3D ghost screen technology, an indirect lighting system, and a spacious interior design," he explained.
The project also collaborates with the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBITAK) Rail Transportation Technologies Institute.
The institution has developed the "National Traction System and Train Control Management System" that will be utilized in the high-speed train project, Uraloğlu said.
"Thanks to this collaboration, the critical subcomponents that make up the train set have also been produced using local and national resources," he noted.
All project design processes, which Uraloğlu says are being carried out in compliance with international standards, are expected to be completed by the last quarter of 2024, after which the assembly phase will commence.
