According to a statement made by Siemens, TCDD (Turkey’s State Railways) has signed a contract for 10 new Velaro high-speed trains with Siemens who submitted the most favorable offer in the tender for high-speed trains.
The contract which is worth about euro 340 million covers maintenance, repair and cleaning of trains for a period of 3 years. The contract will then increase the number of trains in Velaro fleet of Turkey to 17.
It was stated by Siemens executives that the Velaro family continued to grow and thanks to the capacity and comfort, Velaro continued to be a benchmark for high-speed trains. The executive added that the train had already proved its powerful features in day-to-day operations with an operation rate of 99 percent.
Developed for the international market Velaro trains operate in Spain, France, Germany, Britain, Belgium, Russia, China, Turkey and, most recently the Netherlands.
The first Velaro train started to serve passengers between Ankara and Konya in May 2015. At the same time, TCDD also signed a second contract with Siemens, which won the open bid, for the 6 high-speed trains with eight wagons. The Velaro fleet with seven trains connected Ankara to Konya and Eskişehir and has traveled more than 5 million kilometers so far.
Meanwhile, according to the information received from the Ministry of Transport, Maritime and Communications, fast train sets are expected to be delivered 15 months after the signing of the contract. It is also aimed to launch commercial services with sets in 2 years.
