In January 2018 Turkish Railways (TCDD) will hold the tender for the acquisition of 96 high-speed trains. The value of the tender is estimated at EUR 3 billion.
The Turkish state faces a lack of high-speed trains amid the growth of the high-speed rail network. In this regard, Turkey announced for January 2018 the long-awaited tender for the acquisition of the 96 high-speed trains.
This will meet Turkey’s short and long-term objectives of increasing the high-speed train fleet. TCDD announces that the first deliveries of the new railway vehicles will take place within 22 months after signing the contract, thus it is most likely the first delivery will take place by mid-2019. TCDD also announces that all 96 high-speed trains will be delivered until 2026.
Under the terms of the tender, a first batch of 20 high-speed trains will be produced at the manufacturer’s headquarters, with only 10% production being localized in Turkey. The next batch of 60 high-speed trains will be manufactured in Turkey with a local production rate of 53%.
The remaining 16 vehicles, out of the total of 96, will be manufactured in Turkey by Tülomsaş (the national locomotives and passenger coaches’ manufacturer) but under the supervision of the winner of the tender to be organised in January 2018. The rate of localization in Turkey for the production of the 16 high-speed trains will be 74%.
The terms of the tender include the construction of a new production plant on Turkish territory, the transfer of know-how and the free of charge transfer to Tülomsaş, at the end of the manufacturing process, of all the equipment used by the winning manufacturer.
Most likely, at Tülomsaş’s request, TCDD will require that the new factory will be built in Eskișehir.
Given these conditions, Turkish Railways believes that it will not be that easy for any rolling stock manufacturer to attend this tender.
According to the requirements, all 96 high-speed trains will have to run at 250 km/h, they will be equipped with ETCS Level 1 and Level 2 signaling system and they will also have to be equipped with a regenerative braking system. The new high-speed trains should have a capacity for the transport of 470 passengers, a minimum of 90 seats in business class cars (each train will have two business class cars). The trains should have a restaurant car with 16 seats, of which eight seats at the bar the restaurant car should include.
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