Railways transform industry, trade, culture, and social life, thus developing every settlement they pass through.
Dear Members,
Our railways have been considered one of the links in the chain of sustainable development through policies pursued since 2003. Approximately 63-64 billion dollars has been invested in railways since 2003. A budget of 261 billion 580 million TL has been allocated for investments in 2026 alone. With this budget, some of the important projects included in the investment program and currently under construction are expected to be completed by 2026, while others are projected to be completed by 2032.
The share of railways in transportation sector investments increased from 33 percent in 2013 to over 60 percent in 2023.
As a result, significant projects have been implemented to date, both to close the gaps created by the neglect between 1950 and 2003, and to have a say in the relentless competition between countries.
Undoubtedly, at the forefront of these are the high-speed rail projects that enhance our country's prestige and make its name known to the world. Currently, high-speed, comfortable, and highly safe high-speed rail operations are successfully carried out between Ankara-Eskişehir-Istanbul, Ankara-Konya, Konya-Eskişehir-Istanbul, and Ankara-Sivas, Sivas-Ankara-Istanbul.
The length of high-speed rail lines that have been put into service has reached 2,250 km. The Konya-Karaman and Ankara-Sivas high-speed rail lines were opened and put into service in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Construction of high-speed rail lines between Ankara and İzmir, Karaman-Ulukışla, Adana-Mersin-Osmaniye-Gaziantep, Kayseri-Yerköy, Halkalı-Ispartakule-Çerkezköy-Kapıkule, and Bursa-Bilecik is continuing at a rapid pace. The length of high-speed rail and railway lines under construction has reached approximately 3,000 km.
In addition to high-speed rail and express train lines, the renovation, electrification, and signaling of existing lines, as well as the establishment of logistics centers, are of great importance.
On the other hand, with the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line and the "Middle Corridor" route, implemented as a joint initiative of Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Georgia within the scope of the Iron Silk Road project, Turkey is getting closer to its goal of becoming a logistics hub between Asia and Europe. In line with this goal, freight transportation between Turkey, China, and Europe using block trains has been initiated with the "Belt and Road Initiative".
On the other hand, the liberalization of the railway sector and the development of a domestic and national railway industry in our country has now become our "national cause".
The restructuring of TCDD (Turkish State Railways) aimed at liberalizing the railway sector, the establishment of TCDD A.Ş. (Turkish State Railways Inc.) for train operations, and the secondary legislation studies have been successfully completed.
While the government was carrying out these studies on rail systems, the Anatolian Rail Transportation Systems (ARUS) Cluster was established in 2012 with the belief in "Cooperation, Unity of Strength and National Brand" together with our industrialists and supporting institutions and organizations that produce for rail transportation systems in our country.
Founded on the principle that “Rail systems are our national cause”, the ARUS Cluster has set itself the main goal of producing domestic and national branded rail transportation systems in our country, from design to final product, and transforming them into world brands.
ARUS brings together leading organizations in the Turkish rail systems sector from all over Anatolia, undertaking the task of fostering cooperation, synergy, and the creation of national brands within the sector. To date, 10 national brands have been created and are successfully operating in Istanbul, Bursa, Kayseri, Samsun, and Kocaeli. Antalya, Izmir, and Gaziantep have recently joined this list.
ARUS expanded its operations to Europe in 2018 by becoming a member of the European Rail Systems Association (ERCI). This association, comprising 17 European countries, 18 European Rail Systems Clusters, and over 3,000 SMEs, enables our members to conduct business, increase their exports, and collaborate on projects. We have completed 3 URGE (International Competitiveness Development) Projects with the Ministry of Trade. Through these projects, we have held B2B business meetings with more than 20 international rail system clusters, organized 30 international trade fairs, and conducted marketing activities.
Through all these activities, ARUS members have extended their success abroad by exporting $1 billion worth of products to 25 countries in 2023. Now our goal is to exceed $2 billion annually.
The stronger ARUS becomes as the leading cluster in rail systems in our country, the faster the development of our domestic and national railway industry will be.
ARUS Board Chairman
