On August 23, the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inaugurated the new high speed line between Ankara and Konya, which is equipped with Invensys Rail’s FUTUR 1300 ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) Level 1 and associated signalling systems.
As a result of the initial contract signed in 2008 with Yapi Merkezi Insaat, Invensys Rail has successfully delivered the signalling and FUTUR 1300 (trackside) and FUTUR 3000 (on-board) ERTMS Level 1 system for the Turkish State Railways (TCDD).
In addition, the solution also includes Westrace Electronic Interlocking, FS3000 jointless track circuits, LED-type wayside signals and a Rail9000 Control Traffic Centre (CTC), located at Ankara station.
The high speed line includes 212 km of new construction, and with speeds up to 250 km/h the journey between Ankara and Konya now takes just 90 minutes.
The new section between the capital Ankara and the city of Konya links with the Ankara-Istanbul line at Polatli station and will eventually connect to the cities of Izmir and Afyon.
In addition to this contract, TCDD entrusted Invensys Rail to install its FUTUR 2500 ERTMS Level 2 system in this high speed line, which will significantly increase the capacity of the line.
The scope of the additional work, which is already underway, includes the design, manufacture, supply, supervision of the installation, testing and commissioning of the FUTUR 2500 ERTMS Level 2 system, with RBC’s (Radio Block Centres), Juridical Recorder Unit for ETCS Level 2 and the enhancement of the onboard FUTUR 3000 system for six train units.
Comenting on the commissioning Kevin Riddett, CEO and President of Invensys Rail, said:
“I’m delighted to see another successful commissioning of our leading ERTMS solution, FUTUR.
“With a track record of success across high speed networks in Spain, this milestone project for TCDD marks the beginning of a new chapter in high speed rail operations for Turkey and we look forward to playing a major role in the continued development of railways in the country.”
