Eurasia Rail Fair Brings Turkish Rail into Focus

The Eurasia Rail Fair which opened on 7th March in Istanbul is expected to bring Turkish rail plans into focus. Open tenders for high speed train lines in 15 Turkish provinces have attracted interest from around the world, and in particular from within the European Union.

Siemens, from Germany, CAF from Spain and Alstrom from France are all keen to get involved in rail infrastructure in Turkey, with Alstrom recently relocating its Head Office for the Middle East to Istanbul.

The EU has invested substantially in Turkey, to the point that politicians of the Conservative and UKIP parties in the United Kingdom questioned the value of financing a project in a non-EU state which is geographically outside Europe. However, the potential for trade links with Asia and Africa may make the investment of 136 million Euros in Turkey a shrewd move. The EU and Turkey have been working together since 2004, and Turkey’s Transport Ministry has clearly signalled that Rail is one of its major priorities in the coming decades.

Before long, we could see a German or Spanish Railway Company operating trains in Turkey.