• Publish Date
  12.05.2023
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Metro Istanbul celebrates its 34th anniversary with a gift: TRAM34 and R&D Center.

Türkiye's largest urban rail system operator, Metro Istanbul, introduced the domestic tram vehicle TRAM34 with the participation of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, and inaugurated the Metro Istanbul R&D Center.

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) introduced the 300th project of the "300 Projects in 300 Days" marathon, which was launched on July 22, 2022. IMM affiliate, Metro Istanbul, brought the locally produced rail system vehicle "TRAM34" to life, which is 100% designed and engineered by Turkish engineers, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Republic.
During the presentation of TRAM34 and the opening ceremony of the Metro Istanbul R&D Center, IMM Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Deputy Secretary-General Pelin Alpkökin, and Metro Istanbul General Manager Özgür Soy delivered speeches.

"We love working for this city"
İmamoğlu, speaking at the ceremony held at Metro Istanbul's General Directorate Campus in Esenler, said the following in summary: "Today, the name of the 300th project is very valuable: TRAM34 launch and the opening of Metro Istanbul R&D Center. When you do things that symbolize the development of our country, you become even more proud. Especially when describing a process that involves employing the children, young people, and women of this city, working with them, and raising goals together, you become more excited. Hopefully, we will continue to make progress towards the 400th project. We still have some time left, and I describe this period as a careful one because we love working for this city very much. I believe that we will be honored to work hard for our country in a very short time. As IMM, our priority is to make the lives of our 16 million people easier and raise their living standards. For this, the part that we attach great importance to and spend a lot of time and spend the highest budget is the rail systems of our Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.To put it plainly, the relief in transportation in Turkey's and Europe's largest city is only possible with the development of rail systems." 

"We have taken big steps in metro production."
"Ms. Pelin shared with you our 2030 vision that reaches up to 740 kilometers. This is a very precious journey. We must achieve this. If we cannot achieve this, it will not be possible to make Istanbul truly sustainable in terms of quality of life. Today, as we enjoy the pleasure of adding a new success to this process in which we have achieved beautiful accomplishments, we had said in June 2019, 'We are setting out to make the metros the backbone of transportation in Istanbul and to bring much more metros to our city at a lower cost and in a shorter time.' We have taken big steps on this path. We have come together in metro and tramway openings and in construction processes, and we will continue to do so. Today, at the point where our vision in this field has come, I would like to express that we witness a moment that will make 85 million people proud. We have completed all the design and registration processes of our TRAM34 tram vehicle. Today, with the signature we put, Metro Istanbul is taking an important step and officially starting production, God willing." 

"Our vision has three pillars..." 
"Our vision has three pillars. The first is to complete the metro investments as soon as possible that Istanbul has needed for years and have been neglected. The second is to ensure comfortable and punctual transportation with high quality metro operation. This is very important because the more people use and enjoy the metro, the more they love it. The third is to take advantage of this environment as an opportunity and lead the development of local production and technology. If we are currently producing the world's top-level metro and literally weaving the city with iron networks, we have a responsibility to prepare other products, vehicles, and all elements of this need. Now, we aim to also pioneer the development of local production and technology in this area." 

If they are comparing 4 years to 25 years, it means we have accomplished very good things.
“If they compare what we have accomplished in four years to what could be achieved in 25 years, it means we have achieved great things. Our General Manager shared with us the visionary work and results that our colleagues have accomplished in a short time to make Metro Istanbul a world-renowned brand, with the awards they have received. Metro Istanbul has become a globally recognized brand of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. I sincerely believe it will climb even higher. This is a great pride for us. Of course, we are here to be even more proud. Because we are starting the production of our own rail system vehicle that serves both as a light metro and tram. It is a valuable national technology product. We will produce TRAM34 because Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality owns it. This was made possible with its registration, R&D center, all patents issued and the efforts of our dear colleagues.” 

“A product to which 16 million Istanbulites are entitled” 

“We have a difference here, we are providing a patented product to the public sector. This is valuable. In other words, we are sharing a product that belongs to 16 million Istanbulites. I would like to emphasize that this is the true meaning of national technology. During my visit here in July 2021, my colleagues showed me around the R&D Center and our General Manager, Deputy General Manager, and all our colleagues showed how excited they were about it. Unfortunately, on that day, the R&D Center was still in the process of being registered with the ministry. Just as we are constantly struggling with everything, we were delayed in this matter as well. But when the TRAM34 project was presented to me and I saw the excitement in my colleagues, I was also excited and I immediately shared with them that they needed to be courageous and start working on it. Today, it is important that both Metro Istanbul and the Rail System Department have embraced a project that was still in the idea stage that day, completed all stages, and brought it to life. The design was completed, the patent was obtained, the system matured, the customer was prepared, and the product was created. Now, production will begin. They deserve applause for achieving this in such a short period of time. I thank them all.”

"They collected the money they earned in 36 years from us in just 10 months." 
"They are taking the money for the connection line to Sabiha Gökçen that was built by the ministry from us in 10 months. Remember when they opened it and we thanked them? So what was the regulation before? For 36 years, the government was collecting the money for this with deductions. It's not about '36 years is too much, let's make it 20.' Give me the guarantee that you will cut the money in 10 months, I would be remiss if I did not finish all of those 740 kilometers in 4 years.This is shameful. Would the government do such an injustice to its own institution? It's Istanbul's money. These things need to stop now. Let's not waste time with these useless things. Everyone's concern should be the development of this country. And this development is not a miracle. It's the labor of the people here. In other places, it's the labor of other people. They make planes. They do other things. Let them do more. This country is now entrusted to us. Look, what are we saying? It belongs to the people. It's not A party or B party's project, it's Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's project. It's the labor of people who have been working from past to present, my friend. Metro Istanbul is 34 years old." 

"We will employ these technological advancements for the youth of this country." 
"All institutions of the Republic must come together. We must achieve this after May 15th. With the ministry, with the municipality, with all the resources of the state... for the benefit of the country and the people, to develop industry and technology, whether it be defense industry, rail systems, automotive, robotics, aviation, or space technologies... we must work together to uplift them. None of these are related to a party. It's as if we were zombies who didn't think before 2002. We've been saying 34 years. At 1989. Even before that, there was Mr. Dalan, then Mr. Sözen. We've had Erdogan, and then Mr. Gürtuna. The late Mr. Topbaş... Should we throw them all away? Besides, they were all mayors. There were other people. I asked the gentleman next to me who had been here for 16 years. God bless him. I hope he works for many more years. There are newer people, and there are older ones. That's it. These are my people, my brothers. I have no other feeling. And that's how it should be. It doesn't matter whether it's for a handful of people or to praise a party or a person; we will use these technological advancements for the young people of this country." 

"Our youth should be proud of their country and continue to dream here." 
"The government spends only 1 percent of its budget on digital transformation. It's 0.003 percent of the budget. This is stated by the person who is at the forefront of the most important sectors of the technology world. For example, Mexico allocates 4 percent of its budget to technology development, which is almost 10 times more than ours. Our young people should be proud of their country and continue to dream here. Therefore, if our well-educated people are emigrating abroad, especially today, we need to question ourselves and ask, 'Where are we making mistakes?' Because they think they are not valued here. This is the reason. Our youth say, 'We do not feel valued. We do not see a future here. We cannot catch the future in the fields of science and technology here.' The country must be enlightened in the light of science and technology. Today, I sincerely thank everyone who has worked hard to realize this dream."

Metro Istanbul General Manager Soy: "We serve on 18 lines, with 214 stations and 214 kilometers." 
Metro Istanbul General Manager Soy said, "We started with 12 construction sites, even though we say we have 10 metro lines at the same time. We completed four of them under the leadership of our Mayor. We are working with all our might for the remaining eight. I started my duty in February 2021. When I started, we were providing services on 13 lines, 158 stations, and 154 kilometers. We could carry a maximum of 2.2-2.3 million passengers per day. Today, we are providing services on 18 lines, 214 stations, and 214 kilometers. In October 2022, we carried 2 million 869 thousand passengers. Hopefully, we will break this record very soon and celebrate carrying 3 million passengers together. In a period where the number of passengers decreased in metro systems around the world, Metro Istanbul became the metro system with the highest increase in the number of passengers in Europe. Metro Istanbul is a very large and strong organization. Metro Istanbul carries one out of every two passengers who travel with rail systems in Turkey, and it is bigger than all other urban rail systems combined. Under the leadership of our esteemed Mayor, we will soon surpass Paris and become the third largest metro system in Europe." 

"Come here, let's develop domestic technologies together here" 
Soy, who said "Today we gathered here to inaugurate our R&D center, which is the result of these efforts. Our R&D center's work began approximately 3.5 years ago. But we were only able to obtain our official certification from the Ministry of Industry and Technology a few months ago. This facility is a center established to develop new technology. But it is not only for Metro Istanbul, it is an open product and technology development platform for all domestic producers. We say, 'Come here, let's develop local technologies together.' Let's work together to develop local technologies and increase local production. Young engineers should also be able to realize their dreams here." 

"TRAM34 is 24 meters long, 2.65 meters wide, and can accommodate 216 passengers."
General Manager Özgür Soy shared information about TRAM34, saying, "The necessary design and engineering work for the production of 34 rail system vehicles has been completed in the 100th anniversary of our Republic. It went through approval processes. Today, we came together to sign the production contract. It was our fortune to realize the first rail system project under the 'Industry Cooperation Program' in effect since 2011 to develop new technologies and support local production, which has so far found application particularly in defense industry in Turkey. And we are proud to produce the vehicle you see here and add it to Istanbul's transportation network. Now, I would like to introduce you to TRAM34. Our vehicle is 24 meters long, 2.65 meters wide and can serve 216 passengers at the same time. Designed as a light metro vehicle, Istanbul's new face can reach speeds up to 40 kilometers per hour and up to 80 kilometers per hour at maximum. With this feature, it is suitable for use both on tramway and light metro lines. It can climb 6 percent gradient slopes. It stands out among its peers with this capability. The intellectual and industrial property rights of our new generation Istanbul vehicle TRAM34 belong entirely to Metro Istanbul and it was designed for mass production by 100 percent Turkish engineers and technicians in Turkey. It is very important for intellectual and industrial property rights to belong to a public company. I underline it. TRAM34 will be used initially on the T4 Topkapı-Mescidi Selam Tramway Line." 

"It is the only rail system vehicle with the highest locality with 60 percent and whose intellectual industrial rights are indigenous"
Özgür Soy continued his words by stating that they established the production and testing line in a location close to the supply industry in the Marmara Region. 
Özgür Soy continued his words as follows: "With the pantographs and workshop feeding systems we will produce in our facilities in Esenler, and the systems included in the passenger information equipment such as cameras, announcements, public address systems, destination signs, etc., will be sent to the production base, and the production and tests will be completed by Metro Istanbul Engineers by combining them with parts produced in the local industry and systems imported from abroad. TRAM34 is the only rail system vehicle with the highest localization rate of over 60% and domestic intellectual and industrial property rights. I would like to express this with pride."
TRAM34 is manufactured at 30% lower cost compared to similar vehicles, and in the first order of 34 vehicles, at least 48 million Euros of added value will be provided to our country in the 80 million Euro production. Approximately 1,000 people will be employed in the first phase of the project.
"Even if the contract for train production is signed today, I would like to say that a significant progress has been made in the project so far."
Some of the completed steps include the design, determination of technical specifications, model selection, industrial design registration, and production of the prototype composite body. Another important step was the signing of a protocol with the Ministry of Industry and Technology after the determination of the Project-Based Investment Incentive Program (SIP) framework. After signing the agreement with Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) today, we plan to conduct our first test drive in September 2024 and make our first vehicle delivery in November 2024 as a result of the ongoing work. We will have delivered all 34 vehicles within a maximum of 3 years.
This exciting project has been realized entirely organically through the limited resources of a municipal subsidiary, and the vision of our mayor, along with the hard work of a handful of young engineers and technicians who love their country. It is important to note that no incentives were provided, and we did not benefit from standard incentives such as income tax or social security payments for our R&D personnel.
As a final note, I would like to emphasize one more point: We designed this train with over 80% domestic production in our R&D center. However, as you know, we are able to finance the project from abroad and the financing institutions also require a certain amount of production from their own countries. We promise to produce trains, metros and trams with over 90% domestic production in a Turkey where local technologies are properly supported.

First, the signatures were signed, then the Metro Istanbul R&D Center was opened.
After the speeches, İBB Deputy Secretary General Pelin Alpkökin and Rail System Department Head Ceyhun Avşar, together with Metro Istanbul General Manager Özgür Soy and Metro Istanbul Deputy General Manager Fatih Gültekin, signed the agreements to initiate the production process of TRAM34 with the witness of Ekrem İmamoğlu. After the signing ceremony, İmamoğlu and his delegation inaugurated the opening of the Metro Istanbul R&D Center.

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