• Publish Date
  25.12.2022
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Metro Istanbul R&D Centre was registered

Metro Istanbul, one of the affiliate companies of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM), received the registration certificate for the R&D Centre it established to eliminate foreign dependency for the needs of the city's rail systems and to export technology. Thus, Metro Istanbul became the only rail system operator with a registered R&D Centre that actively works and creates projects in Turkey.

Turkey's largest urban rail system operator, Metro Istanbul, continues its efforts to reduce foreign dependency and export technology by combining its 34 years of management experience and its project experience. Metro Istanbul's application for the registration of the R&D Centre it established for this purpose was approved by the Ministry of Industry and Technology on September 26th. Registration certificates were delivered at the ninth R&D and Design Centers and Technology Development Zones Summit held in Izmir.
Metro Istanbul has become the only rail system operator with an R&D Centre that actively works and creates projects in Turkey with the registration certificate it has received. 

Registration process took 2 years
Informing that they first applied for the registration of the R&D Centre in October 2020, Metro Istanbul General Manager Özgür Soy said, “The registration process took longer than we expected. The inspection and control process initiated by the Ministry of Industry and Technology in December 2020 was concluded in March 2021 and we received a negative response. We repeated our application several times, working on the feedback given. Our R&D Centre was registered on September 26, 2022, after the inspections carried out that took approximately 2 years.

“We create solutions to the needs of the sector”
Stating that the strength and prevalence of the rail system network is accepted as one of the development indicators of cities all over the world, General Manager Soy said, “There are huge investments in this area in our city as well. Metro construction sites, the construction of which was stopped in 2019, started to operate at full speed, and now Istanbul is the city with the most ongoing construction of the rail system lines in the world. With the completion of these constructions by 2024, Istanbul's rail system network will enter the top 10 in the world and the top 3 in Europe. In line with the vision of IMM to position rail systems as the backbone of public transportation, we not only expand our metro networks in our breakthrough in rail systems, but also create our own technology by combining our 34 years of operation and 24 years of project experience. Thus, we continue our efforts to reduce foreign dependency by providing localization in the sector and to save both time and money. While maintaining its leadership in the sector as an urban rail systems operator, we are a technology company that creates solutions to the development and needs of the ecosystem”.

“All our projects are born out of a need.”
Noting that they have developed projects with a team of 47 people working in the R&D Centre, General Manager Soy said, “All of our projects are born out of a need. Thanks to our management experience, we develop our projects by thinking 360 degrees with passenger feedback and maintenance-repair experience. For example, escalator chains used in escalators are the most costly parts. In case of any failure, it takes a long time and high cost to supply these chains from abroad. Thanks to the R&D project we have developed, we will save on costs, and we will be able to eliminate quickly the grievances of our passengers by shortening our response time in case of malfunctions. We are working on many projects such as Passenger Information System (YBS), Platform Separator Door Systems (PAKS), Service Planning Software Project, Mobile Catenary System and many other projects that will serve passenger comfort, provide advantages for the cost, and meet the needs of rail systems. With some of our projects, we are developing solutions not only for rail systems but also for all public transportation modes”. 

“We applied for the patent for 4 projects”
Stating that they had to pay abroad for every step they will take, especially in terms of technology, for every change they will make, General Manager Soy said, “However, there are very successful engineers in Turkey. Engineers in our team of 47 people working in our R&D Centre have completed 11 projects so far, and we are in the patent application process for 4 of them. They continue to work on 10 other projects.

“We create projects for all over Turkey”
Stating that they are also collaborating with other cities in Turkey apart from Istanbul, General Manager Soy said, “We are not only expanding Istanbul's metro network, but also developing rail system projects not only for Istanbul but also for all four corners of Turkey in order to reduce foreign dependency. After the project agreement we made with Ankara; we held cooperation meetings for important projects with the municipalities of Adana, Mersin, Karadeniz Eregli, Bozuyuk, Hatay, Kirsehir and Caycuma. We are open to evaluating requests from all over Turkey”.

“We earn while we spend the money of Istanbulites for Istanbulites”
Reminding that Metro Istanbul carries half of the urban rail system passengers in Turkey, General Manager Soy said, “We are a company that derives its income mainly from its passengers and we spend this income to provide better service to 16 million Istanbul residents. Our main goal is not to waste a single penny while making this expenditure. The savings we will gain from our R&D projects will be used as a fund to provide different services to Istanbulites. At the same time, we will contribute to the country's economy by working with our domestic stakeholders and preventing our country's money from going abroad. In this sense, we attach great importance to our R&D studies”.

Advantages of the registration certificate
Metro Istanbul will have the following advantages with the registration of the R&D Centre it has established with the internal resources of the company:

• The acceptance rate of the projects created in the sector will increase.
• With the directive and supervision of the Ministry, R&D and project culture will be built on more solid foundations.
• Collaborations with universities will increase and the academic interface will be improved.
• The R&D Centre will be an academic centre of attraction for sector employees. R&D projects will be provided in both masters and doctorate education and contribution to the development of employees will be provided.
   

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