Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, TÜBİTAK President Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, TÜBİTAK RUTE Director Dr. Tolgahan KAYA, along with the participation of numerous figures from the public and private sectors, attended the "Electric Mainline Locomotive Contract Signing Ceremony" held in Eskişehir, marking the beginning of serial production for Türkiye's next-generation electric mainline locomotive, ESKİŞEHİR5000.

In his opening speech at the ceremony, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu stated that they have come together between the leading organizations of the railway sector, TÜRASAŞ and TCDD Transportation, to procure 95 electric mainline locomotives. He expressed that they will commence the production of 95 units of "Eskişehir 5000 Electric Mainline Locomotive" at TÜRASAŞ Eskişehir Regional Directorate.

Uraloğlu: "ESKİŞEHİR5000: Project of Firsts and Mosts"

Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu highlighted the projects implemented in the railway sector over the past 22 years under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, stating, "Now, with the E5000, the first electric mainline locomotive with 5,000 kilowatts of power produced with domestic and national capabilities in 2023, we are opening the doors to a new era. We have developed a new generation electric mainline locomotive under the TÜRASAŞ brand, which is suitable for the needs of TCDD Transportation, with 5 megawatts of power, 'TSI' - the interoperability certification for European Union Railways, capable of both freight and passenger transportation, with a speed of 140 kilometers per hour."

Uraloğlu emphasized that the Eskişehir 5000 project, which is considered as a project of firsts and excellence in this field, has many outstanding features.

TÜBİTAK President: "Train Control and Management System Will Continue to Be Developed by TÜBİTAK RUTE with CER Converter System"

In his speech at the ceremony, TÜBİTAK President Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal said, "I wish the signatures made today for Eskişehir 5000 to be auspicious. We are in the midst of great excitement as we transition to serial production of our Eskişehir 5000 train, which we launched last year with the participation of our President on the tracks, with the involvement of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, acting as the need authority, and under the project management of TÜBİTAK Rail Transportation Technologies Institute (RUTE), which began with R&D processes and TÜBİTAK KAMAG support."

Mandal stated that both the CER converter system and the train control and management system will continue to be developed by TÜBİTAK RUTE for the 95-unit order. He said, "We will continue to fulfill our responsibilities in the best way possible. Our country will elevate both passenger and freight transportation to a higher level with its own mainline locomotive. This confidence will give us even greater excitement and responsibility."