Türkiye expands railway expertise, trains personnel across Africa, Asia

Türkiye’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, says Türkiye has become a nation that now shares railway construction expertise internationally, with training programmes extended to railway personnel across Africa and Asia.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, the minister said railway workers from Tunisia, Libya, Kyrgyzstan, Syria, and Jordan received training last year in track construction, maintenance, repairs, and switch systems.

“Türkiye has now become a country that shares its experience in railway construction. The Türkiye Railway Academy provides construction training to railway authorities from foreign countries. In this context, last year, railway personnel from Syria, Jordan, Tunisia, Libya, Kyrgyzstan, Tanzania, and Sudan received training in superstructure maintenance and repair, as well as switch maintenance,” Uraloğlu said.

The minister added that consultancy support was also provided to Azerbaijan to establish a railway academy, while Syrian railway staff received additional training in construction and line maintenance as part of efforts to rebuild Syria’s rail infrastructure.

Preserving institutional knowledge

Uraloğlu noted the Türkiye Railway Academy, established in 2020, aims to supply qualified manpower for the sector through practice-based professional training and online learning programmes, while preserving institutional knowledge and strengthening sector-wide expertise through the country’s state railway operator, Turkish State Railways.

“The railway network adventure within today’s national borders began in 1856 with the construction of the İzmir–Aydın line. With the Hejaz Railway Project, which Sultan Abdulhamid II attached great importance to and implemented, the Ottoman lands experienced a milestone in their social, cultural, and economic development,” Uraloğlu stated.

The minister noted that Türkiye’s railway network expanded significantly during the early republican era and has accelerated in recent years under infrastructure expansion goals introduced during the administration of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He said the country’s rail network now stretches nearly 14,000 kilometres.

Türkiye has also joined the limited group of countries operating high-speed rail systems, ranking eighth globally and sixth in Europe in the adoption of the technology, he said.

Uraloğlu further noted that State Railways of the Republic of Türkiye (TCDD) General Manager Veysi Kurt currently chairs the Middle East Regional Assembly of the International Union of Railways, further strengthening cooperation and railway connectivity among countries in the region.