The Turkish state-owned rail freight operator TCDD Taşımacılık placed an order for 35 Co’Co’ EURO4001 diesel locomotives from Stadler. The units are “engineered for heavy freight services on non-electrified lines and steep gradients”, the manufacturer said.
The locomotives will be built in Valencia, one of Stadler’s major production centres in cooperation with Stadler Service Türkiye, AYKAL Group A.Ş. and CERTIFER Türkiye. The EURO4001 will be compliant with Euro Stage V emission standards, meet TSI interoperability standards and be equipped with both ETCS Level 2 and the Turkish ATS system.
Diesel locomotives are still a necessity in Türkiye since roughly only half of its network is electrified and there are various steep and mountainous lines which require a lot of power. However, TCDD is expanding its electric fleet as well to keep up with the government’s effort to electrify 90% of the network over the coming years. For example, in May, the company received the first five of 95 electric locomotives E5000, domestically produced by Türasaş and with the full delivery scheduled for 2028.