Biggest rail project ever for Getzner in Turkey

Buers (Austria), Ankara (TR): The new high-speed line between Ankara and Sivas represents one of the biggest rail projects ever for Getzner in Turkey. The elastic products from the company based in Buers (Austria) provide vibration protection and should significantly reduce the need for maintenance on the 406 km long track.

The new high-speed line operated by the Turkish railway company TCDD (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryolları) connects the capital Ankara with Sivas. The new line will reduce travel times to two hours from its current twelve, and shorten the route between the two cities from 603 km to 406 km. New trains, with a seating capacity for 516 passengers, will operate on the route. A daily timetable of services is planned to come into operation from 2020 with trains running at speeds of up to 300 km/h.

The Ankara – Sivas route encompasses many bridges and viaducts plus 50 km of tunnels in total. The transition zones from open track to tunnels and bridges represent a major challenge in terms of the level of required maintenance. Similarly, the numerous high-speed turnouts form high-maintenance components on the line. Under ballast mats and under sleeper pads from Getzner have been used to optimise these sensitive track sections. “Our products protect the ballast, helping to minimise wear in superstructure components. This will reduce the need for maintenance, in particular at turnouts and transition zones, and so significantly increase track availability”, explains Ismail Bayrak, Project Manager for Getzner. A total of 125,000 m² of under ballast mats and 65,000 under sleeper pads will be installed.

Comprehensive project support
The project is being implemented in two stages. The first construction phase covers the Yerköy – Sivas section (253 km) that which will be completed in May 2019. The subsequent second phase will encompass the 153 km section between Kayaş/Ankara and Yerköy.
Detailed planning based on precise calculations and extensive consultation resulted in the development of a workable solution. The Getzner experts also drew up installation plans for the products and were responsible for on-site supervision. One further detail: to help reduce environmental impacts, the Getzner materials for this project were transported from Austria to Turkey using a combined transport solution (trucks travelling by rail).

A host of successfully completed projects prior to this one clearly demonstrates Getzner’s successful working relationship with Turkey as project partner: Metro Istanbul (2016 - 2018), BursaRay Metro (2016), Kocaeli Tramway (2016), Antalya Tramway (2016), Samsun Light Railway (2016), Çatalca Tunnel (2014), Marmaray BC1 (2012). Turkey has plans for ongoing investment in the expansion of its rail network, including commuter (Metro Istanbul) and inter-city lines (high-speed line from Ankara to Izmir).