'Turkish wagons highly sought after in European market'

ANKARA

Freight vehicles produced in Turkey are highly sought after in European markets as firms from the continent have ordered dozens of wagons in the past year, the country's minister for transport and infrastructure said on Friday.

Cahit Turhan told Anadolu Agency that Turkish Railways Machines Industry Inc. (TUDEMSAS), the largest freight wagon manufacturer in Turkey, in collaboration with the private sector, will manufacture 400 freight vehicles for Austria-based GATX Corporation.

He said that GATX, which operates a fleet of more than 23,400 tank and freight cars in Europe, ordered 150 freight cars last year. The firm ordered an additional 250 later, taking the total to 400.

The European logistics company Touax, the minister added, has also ordered 200 90-feet freight cars and 600 bogies.

Turhan said that another European company, which he did not name, has signed an agreement with TUDEMSAS for 12 freight cars and 54 bogies.

While a freight car is a large wheeled container for transporting goods, the bogie is an undercarriage with four or six wheels pivoted beneath the end of a railway vehicle.

The Turkey freight and logistics market is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the country. Its strategic geographic location that bridges Europe with the Middle East and Asia, coupled with increasing urbanization and developing transport infrastructure, contribute to the sector's growth.

*Writing by Gokhan Ergocun