Turkish state rolling stock manufacturer Türasaş is developing a wagon that can carry military vehicles as well as containers. The design of the wagon focuses primarily on military transport, but its compatibility with containers allows for non-military use.
“We have completed the concept design in a way […] so that [operator] TCDD Taşımacılık can use the wagon in container transportation in order to be used outside of military vehicle transportation periods”, Turkish transport minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said. Specifically, it can carry 40-foot and 45-foot size containers.
Nevertheless, the focus of the design is on military use. “Our priority in the project is not to produce an economical or versatile vehicle, but rather to design a wagon for the transportation of military vehicles, primarily the Altay tank, in order to carry out the operations to be conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces in a healthy way within the framework of national security principles”, Uraloğlu added. Turkey will likely take the wagon into use in 2025, after Türasaş finalises its development.
Not the only initiative of its kind
In August, Norway and Sweden signed a military wagon purchasing agreement that also foresees the rolling stock’s use for civilian purposes. Norwegian infrastructure manager Bane NOR said that it could use purchased Norwegian wagons internally or rent them out for civilian freight transport that includes heavy loads. “This is important to keep the wagons in good condition and ready for use, and also increases capacity in civilian freight transport”, Bane NOR explained at the time.