Rails need money
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 19, 2008 00:00
ANKARA - Despite the superior performance and cost efficiency of its railroads, Turkey lags behind other European countries in railroad construction and now needs a minimum investment of $20 billion to secure a substantive railway system.
"We should make constant investments until 2019. The minimum investment should not be below $20 billion. Spain’s investment for the same period is 234 billion euros. I leave the comparison up to you," Transport Minister Binali Yıldırım said during a panel, "Railroads in the Republic Period," held Thursday.
Yıldırım said railroads were mainly developed during Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s term in office. "Atatürk’s railroad policy continued in the same way until 1946. "After 1946, political preferences changed in Turkey. The change was the result of an automotive sector which rocked the world," he said.
Criticizing policies on transportation that had merely given way to the development of motorways, Yıldırım said the lack of an integrated transportation policy that combined railroads, motorways, airlines and sea routes was the main problem.
"It is not only the deterioration of the railroads, but also the failure to handle transportation policies generally that have become our greatest problems. During the 2000s the situation has become desperate. Turkey is condemned to a one-legged transportation system," he said, and added 94 percent of passenger transportation and 89 percent of freight in the country was by motorway.
Yıldırım said railroads were mainly developed during Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s term in office. "Atatürk’s railroad policy continued in the same way until 1946. "After 1946, political preferences changed in Turkey. The change was the result of an automotive sector which rocked the world," he said.
Criticizing policies on transportation that had merely given way to the development of motorways, Yıldırım said the lack of an integrated transportation policy that combined railroads, motorways, airlines and sea routes was the main problem.
"It is not only the deterioration of the railroads, but also the failure to handle transportation policies generally that have become our greatest problems. During the 2000s the situation has become desperate. Turkey is condemned to a one-legged transportation system," he said, and added 94 percent of passenger transportation and 89 percent of freight in the country was by motorway.