Turkish State Railways (TCDD) reached a 340 million euro deal with German electronics giant Siemens on Friday to buy 10 Velaro high speed train sets.
The deal also includes the upkeep, maintenance and cleaning works of the trains for three years.
With the latest deal, the number of Velaro trains in the TCDD's fleet will increase to 17.
Siemens Transportation Systems Division CEO Sabrina Soussan said that the Velaro trains can fully use their strong features in Turkey, and have already proven this in daily operations.
"Our flagship train operates here with a 99 percent availability rate," Soussan said.
Developed by Siemens for international markets, Velaro trains currently operate in Spain, France, Germany, Britain, Belgium, Russia, China and the Netherlands.
In addition to Siemens Velaro trains, the TCDD also uses 10 HT65000 trains sets prdocued by Spanish CAF. Hyundai EURotem, a joint enterprise between Hyundai Rotem of South Korea and TCDD-owned TÜVASAŞ, was also established in 2006 to build diesel, electric and high speed train sets in Turkey's northern province of Adapazarı.
