At 2:00PM, 5th of January (local time), the M4 line in Ankara (capital of Turkey) started the operation. The President Erdogan, Prime Minister Binali Yidirim, the minister of transportation ministry, the major of Ankara, other politicians and some main Medias were attended at the operation ceremony in BELEDIYE square.
On the ceremony, Erdogan spoke highly of the efforts made by Ankara municipal government, AYGM Corporation and all suppliers. He also gave thanks to Turks for their support and trust. Erdogan took the metro made by CRRC ZELC and listened to the introduction of metro operation and civil works made by general manager of AYGM. Then Erdogan and Yidirim drove the metro and highly appreciated the high-end metro car exported from CRRC ZELC. They said that the metros are best New Year gift.
The Prime Minister Yidirim reviewed the difficulties and challenges met in the execution of M4 line project in deep feeling since 2003. When Erdogan was Prime Minister and Yidirim was minister of Transportation Ministry, they made promise to Ankara citizens for the opening of M4 line. But it takes 13 years to realize the dream. There is a joke in Ankara: “Our love will last just like M4 line and never end.”So we can see the importance of the opening ceremony, said by Yidirim.
In August, 2012, CRRC ZELC won the order of 324 metros and began to deliver cars since July of 2013 for the operation of M1, M2 and M3 lines. Until now, all delivered cars have been run for more than 67.85 million kilometers. Only in 2016, the passenger capacity reached 7,400 people/times which helps to reduce the traffic jam in central city and facilitate the travel of citizens.
The metro made by CRRC ZELC has stable riding experience, comfortable inner decoration, dynamic map displayed in real-time, and special area for handicapped and pregnant women. The humanized design encourages citizens choose metro as the first travel tool.
At the beginning of 2013, CRRC ZELC set up CRRCCMNG which is a joint venture company and began the strategy of local purchasing, local manufacturing and local employment. The company has realized the upgrade from product output to technology output to Europe. The electric engineer Evan was pride to be recruited by CRRCCMNG. He said: “I worked in other company. But when I saw the recruitment information of CRRC CMNG, I decided to come here because this is the leading company in rail transportation domain in Turkey. I can learn more about the most advanced rail transportation technology and I can get more development in my career. Luckily we make right choice.”
Effected by Turkish political and economical factors, the M4 line of 9.2km began the construction in 2003 but has been interrupted by several times. The beginning of M4 line released a positive sign and brought joy and happiness for Turks.
The opening of M4 line also indicated that the spring of localization in Turkey is coming. According to the regional director of Turkey and general manager of CRRCCMNG, Tan Changqing introduced the rest metro cars will be assembled and debugged in local, the first batch of vehicles will be delivered at the end of 2017. Localization strategy will definitely promote employment and the development of relevant product chain.