TCDD HT80000, also known as Siemens Velaro TR, is a series of high-speed

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...

s built by

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...

for the

Turkish State Railways The State Railways of the Republic of Turkey (), abbreviated as TCDD, is a government-owned national railway company responsible for the ownership and maintenance of railways in Turkey, as well as the planning and construction of new lines. TCDD ...

. The EMUs are used for the

Yüksek Hızlı Tren Yüksek Hızlı Tren or YHT () is a high-speed rail service operated by TCDD Transport in Turkey. Branded as "YHT", they are TCDD Transport's flagship passenger train service and the only high-speed rail service in the country. As of 2025, the ...

(YHT) services on the Turkish high-speed railway network and especially on the Polatlı–Konya high-speed railway, where they can reach a maximum speed of .

History

In 2013 TCDD concluded three contracts with

for the acquisition of these seventeen units (1 unit for the first, 6 for the second and 10 for the last contract). Furthermore, Siemens would provide 7 years of maintenance and cleaning, and also provide a

simulator A simulation is an imitative representation of a process or system that could exist in the real world. In this broad sense, simulation can often be used interchangeably with model. Sometimes a clear distinction between the two terms is made, in ...

. But in the end of 2014, the third contract on the last 10 sets was canceled by the Public Tender Committee of Turkey because of a missing certificate. The bids for 10 high-speed train sets were repeated on 30 January 2017 with

having proposed the Velaro TR again against

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

and CAF. In September 2013, the first set - a train originally intended for operation in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

- was sent east for testing. Siemens also sent a Vectron MS demonstrator locomotive along with the Velaro train to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. This first unit entered service on 23 May 2015 between Ankara and Konya.TCDD's first Siemens Velaro train set at the Ankara Central Station
The second unit (but the first produced for TCDD) departed from Germany on 29 January 2016 and reached

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

on 17 February 2016. But the entry to service did not happen progressively and the 6 Velaro TR entered service on 10 March 2017.

Accidents and incidents

The unit HT80101 was involved in the Ankara train collision on 13 December 2018.

Design

The Velaro TR is based almost entirely on existing technology from the

Siemens Velaro Siemens Velaro is a family of high-speed electric multiple unit trains built by Siemens. It is based on the ICE 3 high-speed trains initially co-manufactured by Siemens and Bombardier Transportation, Bombardier for German national rail operator ...

platform. Like most, it is formed of one eight-car set that can be coupled with another to produce a 16-car set. Like other Velaros, the Velaro TR can operate at temperatures between . Most new technical features will also be used in all future Velaro trains.

Visual

A ''white - turquoise - grey'' colour scheme has been selected for the livery of the TCDD HT80000 high-speed train sets, instead of the traditional ''white - red - dark blue'' colour scheme used on the TCDD HT65000 high-speed train sets. The appearance of the TCDD HT80000 is closer to that of the '2nd generation' Velaro trains (e.g. Eurostar E320) as opposed to the look of older Velaros like the ICE 3M, that have the lights closer to the coupler, as opposed to the newer position against the windscreen surrounds, although if you look more closely this is the fourth stage of evolution which can be seen on the outside with the new Velaro. The door windows are larger, square windows, as opposed to the airplane style oval windows on older Velaro models. All electrical equipment is covered, that also enhances aerodynamics.

Technical

Each eight-car, set has 32

axle An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotation, rotating wheel and axle, wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In ...

s, of which 16 are driven. This gives the following wheel arrangement: Bo’Bo’+2’2’+Bo’Bo’+2’2’+2’2’+Bo’Bo’+2’2’+Bo’Bo’ All trains are fitted with

ETCS The European Train Control System (ETCS) is a train protection system designed to replace the many incompatible systems used by European railways, and railways outside of Europe. ETCS is the signalling and control component of the European ...

. Siemens gained data on

aerodynamics Aerodynamics () is the study of the motion of atmosphere of Earth, air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics, and is an ...

from Germany, China, Spain and Russia. A high roof from the middle portion of the end car was introduced, as it reduces

sonic boom A sonic boom is a sound associated with shock waves created when an object travels through the air faster than the speed of sound. Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding similar to an explosion or a thunderclap to ...

in tunnels, improves the driving friction and reduces exterior noise. Further aerodynamic improvements to the nose and spoiler means reduced CO₂ emissions of 14 g/passenger-km. In comparison, the average CO₂ emission of an aircraft with the same payload is 136 g/passenger-km. As the first set (HT80001) is a Velaro D which was built according to

Deutsche Bahn (, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). DB was fou ...

specifications, it differs from the rest of the trains ( Velaro TR) at some points. The first set (Velaro D) can reach a maximum speed of contrary to for the following sets (Velaro TR). Their electric systems are also different: While the Velaro D can run under four different voltage systems (15 kV, 16,7 Hz AC / 25 kV, 50 Hz AC & 1.5 kV DC/ 3 kV DC), the Velaro TR is a pure 25 kV, 50 Hz AC system vehicle. Finally, their interior and number of seats are also different.

Interior

The first set (Velaro D) has a total capacity of 460 places (333 seats in Economy class, 111 seats in First class, and a bistro with 16 seats). The following sets (Velaro TR) have a different configuration: 45 seats in First class, 424 seats in Economy class, 2 seats for disabled passengers, a Business class with 3 compartments of 4 seats (12 seats in total), and a bistro with 36 seats, for a total capacity of 519 places. First class seats have a personal media screen.

References

External links

{{German ICE class Turkish railways electric multiple units Siemens Velaro High-speed trains of Turkey 25 kV AC multiple units Passenger trains running at least at 250 km/h in commercial operations Train-related introductions in 2015