PR - Siemens Mobility is to supply Trainguard MT, the radio-based automatic train control system, to Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city with over 11 million inhabitants. The order, which is worth a double-digit million figure, mainly includes the supply of a Trainguard MT system for a 21-kilometer-long section of line and the equipment for 31 four-car metro units.

Originally, the customer had planned to extend the previously 9-kilometer route from Taksim Square to the district of Levent using the existing French system. However, Siemens Mobility was able to persuade the customer, the construction partners Alarko and Makyol as well as the operator (in this case the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality) of the technical capabilities of the Trainguard MT system and the associated migration concept. The existing system will be replaced without interrupting ongoing operations and the new CBTC technology will be implemented by February 2010. The scope of supply also includes singletrack operation with CTS-M technology (Compact Train StopMagnetic) as a transitional measure on the new line extensions in the north and south parts of the city. In a further intermediate phase, the capacity of the main line will be increased in ITC mode (Intermittent Train Control Mode). The operator will thus be able to deploy the newly acquired metro trains coupled in 8car formations more quickly than planned.