HISTORY OF RAIL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM IN KONYA

A. Horsecar

After the railway was built in Konya, there was a problem of passenger and freight transportation between the train station and the city. Because the train station was 3-4 kilometers outside the city. The item, which was unloaded to the station day or night over time, did not fit into the existing warehouses and formed stacks in the outdoor areas. In addition, the passengers arriving at night were staying in the passenger waiting room when they could not find a place to stay because the hotels around the station were full.

At that time, there were only single-horse spring cars working during the day between the station and the city and the phaetons on which the passengers with better financial conditions rode. For the transportation of goods, there were four-wheeled horse carriages that worked during the day, went back and forth, and were pulled by two horses.

These carriages would charge a negotiated fee for their service. However, these fees were so high that they almost approached the transportation fee of the goods brought from Haydarpaşa to Konya. The same was true for horse-drawn carriages carrying passengers. If a passenger from Akşehir or Sarayönü came to Konya Train Station for 20 dollars, he would pay 30 dollars to go to the city at the station.

Yusuf Mazhar, Yaruba Kapulu and German citizen Ogüst İztor, who learned about the transportation problem in Konya, stated that they could solve this problem by applying to Konya Municipality. In their solution proposals, they said that if they were granted a 99-year concession, they could generate electricity in a center to be established next to the Konya Government Building and distribute it to an area of 20 km in diameter, establish a 30 km long electric tram facility and expand the distribution area of the electricity they produce in the future. In return, they stated that they could give 300 liras per year to charities or Hamidiye-Hicaz railway and 200 liras per year to Konya Municipality.

Evaluating the situation, Konya Municipality cooperated with the province. As an indication of the progress and development of Konya, which is in the parts of Anatolia, the Ministry of Commerce and Agriculture was applied with the idea that such a beneficial initiative was of great importance.

The Ministry of Trade and Agriculture and the Ministry of Nafia, which evaluated the issue, transferred this file to Sadaret, and Sadaret transferred it to the State to investigate the situation in terms of laws. As a result of the evaluation by the Reform Department of the Council of State, it was decided that the concession should be given to the Izmir merchant and the license to the Municipality. The decision approved by the Parliament was also approved by the sultan on 16 February 1321 (1 March 1906). The file was sent to Konya by the Ministry of Commerce and Agriculture on February 25, 1321 (March 10, 1906).

However, the lighting of Konya with electrical energy and the concession of the electric tram facility were canceled after a short time due to high cost.

After the horse-drawn tram was eliminated, the idea of growing the city and establishing the university on the way to Istanbul emerged over time, and transportation alternatives to the campus came to the fore. In 1983, "Konya Urban Transportation Plan Synthesis and Suggestions Report" was prepared and approved and adopted by the Ministry. In the same year, the State Planning Organization was applied for the establishment of the Light Rail Transportation System. On March 29, 1985, with a preliminary feasibility study, the State Planning Organization was re-applied for the inclusion of the project in the investment program, and an Investment Incentive Certificate was obtained on October 03, 1985. A contract was signed on 06 May 1986 for the materials and services to be brought from abroad after the permissions obtained from the Prime Ministry, Undersecretariat of Treasury and Foreign Trade and Undersecretariat of State Planning Organization.

A loan agreement in the amount of DM 38 million was signed on 09 July 1987 between the German State Enterprise Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), which provided the external financing of the project, and this amount was increased by subsequent contracts. The foundation of the Konya Rail system Enterprise was laid by the prime minister of the time on July 13, 1987, where the current warehouse site is located. In addition, a consultancy tender was made in accordance with the loan granted, this tender was won by the German Obermeyer-Rail Consult company and a consultancy contract was signed with this company on 23 October 1987.

While the construction works were in progress, the first of the 16 trams within the scope of the tender started to be transported from Cologne on 25 November 1988. In the rail system operation, the first movement was made between the warehouse and the Republic by electrifying the tram number 104 from the system on April 15, 1992. Then, on April 23, 1992, the first opening was made and the trial flights and the training of the soldiers were started. After the training of the Vatmans was completed and all the tests were carried out, the public operation started free of charge on the 10.5 km section between Alaaddin and Cumhuriyet on 28 September 1992, and then the paid operation was started. In 1992, the first fee for trams was 7 000 TL and 13 Pfennig equivalent at the exchange rate of that day.

After the construction and installation works were completed in the 8 km section between the Republic and the Campus, the trial flights started on 21.12.1995 and were put into operation by the President of the Republic in a ceremony held on 19 April 1996. In order to meet the demands concentrated for the rail system serving with 16 trams at the beginning, 25 additional trams were purchased and put into service in 1995-96, and a contract was made for the purchase of 26 wagons, taking into account the other lines planned to be built in 2001, the first ten of which were put into service with a ceremony held in front of the fair on October 11, 2001, and 51 trams are still operating in the enterprise. All of the tram wagons were purchased from the KVB, the transportation enterprises of the Cologne municipality. Wagons are unidirectional 8-axle 2 articulated vehicles manufactured in Düsseldorf DUWAG wagon factories between 1963-67. Its length is 30 m, width is 2.5 m; it has a total capacity of 331 passengers, 83 of which are seats. There are 2 direct current motors, 150 kw each.

All assembly and construction work of the 18.5 km line between Aladdin and the university campus were carried out by the teams of our municipality, and the electro-mechanical equipment used was supplied by Siemens from Germany. Traverses on the railway were purchased from TCDD's Afyon Traverse Factory. Intersections, part of the warehouse perimeter, and s49 flat rail were used in the parts. The rails were continuously welded by the staff of our municipality with the Alumino-Thermit welding. All materials and equipment in the system are new and only tram wagons have been purchased as used.

There are 29 stops between Aladdin and the campus. There is a turnstile system in 7 of them. In addition to the paper ticket in turnstiles and tram cars, the electronic card (hand card) system was put into service in 2001 and it is aimed to completely remove the paper ticket in the future. The rail clearance in the railway is 1435 mm. The voltage in the catenary system is 750 v direct current and is fed from 6 points. The workshop has a closed area of 6385 m2. Approximately 60 personnel work in the technical and administrative parts, 5 of which are engineers. Approximately 120 personnel, 8 of whom were engineers, worked in the construction of the rail system. Until the end of 1996, 51.5 million DM external credits 30 million DM spent approximately 1 million DM from the equity of the municipality. Likewise, it spent 1.1 million DM from its own resources in 2001 in the first 10 of the 26 trams contracted to be purchased in 2000.

Konya Rail System Enterprise, which currently serves on the 18.5 km line between Aladdin and the campus with 51 vehicles, has a capacity to carry 12,000 passengers in one direction.