The Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, announced the planned commissioning of the Automatic Train Inspection Stations (ATIS) developed entirely by Turkish engineers by the end of the year. Minister Uraloğlu stated, “Even while trains are in motion, rail vehicles will be able to be autonomously inspected at a more advanced level than at existing inspection stations. This way, faults in the vehicles will be detected without causing significant losses.”

Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu made statements regarding the ATIS work developed by the State Railways of the Republic of Turkey (TCDD) and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey Railway Technologies Institute (TÜBİTAK RUTE). Minister Uraloğlu expressed that faults such as potential cracks, fractures, braking system errors, and abnormal heating in the wheels of trains can be detected in advance with the inspection stations developed with local and national capabilities.

FAULTS TO BE IDENTIFIED WHILE IN MOTION
Focusing on the installation of ATIS in various locations of the railway network, Minister Uraloğlu stated that potential faults such as cracks, fractures, braking system errors, and abnormal heating in the wheels of trains could be identified in advance. He said, “With the ATIS developed using local and national capabilities, rail vehicles can be autonomously inspected at a more advanced level than at existing inspection stations even when trains are in motion. Therefore, defects in vehicles will be identified without causing major losses.”

AIMING FOR A SAFER JOURNEY
Emphasizing commencing the transformation to smart transportation systems on railways as well as roads, Uraloğlu said, “One of the most significant projects we have initiated in digitization and smart systems in railways is the ATIS, which will enable safe, fast, and comfortable passenger and freight transportation in line with international standards and evolving technology.”

EARLY DETECTION WITH SMART SOFTWARE
Noting that through ATIS, inspections that were previously performed manually, such as the running gear of railway vehicles, load balance, and possible fault checks, can now be carried out electronically with sensors and smart software even while trains are in motion, Minister Uraloğlu highlighted that the installation of the Fren Sabo, Brake Pad, Disk Wear, and Axle Bearing Temperature Measurement Systems is planned to be completed by the end of this year.

“SITUATED IN ANKARA, CONTROLLED”
Minister Uraloğlu highlighted that the developed systems are among the priority projects in European Union research and innovation projects, stating, “The ATIS developed with local and national capabilities will be able to autonomously inspect rail vehicles at a more advanced level than existing inspection stations. The gathered data will be analyzed using smart algorithms with machine learning and image processing techniques to detect anomalies. The information collected from a vehicle will be tracked over time and its history will be gathered to carry out maintenance work before a possible breakdown. With the ATIS, both the data from the established areas and the data from systems across the country will be monitored from a monitoring center to be set up in Ankara. This way, possible derailments will be prevented.”

“LINE CAPACITY TO BE THE BASIS FOR ATIS INSTALLATION”
In the context of the agreement, Minister Uraloğlu mentioned that Mini ATIS facilities will be established and that the installation of inspection stations on existing lines will consider location-specific characteristics. He said, “By making certain classifications such as line capacity and traffic density, the type of cargo transported along the route, and the lines transporting to urban and suburban areas, we will establish train inspection stations.”