TÜVASAŞ

Repair workshop and early production

The company's predecessor opened as the Vagon Tamir Atölyesi on 25 October 1951 to maintain and repair TCDD rolling stock. In 1961 the works were reorganized as the Adapazarı Demiryolu Fabrikası (Adapazarı Railway Factory), which manufactured its first wagon in 1962. An export programme begun in 1971 eventually resulted in the sale of 77 wagons to Pakistan and Bangladesh. Renamed the Adapazarı Vagon Sanayi Müessesesi (ADVAS) in 1975, the factory started manufacturing RIC-standard passenger coaches.

Under a 1976 licensing arrangement with Alsthom, the Adapazarı factory began producing electric suburban multiple units for TCDD. A total of 75 three-car sets, comprising 225 vehicles, were built; these later became known as the TCDD E14000 class. The undertaking adopted the name Türkiye Vagon Sanayi Anonim Şirketi (TÜVASAŞ) in 1985.

Passenger coaches and earthquake recovery

During the 1990s, the company developed new passenger-coach projects, including the air-conditioned TVS2000 series and improved sleeping cars. Production of the TVS2000 range was under way by the mid-1990s, and the factory completed a TVS2000 sleeping-car project in 1998.

The earthquake of 17 August 1999 seriously damaged the company's workshops and infrastructure, stopping manufacturing and maintenance operations. Clearance of the damaged facilities began in April 2000, after which repair and production work resumed. In 2001 the factory worked with Siemens on the assembly and commissioning of 38 light-rail vehicles for the municipal railway in Bursa.

Later projects and exports

The factory also supplied rolling stock for export. TÜRASAŞ's historical accounts record 12 generator cars sent to Iraq in 2006, 30 sleeping coaches exported to Bulgaria in 2013 and 14 TVS2000 passenger coaches exported to Iraq in 2014. In its later years, TÜVASAŞ manufactured diesel multiple-unit vehicles for TCDD. Of an order for 124 additional DMU cars begun in 2015, 36 were completed in 2016, 46 in 2017 and 42 in 2018.

The company participated in the development of the domestically designed electric multiple-unit project subsequently designated TCDD E44000. Its five-car prototype underwent factory testing at Adapazarı in June 2020, shortly before the merger was completed. The successor company, TÜRASAŞ, delivered the first E44000 unit for passenger operations in April 2023, with scheduled service beginning in May of that year.

Merger into TÜRASAŞ

A presidential decision dated 4 March 2020 initiated the consolidation of TÜVASAŞ with the Eskişehir-based TÜLOMSAŞ and Sivas-based TÜDEMSAŞ. Their separate legal identities ended following the registration of TÜRASAŞ on 30 July 2020. The Adapazarı facilities continued operating as TÜRASAŞ's Sakarya Regional Directorate.

The TVS2000 railcars were built by TÜVASAŞ and were among its principal intercity passenger-coach products. Earlier products included RIC passenger coaches and the TCDD E14000 electric suburban trains. The company also built or modernized railbuses, diesel multiple units, sleeping coaches and generator cars.

TÜVASAŞ collaborated with EUROTEM, a separate railway manufacturing joint venture established in Adapazarı. Although EUROTEM used a site at the TÜVASAŞ works, company records identify TCDD, rather than TÜVASAŞ, as the 15% shareholder alongside Hyundai Rotem and other partners.

The E44000 electric multiple units entered passenger service in 2023, after the factory had become part of TÜRASAŞ; the programme had originated during TÜVASAŞ's final years.