TURKIYE (special crosspondent) – Federal Minister for Railways Muhammad Hanif Abbasi on Thursday held an important meeting with Director General of TCDD Teknik, Mustafa Özdöner, and his team at the Eryaman Monitoring Centre in Turkiye. The meeting focused on further enhancing Pakistan-Turkiye cooperation in the railway sector, particularly in modern technology, digitalization, and technical collaboration.

The Federal Minister reviewed the Turkish experts’ experience and advanced systems in train operations, traffic management, modern signalling, Centralized Traffic Control (CTC), and digital railway systems. Both sides agreed to benefit from Turkiye’s successful experience in modern signalling, centralized traffic control, and digital railway operations for the advancement of Pakistan Railways.

The two sides also agreed to further promote technical cooperation, professional training, exchange of expertise, and capacity-building programmes between Pakistani and Turkish railway experts. The meeting also reviewed potential areas of cooperation in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Predictive Analytics, and smart railway technologies. In the context of the modernization of ML-1 and ML-3, the establishment of an advanced centralized traffic management system was also discussed, with a focus on making train operations safer, more efficient, and technologically advanced.

Federal Minister Muhammad Hanif Abbasi expressed keen interest in benefiting from the expertise and experience of Turkish specialists in railway safety, emergency response, and efficient train operations. This high-level engagement aligns with broader technological cooperation initiatives aimed at regional infrastructure development. The meeting reaffirmed the commitment to further strengthening the long-standing brotherly relations between Pakistan and Turkiye through modern technology, technical cooperation, and exchange of expertise in the railway sector, mirroring the collaborative spirit seen in other international partnerships.