TURKIYE CUMHURIYETI DEVLET DEMIR YOLLARI ISLETMESI GENEL MUDURLUGU

Their core work

TCDD is Turkey's national railway operator, managing the country's rail infrastructure including tracks, stations, bridges, and tunnels. Within H2020, they contribute real-world operational data and end-user validation for railway maintenance, infrastructure resilience, and interoperability research. Their participation brings the perspective of a major non-EU railway operator managing diverse terrain and climate conditions, making them valuable for projects testing solutions across different railway systems. More recently, they have expanded into railway cybersecurity and safety, reflecting growing concerns about protecting critical transport infrastructure.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

TCDD's early H2020 involvement (2015-2018) centered squarely on physical railway infrastructure — tracks, switches, crossings, bridges, and tunnels — through the Shift2Rail programme. From 2017 onward, their focus broadened to include intelligent maintenance, mobility management KPIs, and human capital considerations. By 2020, they moved into railway security with SAFETY4RAILS, tackling cyber-physical threats — a significant shift from pure infrastructure toward digital resilience of transport systems.

TCDD is moving from traditional infrastructure participation toward digitalization and security of railway systems, making them an increasingly relevant partner for projects combining physical rail assets with cyber resilience.

How they like to work

TCDD participates exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as an infrastructure operator contributing real-world assets and operational expertise rather than leading research. With 106 unique partners across 18 countries in just 6 projects, they work in large European consortia typical of Shift2Rail and transport security programmes. Their modest funding shares (averaging EUR 50,300) suggest they serve as an end-user validator and testbed provider rather than a primary research performer.

TCDD has built a broad European network of 106 partners across 18 countries through 6 projects, primarily within the Shift2Rail ecosystem. This wide reach reflects participation in large transport consortia rather than deep bilateral relationships.

What sets them apart

As Turkey's national railway operator, TCDD offers something few EU partners can: access to a large non-EU railway network operating under different technical standards and challenging geographic conditions. This makes them particularly valuable for testing interoperability solutions and validating research outputs beyond Western European rail systems. For consortium builders, TCDD provides a credible end-user with real infrastructure where innovations can be trialed at scale.

Highlights from their portfolio

• NeTIRail-INFRA
  Largest TCDD funding (EUR 136,225) — focused on tailoring railway solutions for networks with different needs than Western European systems, directly relevant to TCDD's operational reality.
• SAFETY4RAILS
  Marks TCDD's strategic pivot into cyber-physical security for railways, combining anomaly detection and threat mitigation for metro and rail systems.
• IN2TRACK2
  Continuation of IN2TRACK within Shift2Rail, showing TCDD's sustained commitment to track and switch innovation across multiple programme phases.