The TCDD MT15000, also referred to as the DM15000, is a class of two-car diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger trains supplied by Hyundai Rotem for the Turkish State Railways (TCDD). Twelve trainsets, comprising 24 cars, were delivered for regional passenger services in Turkey. The units have diesel-hydraulic transmission and a design speed of 140km/h (87mph).
Although DM15000 is used in some railway publications and image archives, MT15000 is the designation appearing in TCDD's technical yearbook and in later maintenance records published by TÜRASAŞ. The class should not be confused with the larger and subsequently developed MT15400 sets.
Procurement and introduction
Hyundai Rotem's contemporary project summary records a contract signed on 28 December 2005 for 24 vehicles, arranged as twelve two-car trainsets. The manufacturer lists delivery dates between March and July 2008.
TCDD's statistical yearbook records no MT15000 units in its 2008 fleet inventory, eight trainsets in 2009, eleven in 2010 and all twelve by 2011. These figures establish when the units appeared in the recorded fleet, but do not independently establish the first day of scheduled passenger operation.
The trains formed part of TCDD's programme to renew diesel-powered regional passenger rolling stock, supplementing or replacing services previously worked by older railcars. The sets have been photographed operating in regional service in western Turkey, including at Torbalı railway station and İzmir Basmane.
Design and technical specifications
Each set comprises two powered cars, each measuring 26.4m (86ft 7in) long. The manufacturer's product sheet specifies a width of 2.825m (9ft 3.2in), height of 4.05m (13ft 3in), stainless-steel bodies, plug-type passenger doors, and bolsterless bogies. The units were designed for standard-gauge (1,435mm (4ft8+1⁄2in)) tracks, with a maximum design speed of 140km/h (87mph).
The diesel-hydraulic propulsion system uses two Cummins QSK19R engines rated at 750 hp apiece and Voith T312bre transmissions. The manufacturer's technical sheet also describes Knorr pneumatic brakes and air-conditioning equipment. TCDD's later technical tables record a maximum weight of 136 tonnes for a set, a maximum axle load of 18 tonnes, a minimum curve radius of 200 metres and a buffer-to-buffer length of 52,800 mm.
TCDD's 2008–2012 yearbook gives the passenger accommodation figure as 132 + 2 (the additional two places being designated for passengers with disabilities). An older version of this Wikipedia article listed a capacity of 440 without identifying whether it referred to seated or total occupancy. Until the capacity definitions can be reconciled with a primary document, the two figures should not be treated as directly interchangeable.
MT15000 technical data
Characteristic
Specification
Trainset composition
Two powered cars
Trainsets delivered
12 (24 cars)
Set length
52.8 m
Width / height
2.825 m / 4.05 m
Maximum design speed
140 km/h
Diesel engines
2 × Cummins QSK19R
Total engine output
1,500 hp
Transmission
Diesel-hydraulic, Voith T312bre
Maximum set weight
136 t (TCDD yearbook)
Maximum axle load
18 t
Accommodation recorded by TCDD
132 + 2 places for passengers with disabilities
Relationship to the MT15400
The MT15000 belongs to an earlier Hyundai Rotem-supplied fleet of two-car units. It is distinct from the four-car MT15400 units subsequently developed through the Turkish diesel-train programme. TCDD Transport's 2019 annual report describes a programme to combine newly built cars with earlier MT30000 units to form MT15400 trainsets; it does not describe conversion of the twelve MT15000 sets.
The separation is also evident in maintenance reporting: TÜRASAŞ's 2022 annual report lists work on two-car MT15000 sets separately from work on four-car MT15400 sets.
Later maintenance
TÜRASAŞ's 2022 annual report records a general overhaul of one two-car MT15000 set, as well as other repairs on MT15000 and MT15400 stock. Its 2025 annual report continues to identify both types among the diesel sets maintained and repaired by its Sakarya works. These maintenance records do not establish that all twelve original MT15000 sets were still in scheduled passenger service at that date.
