Who is Süleyman Karaman?

Süleyman Karaman (1956, Alaçayır Village, Refahiye) is a mechanical engineer who also served as the general manager of TCDD.

Education

After starting his education life in Erzincan, he went to Istanbul Pertevniyal High School for high school education. He graduated from Istanbul Technical University (ITU) Mechanical Faculty in 1978, where he went for higher education. In 1981, he completed his master's degree with Outstanding Success in the same university and got the title of Mechanical Engineer.

Career

Between 1979-81, he took part in prototype studies on engines, tractors and agricultural machinery within ITU. Until 1984, besides his doctorate studies, he gave Technical Drawing and Machine Knowledge lessons as Research Assistant. Between 1984 and 1994, he served as Operations Manager, Deputy General Manager and Member of the Board of Directors in Automotive Supply Industry respectively. During this period, he participated in the localization of imported parts and as a result of his studies, he received the "Best Firm in Localization Award" with the company he worked with from the Automotive Industry Association.

In 1994, he was appointed as IETT Deputy General Manager. During this duty, he took part in bringing modern buses and stops to Istanbul and starting the AKBİL application. In the same period, he took part in converting buses in Istanbul to natural gas and bringing EURO 2 buses to Istanbul in order to reduce air pollution. In addition to these, he played a role in the launching of busses with lost advertisements, supporting social projects.

He contributed to seminars on Total Quality Management, Continuous Development and Synergic Management. He worked at İSFALT, İSBAK, İSTON, İSMER and BELTUR, which are the organizations of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

He assumed the duties of General Directorate of TCDD Enterprise and Chairman of the Board of Directors on December 31, 2002. During this period, he contributed to the realization of more than 100 railway projects, especially the High Speed ​​Train project. He served on the boards of Türk Telekom, TTNET and Türksat.

In 2015, he resigned from his position within TCDD and became a candidate candidate for the AK Party Deputy of Erzincan. Süleyman Karaman is married with three children and speaks English.

Some Railway Projects Served

• Construction and operation of Ankara - Eskişehir, Ankara - Konya, Konya - Eskişehir, Ankara - Istanbul and Konya - Istanbul YHT lines.
• Construction of Ankara - Sivas, Ankara - Bursa and Ankara - İzmir YHT lines.
• Sivas - Erzincan High Speed ​​Train Project begins.
• Operation of Marmaray.
• Development and implementation of the original urban rail system public transportation projects.
• Completing and operating the Egeray (İZBAN) project in İzmir.
• Launch of Başkentray projects in Ankara and Gaziray projects in Gaziantep.
• National Train and National Signaling projects.
• Project of development of domestic industry in railways.
• The first high-speed train scissors in Turkey, establishment of rail sleepers and connection components factory.
• Rail arrangement of the first International Fair in Turkey.
• Implementing a social project for free food for the staff working on the train.
• the development of railway and disseminating education in Turkey; Rail in high schools and colleges
• Systems, opening of Railway Engineering departments in universities.
• Raising a young generation of railroads by conducting postgraduate and educational programs in the field of railroad abroad.

Awards and Achievements

• 2009 - Institution Employing the Most Disabled (TCDD)
• 2010 - Innovation Award of the Year (TCDD)
• 2014 - Best Cooperation Award (TCDD) for the İZBAN project from the World Mass Transporters Association (UITP)