As of 2020, no operational high-speed rail systems exist in Kazakhstan. Two links are planned – between Almaty and Astana, and an international link between Moscow and Beijing that would go through the country.
Astana–Almaty
editIn November 2013 the proposed Astana (then Nur-Sultan)–Almaty high speed railway was postponed due to high costs and doubts over passenger numbers.[1]
Previously in March 2013, Qazaqstan Temir Zholy, the national rail company of Kazakhstan, awarded a contract to Systra to oversee the design and construction of a high-speed line from Astana, the country's capital, to Almaty, its largest city.[2][3] The line was expected to be 1,011 km (628 mi) long, and was supposed to travel via Karaganda and Balkhash.[2][3] A 10 km (6.2 mi) viaduct across Lake Balkhash wss planned near Sayaq.[2][3] The trains were expected to be built by Tulpar-Talgo (a joint venture established in 2011 between Qazaqstan Temir Zholy and Spanish company Talgo),[4] with a maximum speed of 250 km/h (155 mph), completing the trip in five and a half hours.[2][3] The system would use Russian gauge, the same as used by Kazakhstan's existing conventional lines.[2][3]
Moscow–Beijing via Kazakhstan
editIn 2015, a Russian Railways official said that the Moscow-Beijing HSR line would pass through either Russia's Altai Republic or Kazakhstan. The difference in length between the two proposed routes would be 290 km (180 miles).[5]
Tashkent-Turkistan
editIn 2021, the Kazakh Prime Minister Asqar Mamin announced plans to extend the high-speed rail line terminating in Tashkent, Uzbekistan across the border to Shymkent and Turkistan.[6]
References
edit- ^ Kazakhstan postpones construction of new high-speed railway Archived 2016-06-25 at the Wayback Machine, 2013-11-02
- ^ a b c d e "Kazakhstan plans 1 000 km high speed line". Railway Gazette International. 2013-03-13. Archived from the original on 2013-03-17. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
- ^ a b c d e "Kazakhstan to build first high-speed line". International Railway Journal. 2013-03-13.
- ^ "President Opens Train Manufacturing Plant "Tulpar-Talgo"". 2011-12-09.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Moscow-Beijing high speed rail to pass through either Kazakhstan or Altai". Interfax. 28 January 2015. Retrieved 2015-04-03 – via Russia Beyond the Headlines.
- ^ "Ташкент и Туркестан свяжет высокоскоростная ж/д магистраль". Газета.uz (in Russian). 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2022-04-20.