High-speed rail in Kazakhstan

Tulpar Talgo express train to Almaty.

Astana–Almaty

Qazaqstan Temir Zholy, the national rail company of Kazakhstan, has awarded a contract to oversee the design and construction of a high-speed line from Astana (the country's capital) to Almaty (its largest city).[1][2] The line is expected to be 1,011 km (628 mi) long, and will travel via Karaganda and Balkhash.[1][2] A 10 km (6.2 mi) viaduct across Lake Balkhash is planned near Sayaq.[1][2] The trains are expected by be built by Tulpar-Talgo (a joint venture established in 2011 between Qazaqstan Temir Zholy and Spanish company Talgo[3]), and will have a maximum speed of 250 km/h (155 mph), completing the trip in five and a half hours.[1][2] The system will use Russian gauge, the same as used by Kazakhstan's existing conventional lines.[1][2] However, in 2013 the project was postponed due to high cost, and since the passenger number were doubted, since many would fly anyway when the trains take over five hours.[4]

Route

In 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]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Kazakhstan plans 1 000 km high speed line". Railway Gazette International. 2013-03-13.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Kazakhstan to build first high-speed line". International Railway Journal. 2013-03-13.
  3. ↑ "President Opens Train Manufacturing Plant "Tulpar-Talgo"". 2011-12-09.
  4. ↑ Kazakhstan postpones construction of new high-speed railway, 2013-11-02
  5. ↑ "Moscow-Beijing high speed rail to pass through either Kazakhstan or Altai". Interfax. Retrieved 2015-04-03 – via Russia Beyond the Headlines.
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