The total length of railways in Kazakhstan is 15341 km. More than 68% of the country's cargo turnover and about 57% of passenger traffic in the country are accounted for by this type of transport. In total, there are three main roads in the state - Tselinnaya, Alma-Ata and West Kazakhstan. After the collapse of the USSR, they were all merged into a single corporation. It's called "Kazakhstan Railways".
West Kazakhstan branch
This road runs through the territory of such regions of the country as:
- Aktobe;
- Kyzyl-Orda;
- South and West Kazakhstan;
- Mangistau.
Partly the West Kazakhstan railway also passes through the territory of the Orenburg region of Russia. This branch is managed from the city of Aktobe.
A bit of history
This branch was formed in 1977 after the disaggregation of the former Kazakh railway, which existed in the USSR since 1958.
The first railwaythe line on the territory of Kazakhstan was drawn at the beginning of the last century. It connected Uralsk and Pokrovskaya Sloboda in the Volga region. That is, it was part of the Moscow-Ryazan-Saratov line. This road, in fact, connected the Southern Urals with the Volga region and the Central regions of the USSR. It passed mainly through the territory of the Ural region. Initially, passengers could travel on it with a stopover from six stations - Derkul, Peremetnaya, Shipovo, Semiglavy Mar, Rostoshsky, Uralsk.
At first, only low-power foreign-made trains were operated on this section. In 1901, the laying of the Orenburg-Tashkent line began. Especially for this road, among other things, a bridge was built across the Ural River.
In the future, the Kazakh railway developed almost continuously. Its construction and expansion did not stop even during the Second World War. At that time, the road connected the Kazakh rear with the fronts and the Central regions of the USSR. During the Second World War, for example, the Kandagach-Orsk line was built, which made it possible to transport goods from the Urals and from Siberia to the Caucasus (with transshipment through the Caspian Sea) by the shortest route.
What branches does it border on
Kazakhstan's railways are very long. The operational length of the West Kazakhstan branch is 3817 km in total. This road borders on:
- South Ural Railway (Kanisai, Nikeltau);
- Privolzhskoy (Aksarayskaya, Ozinki);
- Alma-Ata (Turkestan);
- Central Asian (Beineu).
Trains are passing along the West Kazakhstan road, for example, through stations such as Iletsk, Aktyubinsk, Mangyshlak. Passengers can travel along this branch to the large city of Uralsk.
Features of the branch
In terms of traffic density, the West Kazakhstan road, the largest Tselinnaya, is quite inferior (60%). In terms of transit, it surpasses this branch. The main bulk cargo of the West Kazakhstan road is oil from the famous Mangyshlak fields.
This branch serves the regions of the country with a predominantly desert and semi-desert terrain, with a sharply continental climate. Therefore, during its construction, serious emphasis was placed on improving water supply. During the years of the USSR, as part of the development of the road, the Nugaity-Sagiz water pipeline was built (52 km) and Kamyshlybash - the Aral Sea (169 km) was reconstructed (169 km).
Station Aktyubinsk (Aktobe): reviews
The passenger terminal of this most important transport hub for Kazakhstan is the only railway station in the city. It was built in 1975. Currently, about 40 trains pass through this station.
The work of the Aktobe railway station is generally assessed by passengers as quite good. Its building is equipped with terminals, scoreboards, coffee machines. On comfortable chairs and benches, people who have chosen such a way of moving around the country as the Kazakhstan railway can comfortably wait for their train. Scheduletrain movements, information about their arrival and departure - all this information is provided to passengers without any problems.
But there are not too good reviews about the Aktobe railway station. In total, 6 ticket offices are open at this station. But, unfortunately, they work mostly alternately. Serve passengers most often only 2-3 cash desks. Therefore, there are simply huge queues at the station. People can wait for hours to purchase tickets. True, there are also private ticket offices at the station. You can buy tickets here almost without a queue. But at the same time, passengers have to pay, among other things, an additional commission (300 tenge).
This state of affairs was observed at the Aktobe railway station in 2016. But, perhaps, the station management will draw conclusions from the numerous complaints of passengers and correct the situation.
Kazakhstan railway: Aktobe depot
The West Kazakhstan road is managed, as already mentioned, from this city. There is, of course, its own locomotive depot at the Aktyubinsk station. Its staff includes 892 people. Diesel locomotives in the Aktobe depot are operated by 17 shunting units and 58 main ones. The latter includes 10 units. passenger traffic.
In 2004 Aktobe locomotive depot celebrated its 100th anniversary. In honor of this significant event, a monument to the steam locomotive was opened on the territory of the organization. In 2010, another similar event took place at the depot. A monument to the driver was erected on the territory.
Uralsk Station:description and reviews
At first, this station with turrets in the form of minarets was located quite far from the city itself - in the steppe. During the years of the USSR, Uralsk grew a lot. As a result, the station was practically in its very center. Today it is a huge, modern, well-equipped building. With regard to the convenience of passengers, both ordinary and transit, this station has earned very good reviews. There is even a huge beautiful fountain in its yard.
Passengers also rate the work of the ticket office and the staff of the station as satisfactory. About 26,000 people leave this station every year.
Owners of the West Kazakhstan Railway
At the moment, this branch, like the entire Kazakh railway, belongs, as already mentioned, to the KTZ society. The sole shareholder of this company is the Samruk-Kazyna fund. One hundred percent of the shares of the latter belong to the state. Fund staff responsibilities include:
- KTZ management;
- solving the tasks of increasing budget transparency.
Samruk-Kazyna does not interfere in the operational work of the railway. Alpysbaev Kanat Kaliyevich is the President of NC KTZ JSC for 2017.
Prospects for development
At present, as in the years of the USSR, the leadership of "KTZ" (Kazakhstan Railways) sees the main task of increasing the capacity of the West Kazakhstan Railway. In this regard, the most importantare occupied by such activities as the development of precinct, sorting and freight stations. Also on this branch, the construction and modernization of radio relay and cable communication lines is carried out.
Locomotives for Kazakh railways are currently assembled directly on the territory of the state. For example, a major supplier of such equipment is the Lokomotiv kurastyru zauyty company. Its main facilities are located in Astana.
"KTZ" (Kazakhstan Railways): job reviews
Passengers generally have a good opinion about the activities of this company. It is believed that in terms of service level, trains in Kazakhstan are practically in no way inferior to Russian ones, but they do not surpass them either. Cars in the compositions of "KTZ" are provided as reserved seat, and compartment, or luxury. So passengers have the opportunity to travel with a level of comfort appropriate to their financial situation.
With regard to cleanliness in the trains "KTZ" there are both positive and negative reviews. In general, the conductors in the composition of the company treat their work responsibly. Linen and curtains on trains are usually clean. The same applies to the floors in the cars. Toilets on Kazakh trains are often dirty. This, of course, can be attributed to the shortcomings of the KTZ trains.
Like Russians, residents of Kazakhstan prefer to take homemade food with them on trains. Dishes in restaurants of KTZ trains are usually fresh and sufficient.tasty, but also very expensive. Most passengers rate the work of this company as a solid four.
Crossing the border with Russia
Very often passengers travel by train from Russia to Kazakhstan or vice versa. For example, a popular route is Petropavlovsk (Kazakhstan) - Volgograd. By the West Kazakhstan railway, people travel to Sol-Iletsk, Orsk, Orenburg region and many other cities of the Russian Federation.
Most passengers consider the moment of crossing the border the most unpleasant, both on Kazakh and Russian railways. Everyone on the train, including children, is being screened. In addition, trains stop at border stations, unfortunately, for a very long time (2 hours on the Russian side and about the same time on the Kazakh side). Toilets are closed during this time. It is not allowed to get out of the wagons. Passengers are woken up for screening even at night.
Many clients of Russian Railways and KTZ consider this state of affairs not very convenient. But in general, passengers are sympathetic to the inspection. After all, drugs and weapons can be transported across the border in the absence of control.
Kazakhstan Railways has, among other things, one feature that its customers should be aware of. For passengers with foreign passports, conductors distribute migration cards before entering the country. All persons over the age of 16 are required to fill them out. Young children fit into the parent map. Lose this migration document induring the entire time of stay on the territory of Kazakhstan is not worth it. Recovery will be associated with a lot of hassle. In addition, the one who lost the card will have to pay a fine.
