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 are in the country for this particular type of transport. There are three main roads in the state - Tselinnaya, Alma-Ata and West Kazakhstan. After the collapse of the USSR, they were all united into a single corporation. It is called "Kazakhstan Railways."
West Kazakhstan branch
This road runs through the territory of such areas of the country as:
- Aktobe;
- Kyzyl-Ordinskaya;
- South and West Kazakhstan;
- Mangistau.
Partially, the West Kazakhstan railway passes through the territory of the Orenburg region of Russia. This branch is managed from the city of Aktyubinsk.
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 railway line in Kazakhstan was carried out at the beginning of the last century. She 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 landing from six stations - Derkul, Peremetnaya, Shipovo, Semiglavy Mar, Rostoshsky, Uralsk.
At first, only low-powered trains of foreign production were mainly 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 Kazakhstan railway developed almost continuously. Its construction and expansion did not stop even during the Second World War. At this time, the road connected the Kazakh rear with the fronts and 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 by the shortest route (with transshipment through the Caspian Sea).
Which branches it borders with
The railways of Kazakhstan are very long. The operational length of the West Kazakhstan branch is a total of 3817 km. This road borders on:
- South Ural Railway (Kanisai, Nikeltau);
- Volga (Aksarayskaya, Ozinki);
- Alma-Ata (Turkestan);
- Central Asian (Beineu).
Trains pass along the West Kazakhstan railway, for example, through such stations as Iletsk, Aktyubinsk, Mangyshlak. Passengers can travel along this branch to the large city of Uralsk.
Branch Features
In terms of cargo intensity, the West Kazakhstan Railway, the largest Tselinnaya, is quite inferior (60%). In transit, it surpasses this branch. The main bulk cargo of the West Kazakhstan Railway is oil from the famous Mangyshlak fields.
This branch is served by areas of the country with a predominant desert and semi-desert terrain, 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 Nugayty-Sagiz water supply system (52 km) was built and the Kamyshlybash - Aral Sea (169 km) was reconstructed.
Aktobe Station (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. At present, about 40 trains pass through this station.
Passengers evaluate the work of the Aktyubinsk railway station in general as not bad. His building is equipped with terminals, scoreboards, coffee machines. On comfortable chairs and benches, people who choose such a way of moving around the country as the Kazakhstan Railway can wait for their train with convenience. Train timetables, information about their arrival and departure - all this information is provided to passengers without any problems.
But there is a train station in Aktyubinsk and not very good reviews. In total, 6 ticket offices are open at this station. But, unfortunately, they work mostly alternately. Most often, only 2-3 ticket offices serve passengers. Therefore, enormous queues are gathering 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 Aktyubinsk train station in 2016. But, perhaps, the station management will draw conclusions on numerous passenger complaints and correct the situation.
Kazakhstan Railway: Aktyubinsk Depot
The management of the West Kazakhstan road is carried out, as already mentioned, from this city. There is, of course, at Aktyubinsk station and its own locomotive depot. Its staff includes 892 people. Diesel locomotives in the Aktobe depot operate 17 shunting units and 58 trunk. The latter include 10 units. passenger traffic.
In 2004, the Aktyubinsk locomotive depot celebrated its 100th anniversary. In honor of this significant event, a monument to a steam locomotive was unveiled 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 significantly. 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 regular and transit, this station has earned very good reviews. In his yard there is even a huge beautiful fountain.
Passengers also rated the work of the ticket office and station staff as satisfactory. Today about 26 thousand people depart from this station today.
Owners of the West Kazakhstan Railway
At the moment, this branch, like the entire Kazakhstan railway, belongs, as already mentioned, to the KTZh 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. The responsibilities of the fund employees include:
- KTZ activity management;
- solving problems to improve budget transparency.
Samruk-Kazyna does not interfere in the operational work of the railway. The president of JSC “NC KTZ” for 2017 is Alpysbaev Kanat Kalievich.
Development prospects
At present, as in the years of the USSR, the leadership of KTZ (Kazakhstan Railways) sees the main task as increasing the capacity of the West Kazakhstan Railway. In this regard, the most important place is taken by such events as the development of precinct, sorting and freight stations. Also on this branch is the construction and modernization of radio relay and cable communication lines.
Locomotives for Kazakhstani railways are currently being assembled directly on the territory of the state. For example, the Lokomotiv Krastyru Zayuty company is a major supplier of such equipment. Its main facilities are located in Astana.
KTZ (Kazakhstan Railways): job reviews
Opinion on the activities of this company among passengers was generally good. It is believed that in terms of service, Kazakhstan’s trains are practically inferior to Russian, but do not surpass them. Carriages in the KTZ trains are reserved, as well as reserved seats, and compartment, or luxury. So passengers have the opportunity to travel with a level of comfort corresponding to their financial situation.
With regard to cleanliness, KTZ trains have both positive and negative reviews. In general, the conductors in the company are responsible for their work. Linens and curtains on trains are usually clean. The same goes for floors in wagons. The toilets of Kazakh trains are often dirty. This, of course, can be attributed to the shortcomings of the KTZ.
Like Russians, residents of Kazakhstan prefer to take home-made food with them on trains. Dishes in restaurants of KTZ compositions are usually fresh and quite tasty, but at the same time very expensive. Most passengers evaluate the work of this company on a solid four.
Crossing the border with Russia
Very often, passengers travel by train from the Russian Federation to Kazakhstan or vice versa. For example, a popular route is Petropavlovsk (Kazakhstan) - Volgograd. By rail of the West Kazakhstan 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 the Kazakh railways and on the Russian ones. Everyone on the train, including the children, is inspected. In addition, there are trains at the border stations, unfortunately, a very long time (2 hours on the Russian side and about the same on the Kazakh side). Toilets are closed all this time. However, leaving the cars is not allowed. Wake up passengers for inspection even at night.
Many customers of Russian Railways and KTZ consider this situation to be not very convenient. But basically, passengers treat the search with understanding. After all, both drugs and weapons can cross the border in the absence of control.
The Kazakhstan Railway has, among other things, one feature that its customers should know about. Passengers with foreign passports are presented with migration cards by the guides before entering the country. All persons over 16 years of age are required to fill them out. Young children fit into the map of parents. It is not worth losing this migration document during the entire time you are in Kazakhstan. Recovery will be associated with severe hassle. In addition, the lost card will have to pay a fine.