| Astana Light Metro | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Locale | Astana, Kazakhstan |
| Transit type | Light metro |
| Number of lines | 1 |
| Number of stations | 18 |
| Operation | |
| Operation will start | 2024 |
| Train length | 2 carriages per trainset |
| Technical | |
| System length | 21.5 km (13.4 mi) |
| Track gauge | 1,524 mm (5 ft) [1] |
| Top speed | 80 km/h (50 mph) |
The Astana Metro is a light rail rapid transit system under construction located in Astana, Kazakhstan, which is the capital of the country with a population of over 1,000,000.
Construction should have finished roughly about the same time as the Almaty Metro, which was estimated for 2010. However, completion has been postponed several times, in 2011 completion was scheduled to coincide with the Expo in 2017 [2] and as of October 2017 the first stage is planned to be commissioned in December 2019. [3] Project authority Astana LRT LLP signed an agreement with a consortium of China Railway International Group (subsidiary of China Railway Group Limited) and Beijing State-Owned Assets Management Co for construction of the first phase of the capital’s light rail project on May 7, 2015. [4] Construction began in May 2017. [5]
The light metro is part of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev's Kazakhstan 2030 economic plan to transform Kazakhstan into an economic power.
Video renders of the proposed system show the lines built on viaducts running adjacent to roads, with enclosed stations offering heating and ventilation systems to protect passengers from the extreme weather variations in the city. [6]
The Chinese company constructing the project went bankrupt early 2019. The city hall ordered an indefinite halt to it. [7] Since then, the half-built remnants of the project have become a prominent symbol of corruption within the country. [8] [9]
As of 2023, construction has restarted and the LRT is planned to open by 2024-2025. [10]
The 21.5 kilometres (13.4 mi) North-South route would link Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport with Astana Nurly Zhol railway station via the modern "Left Bank" area of the city centre. The line will have 11 stops and one depot. Capacity is estimated to be 146,000 people per day. [11] [12]
Original plans show further phases to link other areas of the city. [13]
A scene in a music video by Kazakhstani rap group Irina Kairatovna features a man in a suit, meant to be a politician, handing a Lego set labeled "Nur-Sultan LRT" to a child, only for it to contain unfinished concrete pillars. [14]
The vast territory of Kazakhstan spans across 2,700,000 km2 (1,000,000 sq mi). The population density is low in Kazakhstan, and the centers of industry and agriculture are spread out and remote from world markets.
Astana, formerly known as Nur-Sultan is the capital city of Kazakhstan.
Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev is a Kazakh politician and military officer who served as the first President of Kazakhstan, from the country’s independence in 1991 until his formal resignation in 2019, and as the Chairman of the Security Council of Kazakhstan from 1991 to 2022.
Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev is a Kazakh politician and diplomat who has served as the President of Kazakhstan since 2019. Between 20 March and 12 June 2019, he served as acting president after the resignation of Nursultan Nazarbayev, who had been president for nearly three decades.
Imangali Nurgaliuly Tasmagambetov is a Kazakh politician and diplomat, who is the current Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization since January 2023. He was the Kazakh Ambassador to Russia from 2017 to 2019. He was Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan from 2016 to 2017 and Minister of Defense of Kazakhstan from 2014 to 2016. He was the akim of Astana from 2008 to 2014 and from 2004 to 2008, as akim of Almaty. Before that, from 2002 to 2003, he was the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan.
The president of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the head of state of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The president is the holder of the highest office within the Republic of Kazakhstan. The powers of this position are described in a special section of the Constitution of Kazakhstan.
Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport, alternatively referred by its previous name as Astana International Airport until 2017, is the international airport serving Astana, Kazakhstan, the capital and second most populous city in the country. It is the primary aviation hub for northern Kazakhstan. Regionally, it stands as the second-busiest international air passenger gateway into Central Asia after Almaty International Airport (ALA). The airport is also the second-busiest airport in terms of total passenger traffic, air traffic movements and total cargo handled in Kazakhstan, with ~7,500,000 passengers served annually in 2023, a 25% increase compared with 2022, a new passenger record for the airport. On average, the airport handles more than 200 departures a day.
Ahmedjan Smagululy Essimov is a Kazakh politician who served as the chairman of Samruk-Kazyna from 2017 to 2021. Prior to that, he was the director of Expo 2017 from 2015 to 2017, akim of Almaty from 2008 to 2015, Minister of Agriculture from 2006 to 2008 and 2001 to 2004, Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan from 2002 to 2006 and 1994 to 1996, First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan from 1996 to 1998, Acting Head of the Presidential Administration of Kazakhstan and State Secretary of Kazakhstan in 1996.
Karim Qazhymqanuly Massimov is a politician who served as a Prime Minister of Kazakhstan from 10 January 2007 to 24 September 2012 and again from 2 April 2014 to 8 September 2016.
Amanat, previously known as Nur Otan until 2022, is a political party in Kazakhstan. Being the largest to date, it has been the ruling party of the country from 1999, with a membership claiming to be of over 762,000 people in 2007. The Amanat has been led by Erlan Qoşanov since 26 April 2022.
The New Eurasian Land Bridge, also called the Second or New Eurasian Continental Bridge, is the southern counterpart to the Eurasian Land Bridge and runs through China and Central Asia with possible plans for expansion into South and West Asia. The Eurasian Land Bridge system is important as an overland rail link between China and Europe, with transit between the two via Central Asia and Russia. In the light of the Russia-Ukraine war, China halted further investments in the part of the bridge that was planned to go through Russia. After the war began, the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route began to actively develop, which passes through the countries of Central Asia, the Caspian Sea and the countries of the South Caucasus, bypassing Russia.
Expo 2017 Astana was an International Exposition which took place from June 10 to September 10, 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan. The expo's theme was "Future Energy", and aimed to create a global debate between countries, nongovernmental organizations, companies and the general public on the crucial question: "How do we ensure safe and sustainable access to energy for all while reducing CO2 emissions?"
Nursultan is a Kazakh male name of Arabic origin. Nur sultan can be literally translated as "radiant sultan", "the sultan of sunlight" in Arabic.
The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan's Cup is an annual pre-season ice hockey tournament held in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. The tournament was first held in 2010 by the initiative of the president of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. The event is hosted by the KHL team Barys Astana and played each year in August. Currently, all games are held at Kazakhstan Sports Palace.
Nurly Zhol is a US$9 billion domestic economic stimulus plan to develop and modernize roads, railways, ports, IT infrastructure, and education and civil services in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Nurly Zhol plan was announced by Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev in November 2014.
The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) is a financial hub in Astana, Kazakhstan that officially launched on July 5, 2018.
The Almaty Light Rail is a light rail line planned to serve Kazakhstan's largest city Almaty.
The 2018–2020 Kazakh protests were a series of civil protests that took place in cities across Kazakhstan, commencing in May 2018 and gaining traction after a fire in Nur-Sultan killed five children in February 2019. Some commentators attribute President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev's decision to dismiss the government of Prime Minister Bakhytzhan Sagintayev later that month in part to the protests. Nazarbayev later himself resigned on 19 March 2019 and was replaced as president by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the speaker of the upper house of parliament. Nazarbayev continued to hold several political positions. Tokayev called a snap election, the 2019 Kazakh presidential election, which saw him elected with over 70% of the vote. Both the run-up to and the aftermath of the election saw further protests.
The Astana City Mäslihat is a unicameral legislature of Kazakhstan’s capital city of Astana. The councillors of the City Mäslihat are elected concurrently with the MP's of the Mäjilis. The City Mäslihat councillors perform their duties by approving plans, economic and social programs for the city's development.
Presidency of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev began on 20 March 2019, when he assumed office shortly after resignation long-time President Nursultan Nazarbayev; as a Senate Chairman, Tokayev became the Presidential Designate in accordance to the Constitution and would serve as an acting head of state. After declaring snap presidential elections Tokayev, endorsed by Nazarbayev, become the candidate for the ruling Nur Otan party and swept 71% of the vote in the race, thus becoming officially the 2nd President of Kazakhstan. After being inaugurated on 12 June 2019, Tokayev pledged to uphold many of the previous policies by Nazarbayev and at the same time, continue and accelerate social and political reforms.
Rapid transit in Asia | |
|---|---|
 Bangladesh | |
 China (PRC) |
|
 India | |
 Indonesia | |
 Iran | |
 Japan | |
 Kazakhstan | |
 North Korea | |
 Malaysia | |
 Pakistan | |
 Philippines | |
 Qatar | |
 Russia | |
 Saudi Arabia | |
 Singapore | |
 South Korea | |
 Taiwan (ROC) | |
 Thailand | |
 Turkey | |
 United Arab Emirates | |
 Uzbekistan | |
 Vietnam | |
* Under construction. | |
