Astana-Almaty passenger train ran off track

A railroad passenger car of a train traveling from Astana to Almaty ran off the track in Zhambyl oblast, Tengrinews.kz reports citing the press-service of Passazhirskiye Perevozki company (a passenger transportation branch of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy national railway company). “Automatic safety control system was activated from the technical wagon and caused the train to stop at Kiyakhty-Khantau block of Shyganak-Shu section of Zhambyl part of the road on the 1,437th km along the way of the Passenger Train No.2 Astana-Almaty,” the message states. According to the Emergency Situations Department of Zhambyl oblast, the accident happened at 04:20 a.m. on April 23. “The railroad bed was not damaged during the accident. There was a 3-hour delay in the arrival of the passenger train No.51 Zhezkazgan-Almaty,” the message states. According to the authority, no casualties were reported. “We were asleep, when the train ran off the track. It happened at night. We woke up when we felt that the wagon was swinging on the wind. There are no casualties, the restaurant wagon is empty and there is nothing to eat. The passengers are tired and are starting to panic. We took Talgo train to get to Almaty quicker,” one of the passengers told Tengrinews.kz after the accident. The works on elimination of the accident consequences are in process. The emergency group of the oblast's Emergency Situations Department, an emergency-restoration train from Shu station and a repair team from Almaty, as well as the Interior Department’s investigation team have been dispatched to the accident site. The rescue train arrived at the accident site in the afternoon of April 23, Tengrinews.kz reports. “The train finally arrived. We are currently moving our belongings and taking our seats. We were promised hot food. We also received the copies of our tickets signed by the conductor or the train master. They say we can take these tickets to the train station and receive compensation,” one of the passengers said. The passengers waited for evacuation for over 9 hours.