First ever high velocity railway link to be completed between Astana and Almaty by 2017

The first ever high velocity railway link will be completed by 2017 between the capital city Astana and the former capital city Almaty, KazTag reports, citing Systra. “Some specific requirements to the project and the tough deadline are the major challenges. However, the project is expected to be completed by the spring 2017, prior to the EXPO-2017 to be held in Astana”, the statement reads. Kazakhstan Temir Zholy Railways Operator has signed a contract with Systra to design and construct the railway link. “The 1000-km-long railway will enable the trains to run at 250 km per hour. The route will cross the Balkhash lake. The 75 degree Celsius difference between the winter and summer temperature peaks will be taken into account”, the statement reads. Early this year President Nazarbayev instructed the government to secure construction of a high velocity railway link between Astana and Almaty across Balkhash. He expected the project to be completed within 5-6 years’ time. SYSTRA is an international engineering and consulting group specializing in rail (passenger and freight) and public transport. With more than 2,500 employees worldwide, SYSTRA has undertaken projects in 130 different countries.