Almaty Metro is planned to be extended to the city of Alatau: new details

Tengrinews.kz — A new metro line will connect Almaty with the city of Alatau. It is planned that two stations of the Green Line will extend into the city located in Almaty Region.

This was announced by Askat Saduov, General Director of the AlmatyGenPlan Research Institute. He stated that the project is aimed at mutually beneficial coexistence of the two cities.

The connection between them will be provided by the new Green Line — the third to be built. Askat Saduov noted that the metro is more efficient than suburban commuter trains: trains have a limited number of stops, whereas the metro is integrated into the urban transport network and provides more convenient travel.

“A link is needed because we need fast communication. Yes, we have a shuttle to the station from Zhetygen, and we can arrange an electric train there, but the station has only two access points. The metro, on the other hand, is part of the overall network,” the head of AlmatyGenPlan said.

He clarified that, according to the plans, the last two stations of the Green Line will be located in the city of Alatau.

Construction timeline

According to him, implementation of the project will begin after the completion of the feasibility study (FS) for the line toward the airport. Preliminary estimates suggest that preparation of the documentation for the Alatau direction will take about one year.

“Roughly speaking, if the feasibility study takes about a year, we are looking at 2027–2028. Everything will depend on the experience gained from the next line; the timeline may shift,” the head added.

Why connect Almaty with Alatau

According to Askat Saduov, it is necessary not only to ensure transport accessibility, but also to relocate part of industrial facilities and educational campuses to Alatau.

“We need to understand how we can be useful to Alatau. That is, possibly relocate university campuses or production, create other jobs that are not typical for us, in order to attract those jobs there,” the speaker noted.

Earlier, Askat Saduov spoke about plans to develop the metro in Almaty. According to him, one option being considered is extending the existing metro line to the Barlyk station and then connecting it to the Almaty-1 railway station.

Back in September 2025, the Almaty akimat disclosed new details of the metro development plan. At that time, the deputy akim said that the design and cost-estimate documentation had already been prepared for the metro section from Kalkaman station to Barlyk market. Three more stations are planned on this stretch, and the project is expected to be completed within three years from the start of construction.

It was also reported then that, in parallel, a feasibility study was being developed for the second metro line — from Zhibek Zholy station to the airport. It was additionally clarified that a tender had been announced to prepare the feasibility study for the third line, which is to connect Sairan station with the city of Alatau.