Astana to get high-speed buses

High-speed buses will be launched in Astana by 2017, Tengrinews.kz reports citing Astana Akim (Mayor) Imangali Tasmagambetov as saying at the meeting with the citizens. “Significant changes are expected in public transport in general. We will introduce the system known as BRT (Bus Rapid Transit), which provides for high-speed bus transportation along special lanes. This will allow us to transport a good number of passengers and improve organization of road traffic in general. The overall length of the express routes will make 48 kilometers,” Imangali Tasmagambetov said. According to him, a 21km LRT (light rail transport) line will be launched from the international airport to the exhibition area and to the new railroad station. The route will cover administrative and cultural facilities, as well as socially important areas where most of the hotels are located. “Meanwhile, to expand the geographic range of flights to the Kazakhstan capital, the Ministry and Transport and Communications is working with Astana International Airport to open new international air links for foreign airlines,” Akim said. According to Tasmagambetov, Astana international airport received and dispatched 15,325 flights and serviced 2.3 million passengers in 2011, while the airport’s maximum passenger handling capacity made 750 passengers per hour in peak hours. “The plan is to increase the number of handled flights to 20,000 flight and increase the number of passengers handling capacity to 5 million people per year by 2017,” Imangali Tasmagambetov said. By Baubek Konyrov