As of 2020, no operational high-speed rail systems exist in Kazakhstan. Two links are planned – between Almaty and Astana, and an international link between Moscow and Beijing that would go through the country.
Astana–Almaty
In November 2013 the proposed Astana (then Nur-Sultan)–Almaty high speed railway was postponed due to high costs and doubts over passenger numbers.[1]
Previously in March 2013, Qazaqstan Temir Zholy, the national rail company of Kazakhstan, awarded a contract to Systra to oversee the design and construction of a high-speed line from Astana, the country's capital, to Almaty, its largest city.[2][3] The line was expected to be 1,011 km (628 mi) long, and was supposed to travel via Karaganda and Balkhash.[2][3] A 10 km (6.2 mi) viaduct across Lake Balkhash wss planned near Sayaq.[2][3] The trains were expected to be built by Tulpar-Talgo (a joint venture established in 2011 between Qazaqstan Temir Zholy and Spanish company Talgo),[4] with a maximum speed of 250 km/h (155 mph), completing the trip in five and a half hours.[2][3] The system would use Russian gauge, the same as used by Kazakhstan's existing conventional lines.[2][3]
Moscow–Beijing via Kazakhstan
In 2015, a Russian Railways official said that the Moscow-Beijing HSR line would pass through either Russia's Altai Republic or Kazakhstan. The difference in length between the two proposed routes would be 290 km (180 miles).[5]
