West Kazakhstan Railway: description. KTZ (Kazakhstan Railways): Feedback

The total length of railways in Kazakhstan is 15,341 km. More than 68% of the country's freight turnover and about 57% of passenger traffic are accounted for in this country by this type of transport. In total there are three main roads in the state - Tselinnaya, Alma-Ata and West Kazakhstan. After the collapse of the USSR, they were all united into a single corporation. It is called "Kazakhstan Railways".

West Kazakhstan branch

This road runs through the territory of such regions of the country as:

• Aktobe;
• Kyzyl-Orda;
• South and West Kazakhstan;
• Mangistau.

Partly the West Kazakhstan railway passes through the territory of the Orenburg region of Russia. Management of this branch is carried out from the city of Aktyubinsk.

A bit of history

This branch was formed in 1977 after the disintegration of the former Kazakh railway, which existed in the USSR since 1958.

The first railway line in Kazakhstan was held at the beginning of the last century. It connected Uralsk and Pokrovskaya Sloboda in the Trans-Volga region. That is, it was part of the Moscow-Ryazan-Saratov line. This road, in fact, connected the Southern Urals with the Volga region and the Central regions of the USSR. She went mainly on the territory of the Ural region. Initially, passengers could make trips on it with a landing from six stations - Derkul, Peremetnaya, Shipovo, Semiglavy Mar, Rostoshsky, Uralsk.

At first, only small-capacity foreign trains were operated on this section. In 1901 the construction of the Orenburg-Tashkent line began. Especially for this road, among other things, a bridge across the Ural River was built.

In the future the Kazakh railway developed almost continuously. Its construction and expansion did not stop even during the Second World War. At this time, the road connected the Kazakhstani rear with the fronts and the Central regions of the USSR. In the years of the Second World War, for example, the Kandagach-Orsk line was built, which allowed the shortest way to transport cargo from the Urals and from Siberia to the Caucasus (with transshipment across the Caspian Sea).

With which branches borders

The railways of Kazakhstan are very long. The operating length of the West Kazakhstan branch is a total of 3,817 km. This road borders on:

• South Ural railway (Kanisay, Nikeltau);
• Privolzhskaya (Aksaray, Ozinki);
• Alma-Ata (Turkestan);
• Central Asia (Beyneu).

Trains pass through the West Kazakhstan road, for example, through such stations as Iletsk, Aktyubinsk, Mangyshlak. Passengers can travel by this branch to the large city of Uralsk.

Features of the branch

According to the freight traffic, the West-Kazakhstan road of the largest Tselinna is rather inferior (60%). On transit it surpasses this branch. The main mass cargo of the West Kazakhstan road is the oil of the famous Mangyshlak deposits.

Serves this branch regions of the country with a predominantly desert and semi-desert terrain, sharply continental climate. Therefore, in its construction, serious emphasis was placed on improving water supply. In the years of the USSR, as part of the development of the road, the Nugayty-Sagiz water pipeline (52 km) was built and the Kamyshlybash-Aral Sea (169 km) was reconstructed.

Aktobe Station (Aktobe): reviews

The passenger terminal of this important for Kazakhstan transport hub is the only railway station in the city. It was built in 1975. At the moment about 40 trains pass through this station.

The passengers of the station of Aktyubinsk are assessed as quite good overall. Its building is equipped with terminals, scoreboards, coffee machines. On comfortable chairs and benches, people who choose such a way of traveling around the country, like the Kazakhstan railway, can wait for their train with convenience. The train schedule, information about their arrival and departure - all this information to passengers is given absolutely without problems.

But there is about the train station of Aktyubinsk and not too good reviews. In total, 6 cash desks have been opened at this station. But, unfortunately, they work mostly in turn. Serving passengers are usually only 2-3 cash desks. Therefore, the train station is just a huge queue. Possibilities of purchasing tickets people can wait for hours. However, at the station there are also private ticket offices. You can buy tickets here almost without waiting. But at the same time passengers have to pay, among other things, an additional commission (300 tenge).

This state of affairs was observed at the Aktobe station in 2016. But, perhaps, the station's management will draw conclusions on numerous complaints from passengers and will correct the situation.

Kazakhstan Railway: Aktobe depot

The West Kazakhstan road is managed, as already mentioned, from this city. There is at Aktyubinsk station, of course, and its own locomotive depot. The staff of its employees includes 892 people. Diesel locomotives in the Aktobe depot operate 17 units of shunting and 58 trunk lines. The last includes 10 units. Passenger traffic.

In 2004, the locomotive depot of Aktyubinsk celebrated its 100th anniversary. A monument to the locomotive was opened on the territory of the organization in honor of this significant event. In 2010, another similar event took place in the depot. A monument to the machinist was erected on the territory.

Station Uralsk: description and reviews

At first this station with turrets in the form of minarets was located quite far from the city itself - in the steppe. In the years of the USSR, Uralsk grew strongly. As a result, the station was practically in its center. Today it is a huge, modern, well-equipped building. With regard to the convenience of passengers, both conventional and transit, this station has earned very good reviews. In the yard there is even a huge beautiful fountain.

The passengers and the staff of the station are also assessed as satisfactory. About 26 thousand people leave the station this year.

Owners of the West Kazakhstan Railway

At the moment this branch, like the whole Kazakhstani railway, belongs, as already mentioned, to the KTZh company. The sole shareholder of this company is the Samruk-Kazyna fund. One hundred percent of the latter's shares belong to the state. The duties of the Fund's employees include:

• Management of activities of KTZ;
• The decision of tasks on increase of budget transparency.

In the operational work of the railway, Samruk-Kazyna does not interfere. The president of JSC "NC KTZ" for 2017 is Alpysbaev Kanat Kalievich.

Development prospects

At present, as in the years of the USSR, the leadership of KTZ (Kazakhstan Railways) sees the main task as increasing the capacity of the West Kazakhstan Railway. In this regard, the most important place is occupied by such measures as the development of precinct, sorting and freight stations. Also on this branch is construction and modernization of radio relay and cable communication lines.

Locomotives for the Kazakhstani railways are currently being collected directly on the territory of the state. For example, the large supplier of such equipment is the company "Lokomotiv құrastyru zauyty". Its main capacities are located in Astana.

KTZh (Kazakhstan Railways): feedback on the work

The opinion on the activity of this company among the passengers has developed in general and quite good. It is believed that the level of service of the train of Kazakhstan is almost in no way inferior to the Russian, but they do not exceed them. The wagons in the "KTZh" trains are provided, both reserved seats, and compartment, or luxury. So passengers have the opportunity to travel with a level of comfort, appropriate to their financial situation.

With regard to the cleanliness of the trains "KTZH" there are both positive and negative reviews. In general, the conductors in the composition of the company take their work responsibly. Linen and curtains on trains are usually clean. The same applies to the sexes in wagons. In the toilets of Kazakh trains it is often dirty. This, of course, can be attributed to the shortcomings of the compositions of "KTZh".

Like Russians, residents of Kazakhstan prefer to take home food with them. Dishes in the restaurants of "KTZ" are usually fresh and rather tasty, but at the same time very expensive. The majority of passengers evaluate the work of this company on a solid four.

Crossing the border with Russia

Very often passengers travel by train from Russia to Kazakhstan or vice versa. For example, the popular route is Petropavlovsk (Kazakhstan) - Volgograd. On the railway of the West Kazakhstan people go to Sol-Iletsk, Orsk, Orenburg region and many other cities of Russia.

The majority of passengers consider the moment of border crossing the most unpleasant, both on Kazakh railways and on Russian ones. Everyone who is on the train, including children, is examined. In addition, there are trains at the border stations, unfortunately, for a very long time (2 hours on the Russian side and about the same in the Kazakh one). Toilets all this time are closed. At the same time, it is not allowed to leave the cars. There are passengers for inspection even at night.

Many clients of RZhD and KTZH consider this state of affairs to be not very convenient. But mostly passengers to the inspection are treated with understanding. After all, in the absence of control, drugs and weapons can be transported across the border.

The Kazakh railway has, among other things, one feature that its customers should know about. Passengers with foreign passports conduct the gatekeepers before entering the territory of the country. They must be filled by all persons who have reached the age of 16. Young children fit into the parents' map. It is not worthwhile to lose this migration document during the entire time of its stay on the territory of Kazakhstan. Recovery will be associated with a strong hassle. In addition, the lost card will have to pay a fine.