What
We Promote: Worldwide
Experiences: Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan: Model for Overnight Service
In July 2000, the national railway of Kazakhstan received
a demonstrator trainset built by Talgo.
With a Kazak locomotive and no modifications to the infrastructure,
the tests proved that the 23-hour journey between Almaty,
Kazakhstan’s old capital, and Astana, the new capital,
could be reduced to 12 hours. This reduction could be even
greater, but the Kazak locomotives were unable to operate
above 100 mph.
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As a result, Kazakhstan’s
railway administration agreed to purchase two 135-mph
22-car passenger trainsets for US $27 million in December
2000. |
The sleeping car only trains each consist of 12 tourist class
cars, 3 single-double room cars, 3 grand class cars, 1 restaurant
car and 1 bistro car. They will be delivered in July 2003
and will provide night service between Almaty and Astana.
Kazakhstan is also upgrading the track to allow speeds up
to 135 mph. The considerable reduction in travel time, together
with the increase in comfort and security of the new trains,
will make the train a direct competitor of airlines and road
traffic.
With a distance of 839 miles between the two cities, a 12-hour
trip requires a modest average speed of 70 mph across mountainous
terrain. A very comparable US trip is the Chicago, IL to Washington,
DC run: a distance of 764 miles. Amtrak currently makes the
trip in 17.75 hours, averaging 43 mph.
At an average speed of 70 mph, it would be possible to depart
Chicago at 7:00 pm and arrive in Washington, DC at 7:00 am
ready for business. A very practical 55 mph would provide
a 6:00 pm departure with a 9:00 am arrival. In either case,
the train would be very competitive for business travelers
as far east as Cleveland.
Sleeping car patronage on overnight rail trips has increased
dramatically. The Kazak experience has demonstrated that modest
investment can make these runs truly competitive for business
travel.
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