Almaty Metro

Overview

Native name

Алматы метрополитені

Locale

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Transit type

Rapid transit

Number of lines

Number of stations

Daily ridership

17,970 (average, 2013)

Annual ridership

6.56 million (2013)

Website

www.metroalmaty.kz

Operation

Began operation

1 December 2011

Operator(s)

Almatymetrokurylys

Number of vehicles

Technical

System length

11.3 km (7.0 mi)

Track gauge

1,520 mm (4 ft 11 ²⁷⁄₃₂ in) Russian gauge

Average speed

40.0 km/h (24.9 mph)

System map

First line

MPD-1 «Raiymbek batyr»

Moskva

First line

MPD-1 «Raiymbek batyr»

Moskva

Almaty Metro (Kazakh: Алматы метрополитені; Russian: Алматинский метрополитен) is a rapid transit/metro system in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The first line of the system was opened on 1 December 2011, after more than 23 years of construction. A 2.9-kilometre (1.8 mi), two-station extension of the Metro to Moskva station opened on 18 April 2015.

The metro system became the second metro in Central Asia, after the Tashkent Metro in Uzbekistan, the first one not considered a military installation, and the sixteenth metro in the former Soviet Union region.

Construction of the Almaty Metro began on 7 September 1988 when Kazakhstan was still part of the Soviet Union. However, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, funds from Moscow dried up and the new Kazakhstani government was unable to continue construction. Efforts to preserve the already-completed work were made, but the high cost led to the accumulation of large debts to construction workers.

In 2003, the government of Kazakhstan laid out a new development initiative which included government funds for continued construction on the metro.

By 2005, the construction programme, now under the control of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, received commitments for 72 million tenge for 2006–2008.

In May 2007, the tunnel between the Almaly and Abai stations was completed on the night of 24/25 May. The tunnel is 1.271 kilometres (0.790 mi) in length. At the connection point, it is situated at a depth of 73 metres (240 ft). The tunnel from Abai towards Baikonur (1.526 kilometres (0.948 mi) in length) was finished at the end of 2007. Another tunnel on this span was finished in the middle of 2008.

The construction cost on the first line is estimated at 101 billion tenge ($1 billion USD).

The first section of the Metro opened 1 December 2011, operating on 8.54 kilometres (5.3 mi) of route and serving seven stations (four deep-level stations and three sub-surface stations).

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Wikipedia