Kazakhstan to launch 51 new Stadler passenger cars in DecemberKazakhstan Railways will introduce 51 new Stadler passenger cars on key domestic routes in late December 2025, Anuar Akhmetzhanov, chairman of Passenger Transportation JSC, announced Wednesday."The cars have been manufactured. The certification process is currently underway," Akhmetzhanov said during a briefing. "This type of rolling stock must be certified according to technical regulations, meaning the cars are undergoing running tests plus various safety tests."Akhmetzhanov specified that the new cars are scheduled to enter service between Independence Day (December 16) and New Year's Day, pending successful certification. The modern coaches will operate on the Astana-Almaty, Astana-Semey, Astana-Shymkent and Astana-Atyrau routes.This delivery represents part of Kazakhstan's broader railway modernization program that has already replaced 50% of the country's 2,200 passenger cars. Plans call for acquiring approximately 1,000 additional cars by 2030, which would completely phase out older cars lacking air conditioning systems."We will completely renew our fleet. The average age of cars will be about 10 years," the company head noted.The full modernization program includes 557 Stadler cars featuring couchette, reserved seat, specialized cars for people with special needs, and generator cars. The new rolling stock will feature modern air conditioning, video surveillance, electric heating, automatic fire suppression systems, and individual electrical outlets with USB ports in each compartment.The December 2022 agreement between Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) and Stadler, worth 2.3 billion euros, provides for manufacturing passenger cars using Swiss technology at the Stadler Kazakhstan plant in Astana through 2030. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX