Astana Light Metro
The Astana Metro is a planned light rail rapid transit system located in Astana, Kazakhstan, which is the capital of the country with a population of about 750,000. Construction should have finished roughly about the same time as the Almaty Metro, which was estimated for 2010. However, completion has been postponed until 2017.[1] Project authority Astana LRT LLP had signed an agreement with a consortium of China Railway International Group and Beijing State-Owned Assets Management Co for construction of the first phase of the capital’s light rail project on May 7 2015.[2]
The light metro is part of Nazarbayev's Kazakhstan 2030 economic plan to transform Kazakhstan into an economic power. A great deal of construction has taken place in Astana since it became the capital in 1997.
Line 1
The 22·4 km North-South route would link the city’s main line station with Astana International Airport. The alignment of this line is partly segregated and partly on-street. The line will have 18 stops and one depot. Services would be operated by 19 vehicles with a maximum operational speed of 40 km/h. Ridership is expected to be 83 000 passengers/day and the line is planned to open in time for Expo 2017.