Kazakhstan plans to put 106 new Stadler passenger railcars into service in November, Deputy Transport Minister Maksat Kaliakparov told reporters on the sidelines of a government meeting, though he did not give an exact launch date, infohub.kz reports.
"Yes, we will launch the 106 railcars this month. There is no exact date yet. Our main routes are two locations — from Astana and from Almaty — because the railcars are still under control in these two cities. And the destinations include, for example, Astana — Kostanay, Astana — Almaty, and Kyzylorda," Maksat Kaliakparov said.
He also said the fleet includes around 250 outdated railcars, which will be replaced. "Talgo trains will continue to run, while the old Soviet-era railcars will be phased out," the deputy minister said.
Earlier, in December 2025, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) released photos of the new Stadler railcars, which feature two restrooms, children's seats, baby changing tables, video surveillance and Wi-Fi. It was reported that as early as 2026 Kazakhstanis will be able to use these railcars on the following routes: No. 3/4 "Astana — Almaty"; No. 353/354 "Astana — Semey"; No. 85/86 "Astana — Shymkent"; and No. 47/48 "Astana — Atyrau".
In May this year, former Transport Minister Nurlan Sauranbayev was asked why Kazakhstanis were still not using the new Stadler railcars. Talgat Aldybergenov, chairman of the board of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy National Company JSC, then said when the new Swiss trains would enter service. The national carrier later issued a new statement on the delay in launching the Swiss Stadler railcars.