Stadler railcars to enter service in Kazakhstan in late October–early November

Passenger railcars built by Swiss company Stadler will begin carrying passengers in Kazakhstan in late October or early November of this year, Deputy Transport Minister Zhanibek Taizhanov told journalists, according to infohub.kz.

"As of today, part of the railcars has been accepted by the railway... According to preliminary information from KTZ (Kazakhstan Temir Zholy), the nearest commissioning and launch of these railcars in Kazakhstan is expected in late October–early November, once all test procedures are completed," he told reporters, noting that these are preliminary dates for the start of Stadler railcar operation.

Despite the acceptance of the batch of Stadler railcars, testing continues on certain routes, the deputy minister said.

"On the braking system, on technical parameters (KTZ is conducting tests of the railcars)," Zhanibek Taizhanov said.

According to him, the start of railcar operation could be pushed back to a later date.

"If no additional work is required (the railcars will begin carrying Kazakh passengers in late October–early November 2026)," he said.

Zhanibek Taizhanov noted that the railcars required more thorough inspection because this is a new model and a new brand for the company. During test runs, KTZ raised a number of issues that had to be resolved. According to the deputy minister, this required additional time. He confirmed that the railcars are already on KTZ's books.

The passenger railcars from Switzerland's Stadler, manufactured at a plant in Astana and delivered at the end of 2025 for the needs of Passazhirskie Perevozki (a subsidiary of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy), passed acceptance by the customer in August of this year, Stadler Kazakhstan told Kursiv in early September.

The first 51 Stadler railcars were delivered to KTZ back in December 2025, but they are still not carrying regular passengers. In late May 2026, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy board chairman Talgat Aldybergenov (replaced in that post by Yelzhas Otynshiev on July 20) said the launch of the Swiss Stadler passenger railcars was being delayed due to technical issues identified with them. A few weeks after the change of KTZ's head, the national company accepted the Stadler railcars.