The first line section of Almaty Metro came into passenger service on December 1, 2011. The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev participated in the inauguration ceremony.
The people of Kazakhstan take pride in their underground system that was built in the times of crisis of the young country. Almaty Metro is one of the sights of the capital city.
In the first 6 hours of operation, Almaty Metro carried over 10,000 passengers. At present, the average daily ridership amounts to 16,000 - 17,000 passengers.
The first line section is 8,56 metres long and it consists of 7 stations. The average distance between stations is 1,27 km, the longest distance between stations is 1,52 km and the shortest - 0,99 km. All the stations feature a mixture of ethnic design and modern elements.
The design of first line section was made based on the feasibility study of 1982 and corrections of 1990.
Almaty metro construction was characterised with a number of difficulties: the seismic activity of 9-10 points (MSK scale), intermountain basin, versatility of the soil etc. For this reason, the depth of the metro tunnels ranges from 11 metres to 60 metres.
The tunneling was done with Herrenknecht S-320 tunnel boring machine produced by Herrenknecht AG.
It was for the first time in the CIS that the new Austrian tunneling method was used during metro stations construction. Another technological achievement of Almaty Metro was that the rails were laid without sleepers on the cast-iron base and fixed separately with the fastenings produced by the Dutch company Edilon Sedra.
The new method of laying of tracks provides for good vibration isolation and effective operation of the continuously welded rails. The aluminum thermite welding of the rails is the technology of the German company ELEKTRO-THERMIT. The steel-aluminum third rail was supplied by REALTECH.
Each station is equipped with 4 Hyundai Millennium escalators. These 20 to 50 metres multidrive escalators can be used in the escalator tunnels with the inclination of 30 degrees.
DC current (825 V) is used for traction.
The metro tunnels are equipped with modern ТА-14/ 7-1 and ТА-167-1 ventilators that have been fitted out with German system of angle change (TLT-Turbo GmbH). The ventilators can be used for extracting smoke in case of fire and for air purification.
Seven 4-car trains have been specially developed and manufactured for Almaty Metro by Hyundai Rotem. The trains have a gangway and are fitted out with CCTV, air conditioning and fire extinguishing systems. The disc braking system of the trains decreases the wear and tear of the wheels, increasing their service life and cutting maintenance costs. The cars feature 3 types of brakes - pneumatic, electric and recuperative. The car body and the underframe are made of stainless steel and the cars have an automatic coupling system. Three operational modes provide for safe and effective operations. One 4-car train is 77,8 metres long, 2,675 metres wide, 3,67 metres high and it weighs 142,4 tons. Its maximum operating speed is 80 km/h and it can carry 940 passengers on board. The track gauge is 1520 mm.
Almaty Metro is the only metro system in the CIS equipped with stairlifts for wheelchair users.
All automatic systems in Almaty Metro are based on the latest technologies and are considered to be the best in the CIS. There are 29 automatic systems that control technological processes, signaling, safety and security systems of the metro. Almaty Metro was the first to use train control system based on a radio channel. There is a digital radio communication system, uninterrupted power supply system with the capacity of 4 hours of work in case of power cut, interconnected safety and security systems, CCTV, reliable timing and effective information system in the Operational Control Centre.
At present, the second line section of the first metro line is being built. The 8,62 km line extension will feature 5 shallow stations. The line section will come into service in stages. The first stations opened for passenger service will be Sairan and Moskva.
The programme is carried out by the Passenger Transport and Roads Authority of Almaty for GUP Metropoliten. The construction is carried out by Almatymetrokurylys under the supervision of TOO Metroproekt.
The development plan approved by the government of Kazakhstan is aimed at building and gradually introducing 3 metro lines with the total length of 45 km.
| Key Performance Indicators, 2012 | |
| Total operational length (two tracks), km | 8,54 |
| Number of lines | 1 |
| Number of stations | 7 |
| including number of stations with one exit | - |
| Metro system density (sq.km per city km.) | - |
| Number of pairs of trains per hour | 8 |
| Minimum headway, sec | 480 |
| Fulfilment of train schedule, % | 100 |
| Inventory rolling stock, cars | 28 |
| Rolling stock in operation, cars | 28 |
| Total car/km, mio. | 2,3 |
| Number of depots | 1 |
| Average operational train speed, km/h. | 34,4 |
| Average train speed, km/h. | 39,1 |
| Power consumption, mio. kWh | 17,4 |
| including power for train traction, mio. kWh | 9,6 |
| Specific energy consumption for traction, Wh per t/km | 64,2 |
| Number of substations | 10 |
| Length of power cable systems, km | 452,5 |
| Number of escalators in operation | 24 |
| Number of stations with escalators | 6 |
| Length of lines equipped with speed control systems, km., including: | 8,54 |
| as a main signaling system, km. | 8,54 |
| with seamless track circuit, km. | - |
| Number of switches | 40 |
| Number of ventilation shafts in operation | 14 |
| Number of ventilators in operation | 28 |
| Number of water drainage installations | 43 |
| Operational length of tunnels, km. | 17,1 |
| Staff responsible for operations, pers. | 884 |
| Total ridership, mio. pax. | 6,1 |
| Average daily ridership, mio. pax. | 0,017 |
| Cost of transportation of 1 passenger, rub. | 87,0 |
| Modal share, % | 0,2 |
Contact
KGP METROPOLITEN, Almaty
Deputy Head - Kaut Musabekov
84, Panfilova st., Almaty
050000 Kazakhstan
Tel.: +7 727 271 49 49, fax: +7 727 271 82 21.
E-mail: metro@itte.kz
Website: metroalmaty.kz