Astana's first light rail transit (LRT) system is nearing completion. Officials said the light rail system marks a leap forward in urban mobility for Kazakhstan's capital city. Built under Chinese standards and engineered for extreme temperatures, it's set to enhance connectivity across the sprawling city. Astana is home to over one and a half million people, and by some global standards, it's not even considered to be a large city. But the city's area, which spreads far and wide, both facilitates and requires transportation systems like the LRT system, which spans over 22  kilometers. Built by China's train manufacturer CRRC Tangshan, the trains will reach 80  kilometers per hour during operation on the route. The reinforced track components were built for low temperatures of around minus 40 degrees Celsius in winter. "The Chinese builders and engineers made a lot of technological innovations targeting the cold regions, making the trains and tracks of the LRT system able to adapt to extremely cold weather in Astana. This project has laid a good foundation and set a good example for expanding urban rail transit projects to other Central Asian countries amid the Belt and Road Initiative," said Zhou Haiwei, general manager of China Railway Asia-Europe Construction Investment. A test run of the first train is scheduled for September, with full service expected in early 2026. "There are many advantages. The city is new, young, and is actively developing. The city's population is growing very quickly, so the emergence of a new type of transport is a great opportunity for city residents. And I would like to repeat that it would help the passengers comfortably reach any point along the route," said Zhenis Kassymbek, mayor of Astana. "The track length of the first line is 22 kilometers. There are 18 stations. There will be 14 trains operating on the line, and each train is capable of carrying 650 people. The train interval will be three to four minutes," said Asylbek Duisebayev, chairman of the Board of City Transportation Systems. SHOTLIST: Astana, Kazakhstan - June 11-15, 2025 1. Various of Astana's first light rail transit (LRT) system under construction, train on track; traffic, buildings; 2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zhou Haiwei, general manager, China Railway Asia-Europe Construction Investment (partially overlaid with shot 3): "The Chinese builders and engineers made a lot of technological innovations targeting the cold regions, making the trains and tracks of the LRT system able to adapt to extremely cold weather in Astana. This project has laid a good foundation and set a good example for expanding urban rail transit projects to other Central Asian countries amid the Belt and Road Initiative."; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 3. Train on track; [SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE] 4. Various of LRT system under construction, train on track; 5. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Zhenis Kassymbek, mayor of Astana: "There are many advantages. The city is new, young, and is actively developing. The city's population is growing very quickly, so the emergence of a new type of transport is a great opportunity for city residents. And I would like to repeat that it would help the passengers comfortably reach any point along the route."; 6. Interior of train; 7. Various of worker cleaning LRT station, station interior, exterior; 8. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Asylbek Duisebayev, chairman of Board of City Transportation Systems: "The track length of the first line is 22 kilometers. There are 18 stations. There will be 14 trains operating on the line, and each train is capable of carrying 650 people. The train interval will be three to four minutes."; 9. Various of LRT system under construction; buildings, traffic. [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]