2014 in Azerbaijan...
Kazakhstan Railways (KTZ) has signed long-term contracts with Stadler for several hundred sleeping and couchette cars, including a 20-year full-service agreement. Delivery is planned until 2030. A similar agreement with Azerbaijan worked quite well in 2014. A production plant is to be established in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana.
This agreement continues the strategic partnership signed in 2021 in the presence of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and then Swiss President Guy Parmelin. The overall contract encompasses manufacturing and service worth €2.3 billion, as well as technology transfer from Switzerland to Kazakhstan and the acquisition of a local production facility in Astana with approximately 100 employees.
"With this project, we are entering a new market and expanding our geographic presence in the CIS countries. We are convinced that with our innovative products and expertise, we can make a valuable contribution to creating a new level of travel quality in Kazakhstan," commented Peter Spuhler, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Stadler.
Image: Nose Design/ADY.
The delivery contract covers four different types of modern sleeping and couchette cars: 234 sleeping cars with 40 seats each, 233 couchette cars with 58 seats each, 35 passenger cars for staff and passengers with reduced mobility with 18 seats each, and 35 generator cars. The new vehicles are designed for day and night operation on electrified and non-electrified lines in national and international passenger transport within the Republic of Kazakhstan and the CIS countries, using a track gauge of 1520 mm. They can reach a maximum speed of 160 km/h.
The standard trainset consists of at least fifteen cars. The vehicles can operate in a temperature range of -50 to 45 °C. The design of the cars and the maintenance plan are intended to ensure minimal environmental impact throughout the vehicles' service life.
Fig.: Nose Design/ADY
Stadler already has experience in this area. For example, in 2014, in collaboration with the Zurich-based designers at Nose, they designed interesting rolling stock for the Azerbaijani State Railways (ADY) and the revival of the legendary "Orient Express" on the Baku–Tbilisi–Istanbul route. No information has yet been released regarding the appearance of the sleeping and couchette cars for Kazakhstan or their interior design.
