Almaty Metro

The Metro Almaty ( Kazakh метросы Алматы, Almaty metrosy; Russian Алматинский метрополитен, Almatinski metropolitans ) is the subway in the Kazakh city of Almaty. She was planned for many years and since 1988 in construction, before the first section was opened on 1 December 2011. It is the first subway system in Kazakhstan and the second in Central Asia to the Metro Tashkent in Uzbekistan.

History

In September 1988, ground was broken for the future metro in the then Alma-Ata -called capital of the Kazakh SSR of the Soviet Union. However, shortly after the construction work had begun, Kazakhstan declared its independence from the USSR in 1991 and consequently a sovereign state. After the sluggish start of work at the end of the 1980s there were still the years 1992 and 1993, in which the Metrobau enjoyed the best financing and fastest headway. Afterwards, however, the construction of the metro slowed down more and more until he almost came to a halt in the late 1990s. Another problem was approached in 1997 to finance the Metro, as the Kazakh government their capital to Aqmola, known since 1998 Astana moved. There was from a relatively small city within a few years the capital of the country, and the local large-scale projects was over investments in the old capital Almaty granted. However, they did not receive from the project distance.

Lately, since Kazakhstan's economy has experienced a significant upswing, not least because of the rich mineral deposits, returned new life into the project. Intermediate term we had wanted to award the Metrobau to repeatedly changing foreign investors and construction companies, from which the project Almaty Metro Monorail was built. It provided, to complete the under construction first metro section according to old plans, but to realize the next line extensions as aboveground or elevated monorail and not, as envisaged in the original project, as traditional underground metro according to Soviet standards. Currently, the project, however, talk of a Soviet standard with seven metro stations - whether and in what form after an elevated railway or monorail system come for execution, remains to be seen.

On 1 December 2011, the subway, more than 23 years after breaking ground, opened with seven stations.

West of the line in operation, there is a 2.74 km long section of the stations Sayran and Moskva in construction, scheduled to open in 2014.

Route

Was completed first a perpendicular line which bends with seven stations and a length of 8.3 km ( operational length 7.6 km ). The range is up to the two end stations running in great depth and equipped with three-tube stations. Raiymbek was built as a simple vaulted train station in less depth, Alatau as a four-track station ( input for the planned second line). To the north of the track (behind the station Raiymbek ) is an aboveground, provided in a westerly an underground extension. In the broader perspective is a second route crossing the first at the stations Alatau and Schibek Scholy.

The first section with seven stations was put into operation on 1 December 2011. The vehicles were delivered in the summer of 2010.

Method of construction

Similar to the Metro Tashkent underground of Almaty is located in an area of ​​high seismic activity. Therefore, tunnels and stations are carried out in earthquake-resistant structures, as they have already been tried in Tashkent. The propulsion of the tunnel is done in shield tunneling with cast iron and reinforced concrete lining segments as they were and are in other Soviet Metros use.