More than 100 Stadler sleeping coaches enter service in Kazakhstan

By Rebecca Stone

Kazakhstan Railways has begun deploying more than 100 locally built Stadler CHARME sleeping coaches on the roughly 1,300-km Astana–Almaty route after taking delivery of the first batch in October 2026. The fleet enters service within a 20-year contract covering 557 coaches and associated services, with deliveries scheduled through the end of 2030.

Stadler manufactured the custom-built vehicles at its Astana plant and designed them for reliable long-distance operation in severe climates. The order extends a long-standing partnership between Stadler and Kazakhstan Railways (KTZ), but the announcement offers no timetable, ridership, occupancy, on-time performance or maintenance-cost data against which to benchmark the service.

What enters service on the Astana–Almaty route?

KTZ’s new fleet comprises three types of sleeping coach, each with a defined capacity:

• Compartment coaches: 40 passenger beds.
• Open-plan sleeping coaches: 58 passenger beds.
• PRM coaches: 18 passenger beds, including dedicated accommodation for passengers with reduced mobility and a bistro zone.

The bed counts apply to individual vehicles. KTZ did not state how many coaches of each type entered service or how many would form each Astana–Almaty train, so the announcement does not yet establish daily berth capacity.

How will the coaches work across Kazakhstan’s network?

Stadler specifies operation from -50°C to +45°C and compatibility with both electrified and non-electrified networks. Generator coaches keep onboard systems supplied where overhead electrification is unavailable, extending the passenger offer beyond electrified routes. The temperature and network figures are engineering specifications; the announcement provides no measured winter performance, fault rate or availability data.

What will passengers receive?

Stadler says passengers are anticipated to receive individual lighting and temperature controls, 220V power outlets, USB and USB-C charging ports, onboard Wi-Fi, CCTV and expanded luggage space. Interiors use themes drawn from Kazakhstan’s natural landscapes, while the PRM accommodation and dedicated space for reduced-mobility passengers address access.

No passenger-satisfaction, occupancy or service-disruption results were provided, so the expected comfort benefit remains a projection rather than a measured outcome.

Anuar Akhmetzhanov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Kazakhstan Railways, said: “Kazakhstan Railways has accepted 100 CHARME sleeping coaches. Their gradual introduction into service will enhance travel comfort and improve the quality of passenger services for customers across the country.”

Akhmetzhanov put acceptance at 100, while Stadler described October delivery as more than 100. He called renewal of the passenger-coach fleet “one of the company’s key strategic priorities.”

What does the 557-coach commitment mean?

The contract gives KTZ a planned renewal pipeline through 2030, with associated services included over 20 years. Because the announcement does not provide an annual delivery profile, train formations or replacement dates for withdrawn stock, the order cannot yet be translated into added daily capacity or fleet cost savings.

How much production has moved into Kazakhstan?

The original contract transferred technology from Switzerland to Kazakhstan and included acquisition of a production facility in Astana. Stadler says the plant received more than KZT 5 billion for reconstruction during recent years, while local specialists completed training at Stadler sites in Europe.

Stadler Kazakhstan now performs steel-car-body welding and painting, electrical-equipment and underfloor-component manufacture, bogie production, pneumatic and electrical installation, and vehicle assembly and commissioning. That shop scope establishes local operational capability, but no output rate, local-content percentage or unit-cost comparison is provided.

Philipp Brunner, Head of the Central Europe Division and designated Group CEO of Stadler, said: “In just three years, we have established a modern production facility in Kazakhstan, trained local specialists and delivered the first 100 custom-built sleeping coaches. This is a major milestone for Stadler and our partnership with KTZ.”

He said the local operation was creating skilled jobs, involving local suppliers and contributing to the long-term development of Kazakhstan’s railway industry.

What will the KZT 14 billion expansion add?

Stadler says it will invest more than KZT 14 billion during 2026 in aluminium-car-body welding and painting workshops at Astana. It describes the project as Central Asia’s first highly automated facility dedicated to aluminium rail-car bodies. The investment should expand body-production capacity and localisation, but no commissioning date, annual output or financial return was disclosed.

The next measurable checkpoints are the pace of deliveries against the 557-coach order through 2030, sustained operation of the Astana–Almaty service through the next winter, and conversion of the KZT 14 billion workshop programme into measurable production output. Until those figures emerge, the announcement documents delivery and commissioning, not proven service gains.