What is the SkyTrain between Almaty and Alatau?

The President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has instructed to develop a project for the construction of SkyTrain lines from the borders of the metropolis in both eastern and western directions by August 1, 2026. In this article El.kz explores an overview of the project.

The directive was issued during a meeting on the development of Alatau City - a new urban formation west of Almaty. Every day, approximately 400,000 vehicles enter Almaty from the surrounding region.

The President identified this traffic flow as the primary problem that a high-speed transport system must solve. Currently, Alatau lacks sufficient jobs and full-scale infrastructure, forcing residents to commute to the metropolis every morning and return in the evening - a continuous cycle.

On May 8, 2026, Tokayev signed the Constitutional Law "On the Special Legal Regime of Alatau City," which takes effect on July 1 of the same year. The new city is envisioned as an independent ecosystem with a special legal regime, a separate institutional framework, and long-term planning for the next 15–30 years. In drafting the law, authorities drew on the international experiences of Shenzhen, Hainan, Singapore, Dubai, and Doha. In this logic, the SkyTrain is not just transportation but the physical backbone of the agglomeration, without which building business districts or residential areas would be futile.

What is a SkyTrain?

The trains run above city streets on a fully segregated track, without a driver, without traffic lights, and without dependence on road traffic. Such systems feature the highest level of automation, GoA4, where management is entirely driverless: trains automatically accelerate, brake, open doors, maintain intervals, and monitor the distance between sets.

The main difference from classic LRT (Light Rail Transit) is the degree of isolation from the urban environment. Conventional LRT can run along streets, cross intersections, and stop at traffic signals. While LRT construction costs are 5 to 10 times lower than a full-scale subway. SkyTrain is designed from the outset as an isolated high-speed corridor - this is built into the concept rather than added later.

Vancouver: 40 Years without failure

The SkyTrain system in Vancouver has been operational since 1986 and is considered one of the first fully automated transport systems in the world. Built for the Expo 86 World's Fair, it was initially an image-building project but became a permanent fixture. It includes three lines: the Expo Line, Millennium Line, and Canada Line. Today, Vancouver’s SkyTrain is the world’s second-longest automated rapid transit system.

When the city built an 11-kilometer extension toward the Coquitlam district in the 2010s, the cost of one new branch was $1.4 billion, with a maximum operating speed of 80 km/h. These are Canadian realities with high labor costs; inmdeveloping economies, the same result is often achieved more cheaply.

Bangkok: Transport Against Collapse

The SkyTrain appeared in Bangkok following the threat of total transport collapse by the 1990s, traffic jams had become chronic, forcing the Thai government to find an urgent solution. The situation is painfully familiar to Almaty residents.

The first two lines, spanning 23 kilometers with 22 stations, cost $1.7 bln and opened in 1999 without budget overruns and a month ahead of schedule -  a rarity in global transport construction. The system became profitable, passenger traffic exceeded initial forecasts, and the network generates about 20% of its revenue from advertising, real estate, and related services. The Bangkok experience is often cited as proof that elevated metros pay off faster than underground ones.

Dubai: The World’s Longest

The Dubai Metro is the world’s longest fully automated and driverless rail network, spanning 74.6 kilometers with 49 stations. Most of the lines run on viaducts, with only the central part of the city going underground. In 2023, the Metro carried 260 million passengers, a 15% increase from the previous year.

The final construction cost rose by 80% from the original estimate, totaling about $7.8 billion. Dubai is currently building another branch: the Blue Line extension will cost $4.9 billion, with completion scheduled for 2029. Dubai has turned the Metro from a transport solution into a tool of urban policy - districts are built along the lines, rather than the other way around.

China: Affordable and High-Tech

Wuhan operates a 26.7-kilometer monorail line with 16 stations that cost approximately 1.92 billion yuan (about $265 million) less than $10 mln per kilometer.

The maximum speed of the Wuhan "sky train" is 60 km/h, and the train sets can be flexibly configured with 2 to 6 cars depending on passenger flow. All operations are fully automated and require no human intervention except in emergencies. China is currently actively exporting this technology and is one of the world's leading manufacturers of such systems. Chinese suppliers are most often considered for such projects in the post-Soviet space.

The Kazakhstani Experience: Astana Has Already Built

Astana LRT was built using a similar concept: a train on a viaduct, a dedicated track, and full automation. The system operates at GoA4 - the maximum level of driverless automation. In the morning, the trains automatically enter the line according to the schedule, and at night, they return to the depot without human involvement.

Nevertheless, the Astana experience will allow the Almaty project to be implemented faster and more cost-effectively.

What’s Next

In September 2025, Almaty authorities presented a Master Plan through 2030, aiming to gradually move residents from private cars to public transport.