Where can I buy Kazakhstan train tickets?

At bilet.railways.kz and station ticket desks; in 2024 the ministry named these as the channels without commission. KTZ inquiries: 1433. The sales site also mentions a mobile app called БИЛЕТЫ КТЖ (KTZ Tickets).

How far ahead do tickets go on sale?

45 days before departure, according to Tengrinews in October 2024. We have no recent confirmation, so check the booking system for your date.

Is there a train from Almaty to Bishkek?

We could not find a direct passenger train, and its reasons and status are unconfirmed. The confirmed option is bus route 701 from Sairan station.

How long is the Almaty to Tashkent train?

Train 001Х takes about 17 h 53 min, 18 h 13 min from 13 December; train 001Ь back takes about 18 h 10 min. These are aggregator figures, so a rough guide. Check bilet.railways.kz.

Kazakhstan trains: routes, classes, booking

Q: Which station do I use in Almaty?

Boarding and alighting at Almaty-1 have been temporarily suspended since 15 July 2026 for station reconstruction. New train No. 3/4 uses Almaty-2. Always go by the station on your ticket.

Tickets without commission are sold at bilet.railways.kz and station desks. A new daily Stadler train runs between Astana and Almaty from 11 November 2026, and boarding at Almaty-1 station is suspended.

Passenger trains in Kazakhstan are run by Passenger Transportation JSC, part of the KTZ railway group, and bilet.railways.kz is the simplest place to book. If you leave from Almaty, check your station first: boarding and alighting at Almaty-1 have been temporarily suspended since 15 July 2026 for station reconstruction.

Train routes and journey times

Durations come from Yandex Schedules on 5 November 2026 and are a rough guide. Train codes are in Cyrillic, as timetables show them. Trains and timetables change on 13-14 December 2026, and bilet.railways.kz has the exact times. The whole country is on one time zone, UTC+5, so departure and arrival times need no conversion between Astana, Almaty and the west.

Route	Train	Frequency	Time (rough guide)
Almaty to Astana	fastest 105Т on selected dates; 009Ц	see booking system	from 16 h 4 min; 009Ц 16 h 39 min; others up to a day or more
Astana to Almaty	various	see booking system	from 16 h 42 min
Astana (Nurly Zhol) to Almaty-2, Stadler	No. 3/4	daily from 11 Nov 2026	13:10 to 08:30 next day (KTZ timetable)
Almaty-2 to Astana (Nurly Zhol), Stadler	No. 3/4	daily	12:12 to 07:03 next day (KTZ timetable)
Almaty to Shymkent	various	see booking system	from 10 h 58 min
Almaty to Turkistan	various	see booking system	from 14 h 18 min
Almaty-2 to Tashkent	001Х	daily	about 17 h 53 min; from 13 Dec 18 h 13 min
Tashkent to Almaty-2	001Ь	daily	about 18 h 10 min
Astana to Shchuchinsk (Kurort-Borovoe station)	fastest 105Т on selected dates	see booking system	from 2 h 28 min
Astana to Shchuchinsk (Kurort-Borovoe station), Astana-Kokshetau train	807Й	daily	3 h 35 min
Almaty to Beyneu	077Т	see booking system	about 1 day 21 h
Almaty to Aktau	077Т (Almaty-Mangistau)	see booking system	about 2 days 6 h
Astana (Nurly Zhol) to Semey, Stadler	No. 153/154	odd dates from 13 Nov 2026	see booking system

The fastest and the newest are different trains: on these times the Stadler is slower than the quickest aggregator entries, but KTZ published its timetable itself. Trains to the far west take about two days, so compare with flying.

Illustration Engraving: a long passenger train crossing the wide Kazakh steppe at sunset, seen from a low rise, a diesel locomotive and lit carriage windows

Almaty to Astana by train: the new Stadler

Sales opened on 5 November 2026 and the train runs daily from Astana from 11 November. KTZ’s timetable: Nurly Zhol 13:10, Almaty-2 08:30 next day; going back, Almaty-2 12:12, Nurly Zhol 07:03 next day.

Compartment cars have 40 places and open-plan platzkart cars have 56. There are 220 V sockets, USB and USB-C, climate control and a buffet car. Because it uses Almaty-2, the Almaty-1 closure does not affect this train.

Older Talgo trains stay in service until the end of their lifespan, and no new ones are being bought. In November 2025 Talgo ran as 9/10 Astana to Almaty-2 daily; 11/12 and 25/26 Almaty to Shymkent daily; 85/86 Nurly Zhol to Shymkent daily; 27/28 Almaty-2 to Oral and 41/42 Almaty-2 to Atyrau on alternate days. That list is a year old, so check the number in the booking system.

Illustration Engraving: a long passenger train crossing the autumn steppe at sunset

Train from Astana to Almaty: same line, different departures

Going south, the quickest aggregator entry is from 16 h 42 min and the Stadler leaves Nurly Zhol at 13:10. Astana’s Nurly Zhol station is the one named in the KTZ timetable, so confirm your own Astana station on the ticket.

Classes: from platzkart to lux

What you can book depends on the train, so pick the service first.

Class	Where confirmed	Places per car
Seated	Talgo Almaty-Tashkent	not confirmed
Platzkart (open-plan sleeper)	Stadler	56
Compartment (kupe)	Stadler, Talgo Almaty-Tashkent	40 on Stadler
Lux (top class)	Talgo Almaty-Tashkent	not confirmed

We do not publish fares, since the figures we could confirm are more than a year old. The booking system shows the fare once you pick a date.

How to book without paying commission

According to the ministry in October 2024, bilet.railways.kz and station desks sell without commission; third-party sellers add one. Inquiries: 1433.

Open bilet.railways.kz or the БИЛЕТЫ КТЖ (KTZ Tickets) app mentioned on that site.
From Almaty, check your station: Almaty-2 or whichever your ticket shows.
Have your document details ready, as the waiting list asks for them in your account.
From 1 October to 31 December 2026, a 10% discount applies on all routes (KTZ notice).
If a train is full, join the waiting list: no earlier than 7 days and no later than an hour before departure, with an account on bilet.railways.kz.

According to Tengrinews in October 2024, sales open 45 days before departure. We have no recent confirmation of that figure.

Old address The address eticket.railways.kz does not resolve as of 5 November 2026. The working sales address is bilet.railways.kz. The tickets.kz homepage shows flights, and we could not confirm it as a rail seller.

Almaty-1 is closed for boarding: go by your ticket

The KTZ sales site says boarding and alighting at Almaty-1 have been temporarily suspended since 15 July 2026. Yandex Schedules on 5 November still showed some trains through Almaty-1. KTZ’s notice outranks an aggregator, and your ticket has the final word.

Almaty to Tashkent train: daily

The Almaty-Tashkent train has run daily since 14 December 2025, with more than 400 seats a day and tickets on bilet.railways.kz. Talgo on this route offers seated, compartment and lux. Journey times are in the table above, and bus route 407/1 from Sairan serves the same city with sleeper seats.

Not verified yet We did not check border requirements for the Tashkent train. Whether a passport is required on domestic trains shows only indirectly, through the document details the waiting list asks for: we did not open the passenger carriage rules.

Almaty to Bishkek train: none found

We could not confirm a direct Almaty-Bishkek passenger train, nor the reasons or status. The confirmed way is bus route 701 from Sairan station, daily at 08:00, 10:00, 12:00, 14:00 and 18:00. More on the transport page.

Almaty to Shymkent train, and getting to Burabay

Shymkent. The quickest train from Almaty takes from 10 h 58 min, and in November 2025 Talgo ran daily. FlyArystan also flies there.

Burabay. We found no direct Astana-Burabay trains in Yandex Schedules. You arrive via Shchuchinsk (Kurort-Borovoe station), from 2 h 28 min from Astana on selected dates as a rough guide. See Burabay National Park for the place itself.

Not verified yet We did not open KTZ’s own timetable for Turkistan, Beyneu or Aktau; those rows rest on aggregator data only.

By route: the Tashkent train and the closed crossing, why Bishkek means the bus, and trains to Alakol, Balkhash and Burabay.