Lines and stations
About 690 km of single-track, unelectrified line of the Russian gauge (1,520 mm), built in the Soviet period. Nurzhan is the main junction. No line reaches Iyık Janyl, the Lower Naryn District or the Autonomous Tribal Regions.
| Line | km | Route |
|---|---|---|
| Chu line | 229 | Nurzhan – across the Chu plain and round the west end of the Kyrgyz Range – Aulie-Ata Junction Part of the Turksib; train No. 1/2 and the suburban trains |
| Kara-Buura line | 145 | Aulie-Ata Junction – Talas North Terminal Freight to Shymkent: antimony, lint, beef |
| Talas branch | 100 | Aulie-Ata Junction – Kyzyl-Adyr – Kara-Bulak – Talas Opened 1934; ruling grade 1.6% |
| North line | 129 | Nurzhan – Freight Depot – Nurzhan rail border station Turksib towards Otar and Almaty; trains exchanged with Kazakhstan |
| East line | 43 | Nurzhan – Boz-Korgon No passenger service |
| Sary-Bulak spur | 39 | Turnout west of Talas – Urmaral gorge – Ak-Bulak – Sary-Bulak works Opened 1962; grades up to 3%, short stretches of 4–5% |
| Chatkal siding | 6 | Urmaral gorge – Chatkal antimony mill Freight only |
Main stations
Nurzhan (Nurzhan temir jol vokzaly), a few hundred metres south-west of the city centre, is the junction of the Chu, north and east lines and the seat of the enterprise. Suburban trains start here. A memorial at the edge of the yards, unveiled in 2007, marks where Korean families deported in 1937 were set down.
Talas (Talas temir jol vokzaly), the terminus of the Talas branch, is about 1.4 km south of the central square, across the river. The line runs east–west through the southern districts of the city, with yards and industrial land along it. Kara-Bulak serves the grain depot of the middle valley and is a market for fodder.
