Kazakhstan: Stadler is moving into the next phase of developing its Astana plant, putting more than KZT 14 bln ($30.7 mln) into welding and painting shops for aluminium carbodies that are now under construction.
It will be the first aluminium carbody production of its kind in Central Asia. The capacity is being built out under long-term contracts to supply and maintain 557 passenger coaches for national operator Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ).
Stadler Kazakhstan told ROLLINGSTOCK that bringing the new shops online, together with modernisation of existing production, will lift capacity by 25% and create 100 jobs on top of the 650 already there. “Right now the Astana plant’s production capacity is 80 railcars a year,” the company said. “Once the welding and painting shops for aluminium carbodies are up and running, and we’ve modernised existing production, we plan to raise capacity to at least 100 railcars a year.” The manufacturer added that capacity could eventually rise to 150 railcars a year if further rolling stock orders come in.
Stadler Kazakhstan would not say who supplies the aluminium profiles for the carbodies, citing commercial confidentiality. ROLLINGSTOCK had specifically asked whether the supplier was France’s Constellium, whose entry into the Kazakh market KTZ’s own leadership had floated back in 2023. Stadler confirmed that Constellium is one of the strategic aluminium profile suppliers for the whole group, and that Constellium’s CEO, Ingrid Jörg, visited Kazakhstan in 2025 at the personal invitation of Stadler’s main shareholder and board chairman, Peter Spuhler, meeting representatives of Kazakhstani companies and government ministries.
The first railcars off the Astana line were built and certified in 2025. KTZ raised technical objections during acceptance, and Stadler said in June that it had fixed the braking-system issues, made further improvements, and was fully ready for the cars to be accepted. Stadler recently confirmed that the coaches have finally been accepted by KTZ, which is now working out a date for bringing them into service.
Stadler previously had aluminium carbody welding and painting capacity elsewhere on the 1,520 mm gauge network, at Fanipol in Belarus, but rolling stock production there was officially declared halted in 2022. The only other 1,520 mm gauge producer with aluminium carbody capacity is Ural Locomotives in Verkhnyaya Pyshma, Russia, part of Sinara Transport Machines.
For background: On the production of Stadler railcars in Kazakhstan: first-hand details, September 2025
