Kazakhstan’s WORST Train – Terrible Ride, Beautiful Views!

Kazakhstan’s WORST Train – Terrible Ride, Beautiful Views!

on board the worst train in Kazakhstan in second-class sleeper compartment with a terrible night and terrible sounds during the day but at least with nice scenery from Karaganda to Almaty enjoy the ride! Welcome to Karaganda, the fifth most populous city in the world’s ninth-largest country, Kazakhstan. The city has an amazing Soviet-era vibe and you will find many beautiful mosaics here! It is definitely worth a visit. Today’s journey begins at Karaganda station that is owned and operated by the Kazakhstan Temir Zholy. A cute street dog came to say goodbye to us. The railway station was built in 1956 and rebuilt in 2019. There is a baggage check before entering the station. You will find a schedule board in the main hall. The ceiling has a nice decorative design. There is also a ticket office and one of two waiting rooms. Mini market open 24 hours. And another small minimarket next to the information desk. But passenger information is not in English. You will also find a couple of power sockets here. And a coffee machine. Then you can walk to the second part. Here you will find, for example, a pharmacy or a few places to sit. And another waiting room.. And this is what the exit to the platform looks like. Our train № 010C (№ 010Ц) on the Astana – Almaty route is 30 minutes late. This journey from Karaganda to Almaty in a second-class sleeper compartment cost us 30€/34$ per person. You can buy a ticket online via the QR code on the screen now, just scan it, or via the link in the video description. Another option is through the local website of Kazakh Railways. The train finally arrives with a 35-minute delay. We will be hauled with electric locomotive KZ4AC developed by Siemens Mobility and manufactured at Zhuzhou Locomotive Works and Kazakhstan Plant. And we’re going to take a ride on the Tulpar-Talgo, the so-called flagship high-speed train in Kazakhstan, which can reach speeds of 200 km/h (125mph). But we’ll see. The Tulpar-Talgo trains were built at the Tulpar-Talgo production plant located in Astana combining Kazakh engineering with Spanish technology. These trains serve various domestic routes, connecting major cities such as Almaty, Astana, Petropavlovsk, Atyrau, Aktobe, Ust-Kamenogorsk and Shymkent. Internationally, it operates between Almaty and Tashkent in Uzbekistan, which we could try, what do you think? Let us know in the comments. Tickets are checked before boarding the train. We will travel in the second-class sleeper compartment. Hope those who were sleeping didn’t have this unpleasant sound in their compartment. This compartment has 4 beds. And they are not the cleanest. Departure from Karaganda with a delay of 35 minutes at 00:51. Let’s look at today’s route map. Today’s journey will be 13h 24min long and we will cover approximately 1100km/683.5mi. The bed can be converted from the seats. And it’s already prepared. There is bed linen under the blanket. The blanket made faint static noise. But the bed is comfortable and big enough. Same for the upper bed. There is also a small net for storage and a railing so you don’t fall. You can easily install the railing yourself. And there are curtains on the window. When you turn off the lights in the compartment, several things emit light directly into your eyes, which is quite unpleasant. And then these terrible sounds! Well, that wasn’t exactly the best night we spent on the train. You will see later what all the sounds were like all night long and during the entire ride. Saryshagan train station with 1h and 14min delay at 06:21. Stop for 15 minutes. Another annoying thing are these big stickers in the middle of the window. The beautiful sunrise is beginning! So we’re going to enjoy the sunrise with these sounds… Now we will ride along the Lake Balkhash. The lake currently covers about 16,400 km2 (6,300 sq mi). However, like the Aral Sea, it is shrinking due to diversion and extraction of water from its feeders. It is one of the largest lakes in Asia and the 15th largest in the world. All the rivers of this region that carry their waters from high mountains flow into Lake Balkhash, however, none of them flows out. The lake’s max. depth is 26m (85 ft). You can’t even imagine how much we would rather be on this train than on this Talgo! Despite the unpleasant sounds, the rough ride, and those 5 stickers on the window, the interior is modern and the beds are comfortable. We have a table in the middle by the window and each bed also has a small reading lamp. Also a few small extra storage spaces and coat hooks. There is only one power socket for 4 people. And above the window are these phosphorescent markings that emit light directly into your eyes when the lights in the compartment are off, as you could already see. There is storage space above the doors and upper beds. There is a large mirror on the door. Next to the door is a small trash can and light controls. The door has a magnet that prevents it from closing on its own. And they can be locked from the inside. There is also a ladder to the upper bed. And then all these stickers on the window… Support the channel and get access to ad-free videos, early access to every new video, and more! Become a channel member or join us on Patreon. Click the link above now or bellow any video. Thank you! Chu River. Shu station with a delay of 1 hour and 17 minutes at 10:10. Stop for 37 minutes. The locomotive will also be replaced here. So let’s go get some fresh air. You will find many vendors right in front of the train. Just hope your fellow traveler doesn’t buy that fish because it happened to us once… Shu serves as a significant transportation nexus in southern Kazakhstan and northern Kyrgyzstan. It marks the junction of the east-west Turkestan–Siberia Railway and the north-south line connecting to Astana and Petropavlovsk. It is also an important stop for people traveling to Kyrgyzstan. Would you like a video from Kyrgyzstan? Let us know in the comments. We are really not fans of the Talgo train, it doesn’t even look nice compared to the classic older trains that run in Kazakhstan. Also, this is just a sticker! Watch our previous video to see what this symbol should look like! This one wheel is one of the reasons why Talgo makes such annoying irregular noises and has lost the charm of classic train sounds… Let’s take a quick look at our compartment while it’s empty. Second-class sleeper compartment. And a small reading lamp. Departure from Shu with a delay of 1h and 14min at 10:44. Now let’s take a look at the toilet. It is easily lockable from the inside. And everything looks clean. But there are no paper towels here. Water only worked like this. At least there was soap. There is also a power socket. The good thing is that there is an extra sink in the corridor. And the carriage also has hot and cold drinking water. Various information and also the timetable of this train. Next, there is a screen with current information. And not only do you hear anoying sounds in your own compartment from the wheels, other sounds are also made by various components inside the train. This is second-class seating. With a small storage space at the end of the carriage. And there is also drinking water here. You often find these huge water containers randomly on the floor. Now let’s look at the restaurant car. One part is a bar where you can sit like this. And this is an actual restaurant car. It looks nice actually, like the curtains and the orange color. On-board menu. You can enjoy your meal with sounds like someone slamming a hammer into a train… And as we are finally approaching Almaty, it is time to hand over the bed linen. For some reason the train doesn’t stop at Almaty-1 station, it just passes through it. We miss those classic trains! Arrival at Almaty-2 station with a 1h 35min delay at 15:20. Well, that was a terrible ride. This is another good example that just because a train is new doesn’t mean it’s better than the old one. Terrible unrhythmic sounds because of one wheel for two carriages during the whole journey, sounds of components in the train as if they were going to fall apart. You had the feeling that the train had no suspension, it felt really hard. Window stickers + phosphor and other luminous markings emit light directly into your eyes when you want to sleep. And what’s the worst? On some routes you can’t avoid this train because there’s only this Talgo. And that’s exactly what happened to us, so we tried at least other classes, so subscribe our channel if you want to know if it’s better or even worse. What do you think about Talgo in Kazakhstan? Let us know in the comments. We’re curious! Next time, at least platzkart please! You can often see this in Kazakhstan on platforms, try those huge apples, they are great! Welcome to Almaty-2 station. It is one of the oldest railway stations located in Almaty. Opened in 1939 and rebuilt in 1977. You will find this beautiful mosaic next to the ticket office. We hope you enjoyed the video, let us know in the comments what you think about the Talgo train? Don’t forget to like, share and subscribe to the channel so you don’t miss new videos. We publish new videos every week! Thank you and see you in the next video.

Hello from Kazakhstan! 🇰🇿 Today, we’re aboard the worst train in Kazakhstan — and yes, it’s the Talgo! Despite its reputation as the country’s modern, high-speed option, this Talgo train from Astana to Karaganda turned out to be a major disappointment.
From loud, terrible sounds to feeling every bump and jolt — like there was no suspension on the train at all — this was far from the comfortable ride we expected.
But not all was lost. The scenic train journey through Kazakhstan’s endless steppe and small towns still delivered moments of beauty along the way.

In this video, you’ll experience what it’s really like on the Talgo train in Kazakhstan, unexpected downsides of the country’s “premium” sleeper train, raw, honest train travel in Kazakhstan and scenic views that still made the Kazakhstan train journey memorable.
Enjoy the ride on the worst train in Kazakhstan!

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▬▬▬▬▬▬ Trip information ▬▬▬▬▬▬
Departure from: Karaganda
Arrival to: Almaty
Travel time: 13h 24min (+1h 35min delay)
Ticket fare: 30€ / 34$
Distance (approx.): 1100km / 683,5mi
Railway company: Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ)
Train: № 010C (№ 010Ц) Tulpar Talgo
Carriage class: Second-class sleeper compartment
Trip date: October 2024

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▬▬▬▬▬▬ Video chapters ▬▬▬▬▬▬
00:00 – Intro
00:30 – Karaganda, Kazakhstan
00:43 – Karaganda train station
02:42 – Tickets informations
03:09 – Kazakhstan’s worst train
04:35 – Departure from Karaganda
04:43 – Route map
07:05 – Saryshagan train station
09:35 – Second-class sleeper in Tulpar Talgo
11:04 – Support the channel
12:43 – Shu train station
14:26 – Toilet check
15:59 – Walkthrough of Kazakhstan’s worst train
19:00 – Arrival in Almaty
19:05 – Conclusion
19:51 – Tulpar Talgo in Kazakhstan
20:20 – Almaty 2 train station
21:02 – Almaty, Kazakhstan
21:13 – Outro

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