A light rail train runs on the first day of its operation in Astana, Kazakhstan, May 16, 2026. [Kazakhstan's presidential press service/Handout via Xinhua]
When the first phase of Astana's light rail transit system opened on May 16, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took a ride on the new line and expressed thanks to the Chinese government and Chinese builders in Chinese, quoting the ancient proverb, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step".
"I felt very proud," said Ji Chenglong, executive manager of the Astana light rail transit project at China Construction Sixth Engineering Bureau Co.
Ji arrived in Astana with his team in July 2023. Working through winter temperatures as low as — 40 C, they adapted materials and construction methods to local conditions and overcame the challenges of building an urban rail system in extreme cold.
The project applied Chinese standards and technologies across design, construction, equipment and operations, including fully automated self-driving trains and intelligent dispatching.
