Russian Railways to resume direct service between Moscow and Alma Ata in October

Direct rail service between Moscow and Alma Ata will resume on October 26 after an eight-year hiatus. This was announced on October 23 by the Russian Railways press service in the Telegram channel.

"In agreement with Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, we are resuming direct rail service between Moscow and Almaty," the message says.

The first train will depart from Alma Ata on October 26 at 20:00 local time (22:00 Moscow time - Ed.) as part of train No. 7/8 Almaty-Saratov.

Departure from Moscow will begin on October 30 at 19:27 as part of train No. 85/86 Moscow-Derbent. The route includes stops in Taraz, Shymkent, Kyzylorda, Aktobe, Uralsk, Saratov, Rtishchevo, Tambov, Michurinsk, Ryazan and other cities.

Direct rail service between Alma Ata and Moscow was suspended in 2017.

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Earlier, on October 22, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov praised the dynamics of the development of relations between Russia and Kazakhstan. He added that the ministers paid special attention to the preparation of the state visit of Kazakh leader Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Russia, scheduled for November 12. Lavrov recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin had visited Astana a year earlier.

On October 14, the Kremlin's website reported that during a conversation with Tokayev, Putin discussed issues of cooperation between the two countries in the context of preparations for the Kazakh leader's state visit to Russia. The practical aspects of strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries were also touched upon.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.