24 HOURS on Kazakhstan’s OLDEST Night Train…

The scenery and being shunted over for every train that is nearby reminds me of my Amtrak trip from Chicago to Seattle last February.

There´s always a special cozy charm in those old soviet night trains that one can´t find in more modern ones...

On my student language trip to Russia in 1987 we took trains from Helsinki to Moscow, Moscow to Kharkov and again to Kiev, and then back, Kiev to Helsinki. I'm pretty sure you were in the same carriage 😂. Nice to see how well they held up! I enjoyed your video

"Apples are a local specialty in Almaty" that's actually where the name Almaty comes from! Aлма/Alma is the Kazakh word for apple, and Almaty means "full of apples"! The wild Malus sieversii is considered the ancestor of the modern domestic apple and it is native to southern Kazakhstan! That aside, I can totally picture Bald & Bankrupt saying "Soviet station, Soviet train, Soviet toilet" while watching this 😂Love how much the Kazakhs embrace their cool culture and how it's reflected on not just their gorgeous flag but also the tiling at Almaty-1 station! And honestly as a history buff, I get this journey on a Soviet train might be torture for some, but for someone like me, I enjoy and respect the charm and it's still an experience at the end of the day

Only ten minutes late for such a long journey. The whole thing seems to be quite well organized. These old Ammendorf carriages still do their job!

The renaming from Nur-Sultan to Astana is more of a re-renaming! The city became the capital in 1997, and Astana was the name given to it in 1998. It became Nur-Sultan in 2019 after Nursultan Nazarbayev retired. But as the country became more open about Nazarbayev’s legacy, they chose to change it back to Astana. four tickets so you could have it to yourself is quite the power move! When it comes to our own rail network, while pretty much all our electric locomotives are made in-house, our diesel locomotives were made in either China or the former Soviet Union. Even we have German rolling stock as our Pyongyang Metro is famous for having Berlin U-Bahn rolling stock, but recently we’ve also built a metro train in-house.

Ah, Kazakhstan! I had nearly a year working in Almaty 16 years ago - fascinating place that I didn't make the most of....... I didn't use public transport at all, though, walked evertywhere after a couple of colleagues had distressing experiences in taxis. Nur-Sultan was called Astana in those days too, I hadn't realized it had reverted. At that time the country was described as being the size of Western Europe with a population the size of the Netherlands. I also ate horsemeat a few times, including once in a pastie about twice the size of Ginster's finest - and very tasty it was too! Great video that brought back some bittersweet memories. Thanks.

I rode the train through Kazakhstan this winter, and caught this wonderful weather like in the video. it's one of the best sceneries I've seen in my life, endless icy desert, sparse Kazakh villages, bright sun shining through your window. The views from the train window in real life are even more impressive. It's -30 outside and a mouth is steaming, so my thermos is cracked from the pressure difference.

Well, not the worst experience for sure. If you want real extreme, ride one of Tajik or Uzbek trains to Moscow where most of the occupants are season workers. The new coach you were in is not built but assembled by Tulkar-Talgo using TVZ (Russian coach and EMU manufacturer) parts. Pretty good one even if not very comfortable when it's hot outside.

Man a great video. Unlike many rail YouTubers (including more famous ones) you really seem to put a lot of effort into meeting locals and trying to communicate in their languages. And you do some sketchy places.

Honestly this didn't look that bad apart from the toilets and lack of wall outlets, but like the latter is to be expected on such an old carriage. Apart from that it seemed quite comfy and if you can just make do without some modern amenities and prepare a bit it seems like a perfectly comfortable ride. I mean it's certainly more comfortable than most hostels in Europe. Also the staff seemed really friendly though that probably isn't gaurenteed. They might be old carriages but they were clearly built to a decent level of comfort back then and that holds up.

Reminded me of a long holiday journey I did in 1996, in rolling stock of that type, from Beijing to Brussel Midi, via Ulan Bator, Irkustk, Yekaterinburg, and Moscow. Diesel hauled from Beijing as far as the Trans Siberian route, which was electrified all the way west. The gauge change method between China and Mongolia was quite dramatic, with us being on board while they changed all the bogies inside the workshop from standard to Russian. An awful lot of manual labour to remove each one from the side and insert the other. By way of contrast, the system used between Belarus and Poland was a bit more modern, with long cable laid out so that the whole set could be pulled out in one move, with the others being dropped off at each carriage in a similar fashion.

I love it how much patience you have. You also almost never moan or complain and I never hear you talking badly or down even about some of really old train's you traveled with. Clearly person who enjoys their journeys and train rides ❤

I remember on the express train overnight in Kazakhstan once when on the new Talgo carriages and the "restaurant car" mentioned had a lovely comprehensive and cheap menu....but nothing was really available! I think there was one choice for meat eaters and for vegetarians like me I got served a Kit Kat chocolate bar, on a silver plate, under a silver cover. The best thing about the old Soviet style carriages is the space on them - I've spent overnight journeys on them in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia and Ukraine, always a great way to travel. Really enjoyed the video.

It's clearly happy to see my town! 10:26 , Thanks for showing it off! And calling it with its name properly, hehe. If you travel again, please visit this small town! I'll be always welcome to show you my town off!! +1 new subscriber!! :face-red-heart-shape:

Kazakhstan is a very under-rated country as is Ubekistan to the South, I must say that I like the way you explain everything including the stations and the trains, keep up the good work

Great trip and would like to see the newer trains after traveling in the oldest Look forward to your trips and a few others on YouTube a great way to see the world.

I have experience with the Russian built sleepers in Ukraine, it was a TVZ built carriage built somewhere in the 1980s or 90s and that one was already equipped with a vacuum toilet. The beds are very comfy indeed and suited for tall people thanks to the more generous loading gauge on the Russian broad gauge, it means that carriages can be wider as those in Europe and even the US. Having only some sockets in the corridor is a drawback, but as we were on a privately chartered train leaving your charging appliance alone was not a huge issue, but I can imagine that leaving your phone or camera unattended on a public service is not recommendable.

I love the Soviet era carriages built in former East Germany but I also understand that it could be a challenge to survive it for 24 hours with 3 other people in the same compartment. I would like to try it though but maybe not for an overnight trip. Rather, for a 4 to 5 hours day trip. I'm planning a trip to Central Asia this summer, so I can't wait to try different trains there. Thank you for the great video!

really a charming view of the city, you can also see the cleanliness of the city and the bustle of people passing by with activities that make me want to have a vacation there. thank you for introducing such a beautiful city to us. Greetings Green Village from Indonesia :)