Kazakhstan & Huawei: Fast-Tracking Autonomous Mobility for Central Asia's First LRT

Two millennia ago, Central Asia was a pivotal crossroads linking the vast Eurasian landmass. The echoes of camel bells resonated through the historic Silk Road, bustling with merchants and a constant flow of goods. Today, those echoes have faded, giving way to a sophisticated network of smart rails—seamlessly integrating passenger, logistics, business, fund, and information flows. Spearheading a fresh era of progress, Central Asia's inaugural driverless Light Rail Transit (LRT) system, the Astana LRT line, is now in motion, transporting diverse travelers to every corner of the city.

Digital and Intelligent Transportation in Kazakhstan: Dual Demand from Within and Beyond

The Astana LRT has consistently aligned with the nation's strategic vision.

Kazakhstan is strategically positioned in the heart of the Eurasian continent, uniquely landlocked at the intersection of China, Russia, Europe, and the Middle East. The capital, Astana, is rapidly urbanizing, with the population projected to surpass 1.7 million in the next 5 years. A reliable, high-capacity transportation backbone network is crucial to facilitate sustainable and efficient development.

That's why Kazakhstan is constantly intensifying the construction of its urban rail transit network. Striving to be Central Asia's digital hub, the country is dedicated to boosting transport capacity and building a smart, efficient urban rail transportation network. As per its urban development strategy, public transit usage is targeted to increase from 41% to 71% by 2030. This objective goes beyond just increasing transit capacity—it sets the stage for seamlessly incorporating logistics, data, and passenger flows into a unified network. This integration is a crucial requirement for the city's future advancement.

The Astana LRT project is a prime illustration of international cooperation on infrastructure. It demonstrates the shared benefits of strategic collaboration across borders. The project's contractor, China Railway Asia-Europe Construction Investment, utilized its worldwide turnkey engineering expertise alongside cutting-edge technical systems to effectively showcase a model of cross-border capital construction cooperation with tangible results. The project satisfies regional economic development needs and utilizes innovative construction solutions to optimize resource allocation, providing a holistic approach to enhance local transportation infrastructure.

Set to launch by the end of 2025, the Astana LRT will provide Kazakhstan's residents with a safer, more convenient, efficient, eco-friendly, and cost-effective travel option. It introduces a novel transport hub model that prioritizes both speed and hospitality, presenting a new vision for mobility across Central Asia and beyond.

Smart Network: A Must for Urban Transportation in Kazakhstan

The Astana LRT, with its 18 stations spanning a total length of 22.4 kilometers, is regarded as a significant breakthrough in improving the capital's traffic efficiency. It symbolizes the aspirations of citizens and urban progress, leading Kazakhstan to carefully select partners who prioritize speed, reliability in operations, and a passenger experience that caters to every card tap and moment of waiting. Ultimately, Kazakhstan chose Huawei and deployed its industry-leading LTE-M solution to enable intelligent online O&M throughout the train's lifecycle.

At the core of this digital and intelligent LRT technology are key features: high efficiency, low latency, robust reliability, and stability. The LTE-M solution includes two wireless networks to carry mission-critical services such as Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC), trunking dispatching, onboard Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV), and Passenger Information System (PIS). This strengthens service assurance in terms of track visualization, signal stability, automated management, and passenger experience, paving the way for the digital transformation of urban rail transit in Central Asia.

Stable, secure, and reliable signals: Huawei provides wireless base stations, core network devices, and handheld terminals to deliver wireless coverage across all scenarios, including main lines, indoor areas, and rolling stock depots. Coupled with onboard devices, Huawei built a real-time communications network connecting vehicles, ground operations, and personnel, reliably safeguarding LRT operations. By utilizing the dedicated LTE-M 1.8 GHz frequency band, the network is shielded from interference from public frequencies, which facilitates seamless handover during high-speed running. This ensures stable and reliable train-to-ground communications and cuts long-term O&M costs.

Increased automation and efficiency: Advanced automatic dispatching enables more frequent departures and vastly improves the overall operational efficiency. Currently, Huawei's datacom solution covers office automation and public Wi-Fi systems, helping employees at 18 stations and rolling stock depots work quickly and efficiently.

An improved passenger experience: The LTE-M network extends coverage to tunnels, platforms, and trains. Moving forward, the network will evolve into a reliable onboard network for passengers to fulfill their mobile office, entertainment, and Internet access needs. Built upon the LTE-M, the PIS system can accurately report station arrival notifications and real-time information, improving travel convenience and comfort.

In addition, to support sustainable urban development, the LTE-M solution has been designed with forward-looking elastic scaling interfaces. As the city expands and passenger numbers rise, the system can easily add trains, minimizing the need for costly reconstruction of existing facilities during future line upgrades. This enables a synchronized leap forward in terms of both smart capabilities and urban progress.

Currently, Astana is rising to the challenges of upgrading its urban rail transit system and has taken a decisive step forward. By leveraging Huawei's advanced digital and intelligent platform as its core, the Astana LRT project is steadily driving train-to-ground communications to evolve toward innovative technologies and applications. This guarantees reliable and stable operations of critical communications services, establishing a robust groundwork for constructing a smart and efficient urban comprehensive transportation network.

Looking ahead, as urban rail transit and AI become increasingly integrated, digital and intelligent LRT will consistently improve every travel experience—making it more efficient, comfortable, and enjoyable—while significantly elevating the overall quality of urban transportation services. This will not only meet the daily commuting requirements of citizens, but also inject powerful digital momentum into Kazakhstan's broader ambition to establish itself as Central Asia's digital hub.