Almaty 1 railway station

Design

The exterior of the station is decorated with a mix of stained glass windows and aluminum panels. The first floor of the station houses office spaces, while the second and third floors have facilities for relaxation and dining. The passenger platforms are located in the underground levels of the station.

The Monument Alibi Zhangildinu, by sculptors Tylegen Dosmagambetov and Olga Prokopeva, features Alexander Dzhangeldinu, a popular state figure who organized the struggle to establish Soviet power in Kazakhstan, and stands outside the station in Railway Station Square.

Almaty-1 and Almaty-2 station workers live in a nearby settlement called Turksib district, founded in 1932 under former Proletarian, Kaganovichesky.

History

On July 19, 1929, the first train, a locomotive E-1441, arrived at Almaty. In 1974, this train was installed at Almaty-2 station as a monument. Almaty-1 station was built to bring high-ranking workers and foreign guests to the republic. After Turksib was founded, it brought industry to Almaty and in later years, transformed Krasnogvardeyskiy Prospekt, now named Suyunbay, into an industrial zone. It featured elevators, factories, residential construction (so-called "Finnish houses"), the Baum Stadium, and the first airfield. The first suburban train, named "Gorvetka" with nine commodities cars and one passenger car, departed from Almaty-1 station on January 25, 1930, at 2:27 am, beginning the era of public transportation in Almaty. The station served as a departure point for both industrial goods and workers. Passenger trains arrived at the station while the suburban trains went on to Almaty-2. As the production of industrial goods increased, more opportunities for work were created which brought more people to live in the area. This led to an increase of passengers at Almaty-1 station. By the late 1960s, the railway station infrastructure was unable to handle the increased flow of passengers and needed to be upgraded. Construction on the project was delayed, however, due to the authorities at the time only being allowed to build projects that cost a maximum of one million rubles.

In order to exceed this limit, permission was needed from Moscow but with this would mean that the construction project would be controlled by central authorities. State Secretary of Kazakh SSR Dinmukhamed Kunayev raised questions about the project during a state planning commission meeting and in central government. Consideration was given to expanding Almaty-2 station since Almaty-1 was located in an area of tectonic faults. However, Kunayev and the republican authorities were against the idea of a strong industrial hub in the center of the city and argued that an entire neighborhood of houses would have to be demolished to accommodate the expansion. Almaty city officials found an architect who proposed a plan for the new Almaty-1 station, taking into account the seismic stability of the building and increasing its strength. However, Moscow officials of the USSR State Committee took no interest in the expensive project and were more concerned with budget and the cost of materials. The project's final cost was two and a half million rubles and construction of the new station began in the autumn of 1969. The main contractor was Kazahtransstroy, under the leadership of Mustafa Kazybekova. Construction was carried out under the constant supervision of the republican authorities. Upon completion, the station was considered one of the most modern facilities in the Soviet Union and was described as a 'ceremonial gate' to Almaty. On May 20, 1974, during the inauguration of the completed terminal building, Mustafa Kazybekova handed over a symbolic key to the station's first chief, Rysty Kasenova. The renovation of the building was completed in 2007.