Air travel market in Kazakhstan grows 5.5 times faster than railway

In the first eight months railways were used by 13.2 million passengers, compared with just 4.6 million favouring air services in Kazakhstan (ATO.ru)

In a notable development for the Kazakhstan travel industry, passengers’ preferences are gradually shifting from rail to air. Whilst air traffic in the period from January to July of this year grew by 14.3 per cent, demand for rail travel rose by just 2.6 per cent only, reports local monitoring agency Energyprom, citing Kazakhstan’s Ministry of National Economy’s statistics.

Nevertheless, the railway remains the biggest method of travel in the country. In the first eight months of this year, railways were used by 13.2 million passengers, compared with just 4.6 million favouring air services.

But the changing trend is clearly visible: in the first seven months of 2017 air traffic surged by 21.3 per cent, whereas the rail segment picked up by just 1.5 per cent.

Demand for air and railway travel in Kazakhstan in January through July 2018 (Energyprom)

RPKs on Kazakh commercial airlines and railway in January through July 2018 (Energyprom)