To adequately meet the visitors and guests of the exhibition and provide maximum comfort to them, the city will build a new railway station. The overseer of the project is the JSC NC KTZ. Last year the company and a consortium consisting of LLP Jol zhөndeushі (Kazakhstan) and JSC Sembol (Turkey) signed a contract for construction and installation works. Given the need to commission the new station in 2017, it was decided to construct the first launch complex of the first phase. It will be built at the own expense of the KTZ. Thus, the deadline of the project’s fulfilment is 30 May 2017.

Six covered overpasses to the railway station are being designed which will allow trains to arrive inside the building. The building itself will be equipped with energy-saving lifts and escalators, as well as heat exchangers that are to heat the railway station with the help of thermal sources. Besides, it is planned to apply solar batteries and geothermic — technologies that use the heat of the soil for generating the electricity. Rainwater will be gathered for domestic needs. Constructors and projectors expect that the energy economy due to “green” technologies will be about 70%, and the railway will suit the new ecological image of Astana.

The new station is part of a multifunctional complex that includes a residential area, several business centres, hotels, schools, pre-schools and other social and cultural facilities. Commercial premises will occupy 656,032 m², and 2.8 mln m² will be allotted for housing. Business centres will occupy 507,660 m², hotels — 304,375 m², utilities and auxiliary infrastructure — 126,000 m².

Currently the construction of the complex is in a full swing in the Kazakh capital: foundation fill and pile works are completed, installation of metal constructions has begun. Architects of the project note that the district and the surroundings of the new railroad station will change: it is planned to build here modern multi-storey business centers and residential houses with developed infrastructure.

Apart from the train station, two new bus stations as well as an airport terminal will be built before 2017 for Astana to be able to accommodate the big flow of visitors expected in Astana during the EXPO-2017. Revamp works is also planned for the Astana old railway station, as well as for the stations in Almaty, Karaganda and Kokshetau.