Women-Only Carriages in Kazakhstan: What Has Changed After Five Years?

In 2018, two conductors aboard a Tulpar-Talgo train raped a female passenger in her compartment while she was traveling from Astana to Aktobe. The crime shocked Kazakhstan and brought the issue of women’s safety on trains into public debate. Three years later, the country’s first women-only carriages appeared on Kazakhstan’s railways. From October 1, 2026, a women-only carriage will operate between Almaty and Tashkent, crossing an international border for the first time. The international service will become the 14th route covered by the project. Over the past five years, female passengers have made more than 946,000 journeys in women-only carriages. Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), the national rail operator, cites strong demand as the reason for continuing to expand the service. But the most important indicator is missing from the publicly available statistics: whether women have actually become safer on Kazakhstan’s trains. KTZ does not publish data on harassment and violence before and after the project was introduced. The Case that Prompted Action The legal battle over the 2018 attack lasted for more than a year. The original sentences of two years and six months for one conductor and two years and three months for the other were overturned by the Kostanay Regional Court, which sent the case back for further investigation because of procedural violations. Following a retrial, Zhetes Umbetaliyev and Kolkanat Kurmaniyazov were found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison each. In February 2020, the regional court upheld the sentences. When the women-only carriage project began on October 10, 2021, it covered just two routes: Almaty-Mangystau and Almaty-Oskemen. Boys aged seven and under may travel with adult female passengers. In the booking system, these seats are marked with the letters “ZH” (ЖН), and fares are the same as for comparable seats in regular carriages. In less than three months in 2021, 13,243 women used the service. More than 114,000 did so in 2022, and by January 2026, KTZ reported that the total had risen to approximately 822,000. A Popular Initiative The Times of Central Asia asked three women in Kazakhstan what the option of traveling in a women-only carriage means to them. Raushan Otan, a 46-year-old art historian from Almaty, has already used the service. “I like the women-only carriage. When you spend several hours traveling, you feel calmer when there are only women around you. It gives you a sense of safety and additional confidence.” Samira Olzhabekova, an 18-year-old school student from Taraz, has not yet traveled in one, but says she would choose it on a future journey. “I haven’t traveled in one myself yet, but I’ve heard a lot about how convenient and nice it is. I think there could be more carriages and services like this. If I were traveling by train, I would definitely choose a women-only carriage.” Valeria Kuznetsova, a 22-year-old student from Astana, frequently travels alone. “I often travel alone, so for me this is a genuinely good initiative. When you have the option of choosing a women-only carriage, you...