Almaty Subway Line tested For First Time

    The first line of the long-awaited Almaty subway has been through its inaugural test, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports.
    Almaty Akim Akhmetzhan Yesimov, other city officials, and journalists traveled on the first subway to navigate the 9-kilometer line from the Raiymbek avenue to Alatau Station at Abay Ave. and Gagarina st..
    Yesimov said after the journey that construction on the line's first six stations will be finished by the end of the year. The seventh station -- Baikonur -- is due to be ready next year.
    The akim added that the first subway line will open for use by December 2011, in time for the 20th anniversary of Kazakhstan's independence.
    Work on the Almaty subway began in 1988 when Kazakhstan was a Soviet republic but was suspended in the 1990s due to economic constraints.
    Construction of the subway in the mountainous Almaty region was also slowed by difficult geological conditions.
    The trains for the Almaty subway were designed and produced by the South Korean company Hyundai, according to RFE/RL.