Almaty residents share footage of overcrowded metro on September 1
Tengrinews.kz – Videos showing crowds of passengers in the Almaty metro have appeared on social media. A large gathering of people was filmed at the entrance to Baurzhan Momyshuly station. Tengrinews.kz found out how many people used the metro on September 1.
“Qosh keldin, Qyrkuyek”: what happened
The video appeared on social media on the morning of September 1. The footage shows a large crowd of people at the entrance to the metro — passengers are standing tightly packed and cannot move further toward the trains.
“Metro. Qosh keldin, qyrkuyek” (“Metro. Welcome, September”), the author captioned the video.
In the comments, Almaty residents discussed the influx of passengers. Some wondered what would happen after new stations open.
“What will happen when Kalkaman station opens? People won’t be able to get into the metro at all — it’s already this crowded,” one user wrote.
Footage from a video by Threads user @_suretter__
Others recalled the recent call by city authorities to use public transport more often.
“The akimat asked people to use public transport,” one commenter wrote.
In the comments, Almaty residents compared what they saw to the metro systems in Istanbul and Japan, while someone joked that Almaty had turned into Mumbai.
How many people used the metro
The metro told Tengrinews.kz that with the start of the academic year, passenger traffic traditionally increases by about two times.
“This is due to the return of schoolchildren and students from summer holidays, the return of residents and passengers coming from suburban areas to the city, as well as an increase in the number of traffic jams in the city in September,” the metro said.
Another reason for the large crowds is September traffic congestion. According to the metro, many Almaty residents use the metro to avoid sitting in traffic jams.
“Yesterday alone, compared with the previous week, the number of passengers increased by about 5,500 people. A further increase in passenger traffic is expected in September,” the municipal enterprise said.
Metro was promised to be reinforced by September 1
Earlier, the akimat warned that with the start of the academic year, the load on Almaty’s roads and public transport would increase significantly.
In the first two weeks of September, the authorities promised to strengthen public transport services. In particular, the number of trains in the metro was planned to be increased from 11 to 13, while the interval between trains in the morning hours was to be reduced to three minutes.
In addition, about 500 reserve buses were expected to be added to routes. Residents were also urged, where possible, to avoid unnecessary trips by private car and use public transport.