The Talas branch
budding · planted 2023-05 · tended 2023-06
The Talas branch is a hundred kilometres from the junction up the valley to Talas station. It was opened in 1934. It goes through Kyzyl-Adyr, round the reservoir (not across it, the engineers of the 1960s drew it that way for a reason), then Kara-Bulak, the industrial park, Semiz, and then Talas. The ruling grade is 1.6 per cent, which means a loaded freight needs two locomotives for the last stretch and a patient driver.
The branch is the most beautiful part of the line and I have only seen it from the cab of a test run. See Kyzyl-Adyr stop.
Linked from: Kyzyl-Adyr stop