Single track

The Sary-Bulak spur

evergreen · planted 2024-05 · tended 2024-06

The Sary-Bulak spur is 39 kilometres of line that leaves the Talas branch west of Talas and climbs south and then up the Urmaral gorge to the works at the top. The engineers of the early 1960s could not take it up the Kara-Suu canyon, too steep, so they went round by the Urmaral, with a ruling grade near 3 per cent and short stretches of 4 or 5. A heavy train goes up at walking pace.

It opened in 1962, after the works of 1961. No train runs on it at present, and it is walked and inspected from time to time. See Chatkal siding.