Kazakhstan’s railway engineering industry currently utilizes modern automated equipment—more than 70% of production takes place in Ekibastuz, where key manufacturing facilities are located. Now, the use of CNC machines allows for the efficient and precise production of high-value-added products.

For example, machine vision detects deviations, and adjustments can be made without stopping production. At the forging and banding complex in Ekibastuz, automated quality control systems reduce the defect rate to 0.1% and improve the overall reliability of products. Just a few decades ago, this was impossible and posed a risk of significant financial losses for enterprises.

At the same time, at the plant, where every CNC machine, robot, and engineer at the control panel work in seamless coordination, all technological and production steps are linked by a single logic.

“To manufacture solid-rolled wheels, we use an entire network of interconnected machines. A sawing complex cuts steel blanks of a single size and weight. A wheel rolling mill and a press perform hot forming. Next comes the hardening of the wheels on special equipment to give them the necessary properties and strength. No one can manually move wheels weighing several hundred kilograms and heated to 1,200 degrees. “A system of chain and traction containers, transfer trolleys, and manipulators of various types is responsible for precise movement between workshops and production stages,” says Sergey Pavlinger, Chairman of the Board of the Railways Systems KZ railway holding.

Programmed systems also deliver stable and predictable results, allowing manufacturers to save metal and reduce the risk of human error even at the initial stage of cutting blanks. With this approach, plants increase productivity. For example, an automated line in Ekibastuz produces 30 wheels per hour. With a traditional approach, productivity would be cut in half.

A new automated and mechanized line has also been installed at a reinforced concrete beam production facility in Ekibastuz. However, the more sophisticated the machines become, the more important the role of the human operator becomes.

“Automation does not replace people; it replaces heavy physical labor. Today, young specialists go to the shop floor to use their minds and manage complex systems,” says Sergey Pavlinger.

To this end, Ekibastuz has its own training center where employees learn to operate robotic systems and work with digital control systems.

The results of Kazakhstan’s technological evolution are also reaching the global level. Railways Systems KZ is undergoing certification of solid-rolled wheels according to Deutsche Bahn standards. The process includes operational testing under real-world conditions.

For Kazakhstan, this marks an important milestone, especially in light of the instructions from the Head of State, who noted that “the production of higher-value-added goods for subsequent export should become more commercially viable than simply exporting raw materials.”

It should be recalled that in February 2026, the enterprises of the Railways Systems KZ holding were included in the Register of Kazakhstani Manufacturers of the Ministry of Industry and Construction. Among the holding’s enterprises included in the register are: manufacturers of solid-rolled wheels (Prommashkomplekt LLP), rolling stock (RWS Wagon, formerly ZIKSTO LLP), turnouts (Prommash.KZ LLP), rail fastening components (R.W.S. BINDING LLP), and prestressed reinforced concrete sleepers (R.W.S. Concrete LLP).

Source: Ministry of Industry and Construction of the Republic of Kazakhstan website