AI on rails: KTZ presented its IT strategy until 2030 at AI & Digital Bridge

02-10-2026

Zhanna Akzhanova, Managing Director for Digitalization at JSC "NC "Kazakhstan Temir Zholy," spoke at the Digital Bridge international forum during the panel session "AI on Rails: Creating the Railway of the Future." In her report, she emphasized Kazakhstan's strategic role as a key transit hub in Eurasia and identified AI as a critical driver for the development of the transport industry.

Kazakhstan is located in the very center of Eurasia and serves as a key transit hub between Asia and Europe. Strategic routes of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) and key China-Europe directions pass through the country's railway network. Against the backdrop of a constant growth in transportation volumes, shippers' requirements for the speed, transparency, and predictability of delivery are also increasing.

"Meeting these requirements solely by constructing new tracks and purchasing rolling stock is impossible. The railway generates a massive volume of data: on track conditions, train movements, and the performance of locomotives, wagons, and cargo. Value appears when this data is transformed into decisions—quickly and accurately. Therefore, for us, artificial intelligence is not an experiment for the sake of a trend, but a working tool," Zhanna Akzhanova noted.

The foundation of this large-scale effort is KTZ's approved IT strategy until 2030, the key goal of which is the formation of a unified digital ecosystem for the company. In the process of its implementation, the KTZ team operates on four fundamental principles:

1. Data as a strategic asset. The company is building a unified data warehouse (Data Warehouse), where all critical information from key corporate systems flows in real time.
    
2. Unified platforms instead of fragmented solutions. KTZ is moving away from patchwork automation in favor of creating end-to-end platform ecosystems.
    
3. Information security at every level. Reliable protection of the IT perimeter and data confidentiality are mandatory requirements for any implemented service.
    
4. The human at the center of technology. For KTZ, this is the most important priority. Artificial intelligence does not replace a human but acts as a powerful assistant that enhances the capabilities of specialized experts and frees them from routine tasks.

The pool of ongoing IT projects utilizing AI is aimed at the comprehensive optimization of KTZ's business processes across the entire value chain:

• Railway infrastructure: Monitoring and predictive analysis of track conditions to prevent emergency situations.
   
• Transportation process: Intelligent route planning, optimization of train movements, and reduction of travel times.
   
• Corporate functions: Automation of routine processes, intelligent document management, and HR services.
   
• Management decision support: Big data analytics for precise strategic planning and forecasting of transportation demand.
   

The implementation of AI allows KTZ to qualitatively change the standards of reliability and transit speed across the entire Eurasian continent, providing its partners with an unprecedented level of logistics chain transparency.

Press service of JSC «NC«Kazakhstan Temir Zholy»