During the construction of a light rail transit (LRT) line in Almaty, workers discovered old tram rails that had been buried under asphalt for decades. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
According to journalist and local historian Konstantin Kozlov, the rails were found on Tole Bi Street, between Zheltoksan and Abylai Khan streets. A tram line operated there from the 1930s to the 1960s.
"This is a real historical artifact. How many years they lay under a layer of asphalt and soil," Kozlov said.
To support his words, he showed archival photographs showing trams actually running on this section.
The published footage shows old rails emerging from under the removed road surface. However, as the author later reported, by noon on July 15, they had already been dismantled.
The find sparked great interest among social media users. In the comments, Almaty residents recalled the city's old tram network, and some suggested preserving the found rails as part of Almaty's history.
"These old rails are made of a very strong alloy"
"Artifacts of a lost highly developed civilization"
"Wow, how many samurai swords can be made"
"They will melt them down and pass them off as new. And pocket the budget money," users write.
Earlier, Kursiv LifeStyle reported that the Almaty authorities plan to launch the first light rail transit (LRT) line by the end of 2027. Previously, the project launch was planned only for the second quarter of 2029.