The Almaty metro addressed criticism regarding the temporary barriers.

"When designing existing stations, the installation of platforms with sliding automatic doors was not included in the regulatory documents governing the construction of metro facilities. Amendments to these documents were only made in 2022.

We considered how to organize this process from the perspective of ensuring passenger safety. A systematic approach is necessary here, which is why the installation of platform barriers is already planned at the under-construction and designed stations," - said Almaty Metro Director Almasbek Orynbekov.

The barriers are intended to secure the space between cars and are being installed at the expense of the metro's operational budget, without the involvement of public funds. This is a temporary solution aimed at enhancing passenger safety until permanent platform screen doors are installed.

"Currently, we continue to install temporary separating structures between cars while simultaneously conducting a series of testing activities.

I saw a photo online - during a train stop, one of the barriers was shifted relative to the inter-car space. I want to clarify once again: this episode is part of the testing process. Such situations are thoroughly analyzed.

The work process continues: engineers are synchronizing the installation work with multi-stage checks to ensure the system operates effectively," - added the metro director.

According to him, first, stainless polished steel supports are installed, onto which impact-resistant tempered glass barriers will later be mounted. The completion of this work is planned for the near future.

"The process of installing automated platform barriers takes considerable time, as it requires design, technical and economic justification, funding, and the conduct of government procurement procedures. Therefore, as a temporary measure for passenger safety, temporary metal barriers are being installed," - emphasized Almasbek Orynbekov.

Recall that on January 28, we reported that the Almaty metro began installing barriers at stations to ensure passenger safety.

This measure was taken after a tragedy occurred. On December 10 of last year, a man died after falling onto the tracks in the Almaty metro.

It was later revealed that he was visually impaired. The blind society shared information about the deceased Kazakhstani in the metro.

Following this incident, Almaty akim Yerbolat Dosaev spoke about what changes would be made in the metro after the death of a person. He promised that platform turnstiles would be installed to close off the inter-car space. According to him, the work will be carried out at the beginning of 2025, and these standards will be mandatory in the design of new stations.