A meeting was held at the Ministry of Transport to discuss problematic issues regarding railway passenger transportation.
According to the press service of Antikor, the event was attended by representatives of the agency, the Ministry of Transport, the committees for railway and water transport, sanitary and epidemiological control, JSC "National Company "Kazakhstan Temir Zholy" (KTZ) and the "Association of Railway Transport Carriers for Socially Significant Routes".
The meeting discussed existing violations in the passenger transport subsidy system.
"Special attention was paid to issues concerning certain private carriers who, despite significant income from state support, do not ensure the proper quality of the services provided. This leads to numerous passenger complaints about the sanitary and technical condition of the carriages", the statement said.
Furthermore, problems such as a shortage of tickets and regular train delays were noted. Antikor made recommendations to eliminate the violations.
"Following the meeting, the Agency proposed revising the methodology for calculating subsidies, working on the digitalisation of the subsidy system, ensuring effective monitoring and control (audio-video recording of train inspections, establishing criteria for assessing service quality and a system of fines), conducting audits of carrier companies, and increasing the share of new carriages", the statement said.
It should be recalled that in May, the court of the Beimbet Mailin district announced a sentence against officials of KTZ in the Kostanay region. They were found guilty of stealing diesel fuel and funds allocated for the repair of a railway crane, totalling 12 million tenge.
At the beginning of November, it was reported that a verdict was passed in Astana against the former head of the automation and digitalisation directorate of JSC "NC "KTZ". He was accused of using his official powers to obtain benefits and advantages for himself and others, which caused serious consequences for the organisation (Article 361, Part 4, Clause 3 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan).
Later, in the Aktobe region, the head of the Zhem operational locomotive depot of the "Batys" branch of LLP "KTZ-Freight Transportation" and his subordinate were convicted. He was found guilty of receiving a bribe amounting to 1.5 million tenge through an intermediary – the human resources manager of the locomotive depot.