The vast territory of Kazakhstan spans across 2,700,000 km2 (1,000,000 sq mi). Kazakhstan Government has elaborated and approved Strategy of Transport Sector Development of up to 2015; the amount of investments required for construction of respective infrastructure within the 10 years will make up USD 26 billion. Ultimate goal of the Transport Strategy is to ensure progressive development of transportation and communications complex in line with economic strategy of the state. The Strategy covers 2006-2015 and is supposed to be implemented in two stages: 1st stage – 2006-2011, 2nd stage – 2011-2015.Most cities are connected by railroad; high-speed trains go from Almaty (the southernmost city) to Petropavl (the northernmost city) in about 18 hours.In 2009 the European Commission blacklisted all Kazakh air carriers with a sole exception of Air Astana. Since then, Kazakhstan has consistently taken measures to modernize and revamp its air safety oversight. In 2016 the European air safety authorities removed all Kazakh airlines from the blacklist and there was “sufficient evidence of compliance” with international standards by Kazakh Airlines and the Civil Aviation Committee.