On September 20, 1954, the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted Resolution No. 1985 "On the construction of narrow-gauge railway lines in the areas of virgin and fallow lands development" in the Kazakh SSR and in a number of adjacent regions. The design of most of the facilities was entrusted to Lengiprotrans.
Almost immediately, the staff of the institute started designing the meridional highway Kurgan — Sula — Peski — Takhtabrod — Barakkul — Atbasar. The road was designed as a narrow-gauge one.
In 1954, preliminary and final surveys were carried out at the head section of the Kurgan — Sula highway. In the course of this, the following were designed: subgrade, artificial structures, communication lines and track development of the junction station. In the same year, working drawings were handed over for construction.
On March 1, 1955, the project was approved. However, 10 days later, the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 458 was issued on the construction of the Kurgan — Peski railway as a broad-gauge instead of a narrow-gauge. In this regard, the project was revised and submitted for approval on April 30, 1955. The Ministry of Railways of the USSR (Ministry of Railways of the USSR) approved it on October 31, 1955. During the year, the Lengiprotrans expedition issued working drawings for normal track conditions.
In the next section of the Sula-Peski highway, the final surveys and design were carried out in 1955 already under the conditions of a wide gauge. The USSR Ministry of Railways approved the design assignment on November 28, 1955.
The construction of the entire Kurgan — Sula — Peski section was carried out at an accelerated pace, it was completed in a short time. The next section Peski — Takhtabrod was supposed to connect the line with the southern part of the Kurgan — Atbasar highway, but its construction was deemed inexpedient, and the transportation of grain crops in the Peski — Takhtabrod area was assigned to road transport.
