Uzbekistan is a state in Central Asia, one of the former republics of the Soviet Union. The country has a fairly developed railway network. In our article we will talk about the history of development and the current state of the railways of Uzbekistan. In addition, you will learn about the features and types of passenger trains running in this exotic Central Asian country.
Railways of Uzbekistan: general information
The Republic of Uzbekistan is located in Central Asia, between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers. From west to east, it stretches for more than 1, 400 kilometers. The climatic conditions of this country can hardly be called favorable: most of its territory is unsuitable for human life.
Significant seasonal temperature differences, a difficult terrain and an abundance of deserts significantly complicate the development of the Uzbek land and the creation of any kind of transport infrastructure. Nevertheless, Uzbekistan takes the 37th place in the world and the 5th place in the post-Soviet space (after Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus) in terms of the total length of railways.
National Railways of Uzbekistan (Uzbekistan Temir Yollari JSC) is an autonomous railway enterprise operating since 1994. Today, he submits about 7, 000 kilometers of railways in the country, as well as the Tashkent metro system. In total, the company employs over 70 thousand employees.
The country has the charter of the railway of the Republic of Uzbekistan (adopted in October 2008). This document lists the rights and obligations of the enterprise and passengers, regulates the procedure for drafting various agreements, defines the key rules for freight and passenger transportation.
History reference
The railway to Uzbekistan came relatively late - only in the late 1880s. It all started with the laying of the Trans-Caspian railway, which was of extremely strategic importance for the Russian Empire. A quarter of its length falls on the territory of modern Uzbekistan.
The first train crossed the current borders of an independent state in 1888. And only ten years later, the railway was laid to its capital. What is curious, it was in Tashkent that the management of the entire Central Asian railway was located during the Soviet era. It was from here that the work of the railway networks of all the Central Asian Soviet republics was supervised.
Strange as it may seem, a new impetus in the development of the railway network of this country came in the period after the collapse of the Soviet Union. So, from 1993 to 2017, 19 new railway lines were built on the territory of Uzbekistan. Among them - a high-speed railway with a length of 780 kilometers, connecting the country's largest cities - Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, Karshi and Navoi.
Republic Railways Map
The total length of the railways of Uzbekistan, as of 2018, exceeds 7 thousand kilometers. About 2500 km of them are electrified. The constant updating of tracks and the purchase of modern rolling stock allows electric locomotives to develop a rather impressive speed (up to 150 km / h).
If you look at the map of the country's railways (see below), you can see that the greatest network density is characteristic of the southern and eastern regions of the republic. After all, it is here that the bulk of the population of Uzbekistan is concentrated. At the same time, the busiest passenger traffic is observed on the section “Tashkent - Samarkand”. No less intense train traffic is typical for the Tashkent – Bukhara and Samarkand – Bukhara routes.
The largest railway junctions in Uzbekistan are such cities as Tashkent, Samarkand, Navoi, Termez, Nukus and Andijan.
Rolling stock
Uzbekistan Temir Yollari JSC has at its disposal a fairly decent fleet of passenger trains that make dozens of flights daily. Among them, in addition to the old Soviet structures:
- Afrosiab high-speed express trains.
- Branded Sharq Express.
- Electric trains "Nasaf".
- Branded night trains (cars are equipped with berths).
- Tourist trains "Afson" (run irregularly).
Comfortable and high-speed trains “Sharq” and “Afrosiab” connect the main cities of the country, carrying out regular flights to Bukhara and Samarkand from Tashkent. The pride of the republic’s transport system is Spanish-made Afrosiab trains, capable of speeds up to 250 km / h. One such train includes nine passenger cars and is designed to carry 257 people. Afrosiab express travels from Tashkent to Samarkand in just two hours.
