Rail transport in Uzbekistan

As of March 2017, the total length of Uzbekistan's main railway network is 4,714 kilometres (2,929 mi) (2,500 kilometres (1,600 mi) of which is electrified).^[1] A large percentage of the system's track requires major repair. The main line is the portion of the Trans-Caspian railway that connects Tashkent with the Amu Darya. There are rail links with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan (see Trans-Caspian Railway), Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan. Suburban traffic only exists around Tashkent.

Uzbekistan Rail Network
Bukhara train station
Operation
National railway	Uzbek Railways
System length
Total	4,714 kilometres (2,929 mi)
Track gauge
Main	1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in)
Features
No. bridges	132
Longest bridge	Turtkul 4,065 metres (13,337 ft)
No. stations	1332
Highest elevation	1,444 metres (4,738 ft)
Map

Cargo train and OTY 2O'Z-UY electric locomotives in southeast Uzbekistan

High speed rail

The Tashkent–Bukhara high-speed rail line started operation in September 2011 after being upgraded.^[2]

Trams

Uzbekistan has one town tramway system, which is located in Samarkand. The modern, electrified system opened its first line in 2017, and is the first system to operate in Samarkand since the Soviet-era system was disestablished in 1973.

Uzbekistan is currently constructing a tram in Tashkent which is expected to be completed in 2024. The tram will be provided by French company Alstom.

International links

Uzbekistan has links to Moscow, Ufa, Chelyabinsk, Novosibirsk, Saratov, Penza and Saint Petersburg (via Kazakhstan) and Kharkiv (via Kazakhstan and Russia, it was suspended since the War in Donbas began in 2014). From Almaty connecting trains are provided to Urumchi in China. Also Tajik trains of Dushanbe-Moscow (No: 319), Moscow-Dushanbe (No: 320), Khujand-Saratov (No: 335), Khujand-Atyrau (No: 335), Saratov-Khujand (No: 336), Khujand-Moscow (No: 359), Moscow-Khujand (No: 360), Kanibadam-Bokhtar (No: 389), Bokhtar-Kanibadam (No: 389) and Atyrau-Khujand (No: 692) passes from Uzbekistan.

With only one change of trains in Moscow, passengers can travel overland from Central and Western Europe (Berlin, Cologne, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Helsinki, etc.) to Tashkent and vice versa.^[3]

The Karshi-Termez line, which extends across the border into Afghanistan, is being electrified.^[4]

In March 2018, Uzbekistan Railways began a new service, connecting Tashkent with Balykchy.^[5]

Under construction

Main article: China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway

The China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway, which started construction in 2025, aims to build 523 km of new track (50 km of which is in Uzbekistan) connecting Kashgar, China via Kyrgyzstan to Andijan.

Metro lines

The Tashkent Metro was the only such line in Central Asia, until the opening of the Almaty Metro. Last development projects are detailed in Uzbekistan Railways website.^[6]

Stats

4,714 kilometres (2,929 mi) rail network carries about 40% of total freight volume in the country, and about 4% of the total land passenger volume. Around 2,350 km of the network is currently electrified, as of 2019.^[7]

Maps

• UN Map