Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are set to launch a train on the new route from Astana to Samarkand, as reported by the press service of "Uzbekistan Railways".
In Astana, the management of JSC "Passenger Transport" (a subsidiary of "Kazakhstan Temir Zholy") and "Uzbekistan Railways" discussed the development of passenger transport during a working meeting.
As a result of the negotiations, the parties signed an agreement on the operation of tourist trains and established a working group to implement joint projects. One of the first steps in this direction was the recent launch of the tourist train "Jibek Joly".
"The parties also considered the possibility of opening new international routes, including 'Astana-Samarkand', which will be an important step in developing tourism potential," the statement said.
At Uzbekistan's suggestion, the schedule for train No. ½ "Almaty-Tashkent" was revised, making departure and arrival times more convenient for passengers, noted "Uzbekistan Railways".
In the past year, train No. ½ "Almaty-Tashkent" transported over 72,000 passengers, highlighting the high interest in the route. The distance between the two countries is 988 km.
The "Jibek Joly" railway tour is organized by the "Passenger Transport" company, which is part of "Kazakhstan Temir Zholy", in collaboration with Kazakh Tourism. The first train on this tour departed from Almaty to Tashkent for a duration of 4 days in November.
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have agreed to extend the route of the tourist train "Jibek Joly" to Samarkand. The train departed from Almaty for its second trip on January 3. More than 100 tourists will have the opportunity to visit Turkestan, Tashkent, and Samarkand, and on the return journey, Shymkent.
Earlier, Spot reported that the railway from Darbaza to Maktaaral is planned to be launched no later than 2027.