Introducing Uzbekistan

Of the “Five Stans” of Central Asia, I have long been writing that Uzbekistan is probably the jewel for our readers.

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have deep cultures and plenty to keep us fascinated, and all are historic key stops on the Silk Route — but Uzbekistan’s Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and the capital Tashkent draw me.

And what is particularly good for travellers is that they are connected by high-speed trains.

Uzbekistan has two primary types of fast trains: the high-speed Afrosiyob trains, which are the fastest, and the express Sharq trains.

A new fleet of high-speed trains, called Jalaladdin Manguberdi, is due to start on the Tashkent-Khiva line this year, 2026.

The Afrosiyob high-speed train is made by Spanish company Talgo. They can reach up to 250km/h. But speeds on most tracks, in practice, are lower.

They connect Tashkent and Samarkand (approximately two hours, 10 minutes), Tashkent and Bukhara (three hours, 20 minutes) and Tashkent–Karshi (just over six hours).

The public railway company of Uzbekistan, UTY, recently signed a $138 million contract with Talgo, which will maintain its six Talgo 250 trains for the next 10 years.

The “Five Stans” have become a popular package. But here we focus on Uzbekistan.