Review of the Afrosiyob high-speed train from Samarkand to Tashkent
Train: Afrosiyob, Uzbekistan
- Route Samarkand to Tashkent
- Distance 300km
- Operator Uzbek Railways
- Class economy class
- Frequency Up to 10 times a day
journey
From Samarkand to Tashkent with Uzbek Railways’ high-speed Afrosiyob service with eight vehicles. It is the fastest train in the country, reaching speeds of up to 250 km per hour with a scheduled duration of two hours and 20 minutes. The entire Afrosiyob service runs between Tashkent and Bukhara (it takes about four hours). An expansion to Khiva is expected to open this year.
Armchair
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Afrosiyob are Spanish-made Talgo high-speed trains, and the service has three classes: VIP carriage with leather seats, business class (26 seats per carriage) and economy (36 seats per carriage). Economy seats are 2-2 and each booking assigns you one seat. Every seat has a USB charging point, and there are TV screens on the ceiling (this is my first brush with the kitsch reality TV show). Bollywood War) and built-in Wi-Fi. Even though the Wi-Fi login page has three language options, it insists that instructions be given only in Russian, so I settle for the gorgeous barren desert landscape instead.
boarding
You don’t hit the road with insufficient caffeine. Samarkand’s tiny train station, with its magnificent chandeliers and stained-glass round windows, has six coffee stalls (and three souvenir shops if you haven’t done enough shopping in the city). There is only one doorway to board and I take my cues from the crowd; As the others head for the door, I do the same. A station attendant was assigned to check tickets, but he waved me over before I could scan my ticket’s QR code. Cars for passengers on the platform are necessarily numbered. It’s easy.
luggage
There is no need for deficiency. There is a 36 kilogram weight limit on luggage and no specification on the number of items; Also, there is no one to control it. Each car has storage areas at the ends for larger bags and luggage racks for smaller items.
food + drink
Fares between Samarkand and Tashkent also include a snack (oddly, there is no such policy, as the journey between Samarkand and Bukhara is not much shorter). I was handed a white paper bag containing a jam-filled pastry and a three-in-one coffee bag – if milky, super sweet coffee isn’t your cup of Joe (though you can order tea from the drive-through), stay away now. We’ve barely left the station before food vendors pass by the wagon selling barrels of fruit salad, ice cream and local mojitos – celebrate, these mojitos are non-alcoholic fruit juices with basil and ice, just a tonic on this day when it’s 36 degrees in Samarkand and 39 degrees in Bukhara. There’s also a food cart (without seating) that sells food like Pringles, Oreos, pancake rolls, bottled beer, and canned plov, a strange but very local Uzbek pilaf. I wasn’t ready to try this.
One more thing
It is very easy to reach Samarkand’s train station; The city’s tram system reopened in 2017 after Soviet-era lines were closed in 1973. To the chagrin of Tashkent residents, trams that previously operated on the city’s defunct system are being used. Tram 2 runs to the station from the Siyob Bazaar market next to the Bibi Khanym Mosque, a popular tourist attraction.
Decision
It has everything you expect from a European high-speed train, and in the Central Asian desert. It departs exactly on time, minute by minute, and reaches Tashkent at the same time, accompanied by a magnificent desert sunset along the way. There is plenty of space and snacks are just right considering the desert temperatures. If you don’t like your coffee black and unsweetened, it’s pretty perfect.
Our rating out of five
★★★★
The author was a guest of World Expeditions. worldexpeditions.com
Andrew Bain is a Hobart-based writer and writer who has been writing about travel and adventure for over 25 years, often feeling at home outdoors and in remote places.
