Samarkand train station

Taking the train in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan has a good rail network, and trains are the ideal way to travel between Tashkent, Samarkand, Bokhara and (since 2018) Khiva.

small bullet point  Tashkent to Samarkand, Bokhara & Khiva by train

small bullet point  How to buy train tickets for Uzbekistan

small bullet point  Useful country information

small bullet point  Hotels & accommodation

On other pages

small bullet point  London, Paris & Moscow to Tashkent by train

small bullet point  Tashkent to Almaty by train

Pictured right:  Samarkand's modern station.  Photo courtesy of Alan saunders.


Useful country information

Train operator:

http://railway.uz.  Buy tickets at 12go.asia

Time zone:

 

GMT+5 all year.

Dialling code:

 

+998

Currency:

 

£1 = approx 13,500 Som.  $1 = approx 11,200 Som.   Currency converter

Visas:

From February 2019, UK & many other western nationals no longer need a visa for stays up to 30 days.

Tourist information:

uzbekistan.travel also try www.lonelyplanet.com/uzbekistan

Travel advice:

Check with the Foreign Office's travel advice website,  www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/uzbekistan for travel advice.  They advise against all but essential travel to some parts of Uzbekistan near the Afghan border.

Page last updated:

8 January 2024


Tashkent to Samarkand & Bokhara

Taking the train is the best way to go between Tashkent, Samarkand, Bokhara & Khiva.  Here's a summary of main trains, shaded = Afrosiyob high-speed trains.

 Tashkent ► Samarkand, Bokhara, Khiva

 Train number:

780

762

760

764

770

10

54 or 76

125

766

12

56

58

72

 Days of running:

Sat, Sun

daily

daily

daily

daily

daily

daily

daily

daily

daily

Mon, Wed,

Thur, Sat

Tue,

Fri, Sun

Mon, Wed,

Fri, Sun

 Tashkent main station (North)

depart

07:00

07:28

08:00

08:23

08:59

09:09

-

-

18:45

19:00

-

-

-

 Tashkent Yuzhnyy (South)

depart

|

|

|

|

|

|

14:00

15:39

|

|

21:00

21:00

22:33

 Samarkand

arr/dep

09:08

09:36

10:08

10:43

11:07

12:28

18:04

20:05

20:53

22:19

00:56

00:56

02:20

 Bokhara

arr/dep

-

11:17

-

-

12:48

15:07

21:12

23:50

22:36

01:44

03:57

03:57

06:18

 Urganch

arr/dep

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

06:13

-

-

10:10

10:10

-

 Khiva

arrive

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

06:58

-

-

10:55

-

-

Urgench was the railhead for Khiva 35 km away, but in 2018 the railway was extended to a new station at Khiva.  The new Khiva station is only a 15 minute walk from the Itchan Khala at the heart of the city.

See detailed rail map of Uzbekistan, zoom in to see station locations & branch line to Khiva.

Trains 9, 10, 11 & 12 are the Sharq, air-conditioned, runs daily, see the photos below.

Trains 54, 55, 56, 58, 72, 126 have spalny vagon (lux) 2-berth sleepers, kupé 4-berth sleepers, some have platskartny open-plan bunks.

Trains 759 to 780 = Afrosiyob = 250 km/h high-speed air-conditioned Talgo 250 train, highly recommended, introduced 2012 & extended to/from Bokhara in 2016, with VIP class, Business class and Economy class plus a restaurant car.  See the Afrosiyob photos below.

Where two train numbers are shown, the number depends on the day of the week.

 Khiva, Bokhara, Samarkand ► Tashkent

 Train number:

765

11

763

779

769

761

759

9

54

56

58

126

 Days of running:

daily

daily

daily

Fri, Sat,

Sun

daily

daily

daily

daily

Except

Tues

Mon, Wed,

Thur, Sat

Tue, Fri,

Sun

daily

 Khiva

depart

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

16:22

-

08:28

 Urganch

arr/dep

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

18:20

18:20

10:12

 Bokhara 1

arr/dep

04:26

05:37

-

-

15:24

15:50

-

16:08

22:42

00:40

00:40

16:47

 Samarkand

arr/dep

06:08

08:31

16:08

16:40

17:07

17:33

17:58

18:46

02:13

03:40

03:40

20:20

 Tashkent Yuzhnyy (South)

arrive

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

|

06:07

07:46

07:46

00:30

 Tashkent main station (North)

arrive

08:18

12:28

18:30

18:50

19:17

19:43

20:08

22:32

 

-

-

-

How to check these train times

You can check times & days of running at the main Uzbek Railways website railway.uz (click en for English top right) or at their ticketing website e-ticket.railway.uz (change Ozbek'tili to English top right).  Or use agency site 12go.asia.  There are several other irregular trains on this route, I have only shown the main ones here.

Uzbekistan Railways has an excellent app, download for your phone.

How much does it cost? 

Tashkent - Samarkand by Afrosiyob high-speed train costs 103,000 som in Economy, 140,000 som in Business, 202,000 som in VIP.

Tashkent - Samarkand on train 9 or 10 Sharq costs 77,590 in 2nd class, 108,730 som in 1st class.

Tashkent - Bukhara by Afrosiyob high-speed train costs 171,000 som in Economy, 236,000 som in Business, 326,000 som in VIP.

Tashkent - Bukhara on train 9 or 10 Sharq costs 101,000 som in 2nd class, 146,000 in 1st class.

Tashkent - Bukhara on train 3, 7, 72, 74 costs 120,900 in platskartny, 162,300 in kupé 4-berth or 278,500 som in 2-berth Spalny Vagon (Lux).

£1 = approx 13,500 Som.  $1 = approx 11,200 Som .  Fares can be checked at railway.uz or e-ticket.railway.uz.

How to buy tickets

At the station

Security is tight, you need a passport and ticket to enter the station, and there's a security check before boarding the train.  So arrive at the station in good time!

Trains 9, 10, 11 & 12 Sharq

The Sharq train   The Sharq train

A close-up of the Sharq. Photo courtesy of Gino

 

The Sharq. Photo courtesy of Gino

Afrosiyob high-speed trains, trains 759-780

Uzbekistan's premier train, the Afrosiyob is a Spanish-designed 250km/h Talgo 250 which now links Tashkent with Samarkand in just 2½ hours.  Named after the oldest part of the ancient settlement of Samarkand, the train has VIP class (premium 1st), Business Class (1st class), Economy class (2nd class, pictured below) and a restaurant car.  VIP seats are leather and arranged 2+1 across the car width.  Business class seats are fabric, and arranged 2+1 across the car width.  Economy seats are fabric and 2+2 across the car width.  Photos courtesy of John Saunders & Gino.  In the timetable above, I have shown these premier trains as shaded.

The Afrosiyob talgo train   The Afrosiyob 250km/h train from Samarkand to Tashkent
     
Economy class seats on the Afrosiyob train   The Afrosiyob at Samarkand station.

Uzbek sleeper train

These have the usual Russian-style sleeper accommodations:  2-berth sleepers known as Spalny Vagon (SV or Lux), 4-berth sleepers known as Kupé and (on some trains) Platskartny, which consists of open-plan sleeping-berths.

4-berth sleeper   Uzbek sleeper train

A 4-berth soft sleeper on an Uzbek night train.  The train shown here is actually a weekly (and possibly seasonal) train between Bokhara and Urganch, but other trains are similar.  Photo courtesy of John Saunders.

Travellers' reports

Traveller Nigel Moores reports (2019): "We travelled by train from Andijon to Tashkent and then on to Khiva and back to Tashkent via Bukhara and Samarkand. The train service was excellent throughout. Highly recommended. Despite the long journeys only 1 of the trains was late and then only by 20 minutes. The fares are very reasonable and unless you are travelling on a really tight budget it is worth getting the best class available. The new line linking Pop and Andgren is spectacular (see attachment). We did not use the Afrosiyob trains at all because for the journeys we wanted they sold out straight away. To judge from what we saw this was due to block bookings by tour groups. As it happened the regular trains were only marginally slower, probably less cramped and a more "authentic" experience. Food and drink were available on all the trains either in a restaurant car or from enterprising vendors."

Traveller Mark Pascoe travelled from Tashkent to Samarkand on the Afrosiyob.  "As part of an official delegation visiting the country my ticket was purchased on my behalf, however I also dealt with Advantour in a personal capacity and found them to be extremely helpful and professional despite the fact that I didn't end up using their services at all. I took the 8am departure arriving at the station in plenty of time to pass through security. The train was ready early and we were able to board at around 7.30am. The train staff welcomed us on board and looked great in their winter uniforms replete with fur hats and jackets. The train was clean and pleasant and wouldn't have looked out of place in western Europe. It is of course, Spanish built, indeed it was tidier and in better condition than many TGVs I have travelled on. The seats were very spacious and comfortable with plenty of legroom and lots of overhead storage, large enough to handle bit suitcases. The journey was largely smooth and uneventful. Even in economy class we were served tea and a small snack of a banana flavour doughnut shortly after departing Tashkent, I suppose that any class of ticket on the Afrosiyob is significantly more expensive than the slow trains and. If possible, get a seat on the left hand side (if travelling west) of the train when travelling in this direction as that side of the train is flanked by impressive mountains for much of the route. The train ran to time and arrived in Samarkand on schedule - on leaving the station you will be met by plenty of touts offering taxis and tourist services."


Hotels in Uzbekistan

Find hotels at Booking.comMy favourite hotel search: www.booking.com

Booking.com is my favourite hotel booking site and I generally use it to book all my hotels in one place.  I've come to trust booking.com's review scores, you won't be disappointed with any hotel that scores 8.0 or more.  Crucially, booking.com usually lets you book with free cancellation, which means you can confirm accommodation risk-free before train booking opens and/or you can hold accommodation while you finalise your itinerary and alter your plans as they evolve - a feature I use all the time when planning a trip.  I never book hotels non-refundably!

Backpacker hostels

www.hostelworld.com:  If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about backpacker hostels.  Hostelworld offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in most cities at rock-bottom prices.


Travel insurance & other tips

 

Staysure travel insurance

 

Columbus Direct logo

Always take out travel insurance

Never travel overseas without travel insurance from a reliable insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover.  It should also cover cancellation and loss of cash and belongings, up to a sensible limit.  An annual multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip policies even for just 2 or 3 trips a year, I have an annual policy with Staysure.co.uk myself.  Here are some suggested insurers.  Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these links.

UK flag  www.staysure.co.uk offers enhanced Covid-19 protection & gets 4.7 out of 5 on Trustpilot.

UK flag  www.columbusdirect.com is also a well-know brand.

US flag  If you live in the USA try Travel Guard USA.

 

Maya.net logo

Get an eSIM with mobile data package

Don't rely on WiFi, download an eSIM with a mobile data package for the country you're visiting and stay connected.  Most newer mobile phones can download a virtual SIM card so you don't need to buy a physical SIM, including iPhone 11 & later, see device compatibility listMaya.net is a reliable eSIM data retailer with a 4.5 out of 5 Trustpilot rating and a range of packages including unlimited data.

 

Curve card

Curve card

Get a Curve card for foreign travel

Most banks give you a poor exchange rate, then add a foreign transaction fee on top.  A Curve MasterCard means no foreign transaction fees and gives you the mid-market exchange rate, at least up to a certain limit, £500 per month at time of writing.  The money you spend on your Curve card goes straight onto one of your existing debit or credit cards.

How it works:  1. Download the Curve app for iPhone or Android.  2. Enter your details & they'll send you a Curve MasterCard - they send to the UK and most European addresses.  3. Link your existing credit & debit cards to the app, you can link up to two cards with the free version of Curve, I link my normal debit card and my normal credit card.  4. Now use the Curve MasterCard to buy things online or in person or take cash from ATMs, exactly like a normal MasterCard. Curve does the currency conversion and puts the balance in your own currency onto whichever debit or credit card is currently selected in the Curve app.  You can even change your mind about which card it goes onto, within 14 days of the transaction.

I have a Curve Blue card myself, it means I can buy a coffee on a foreign station on a card without being stung by fees and lousy exchange rates, just by tapping the Curve card on their card reader.  The money goes through Curve to my normal debit card and is taken directly from my account (in fact I have the Curve card set up as payment card on Apple Pay on my iPhone, so can double-click my phone, let it do Face ID then tap the reader with the phone - even easier than digging a card out).  I get a little commission if you sign up to Curve, but I recommend it here because I think it's great.  See details, download the app and get a Curve card, they'll give you £5 cashback through that link.

 

Express VPN

Get a VPN for safe browsing.  Why you need a VPN

When you're travelling you often use free WiFi in public places which may not be secure.  A VPN encrypts your connection so it's always secure, even on unsecured WiFi.  It also means you can select the geographic location of the IP address you browse with, to get around geoblocking which a surprising number of websites apply.  See VPNs & why you need one explainedExpressVPN is a best buy with a 4.7 out of 5 Trustpilot ranking which I use myself - I've signed up as an ExpressVPN affiliate, and if you go with expressvpn.com using the links on this page, you should see a special deal, 3 months free with an annual subscription.  I get a small commission to help support this site.

 

Anker Powerrbank

Carry an Anker powerbank

Tickets, reservations, vaccination records and Interrail or Eurail passes are often held digitally on your mobile phone, so it's vital to keep it charged.  I always carry an Anker powerbank which can recharge my phone several times over if I can't get to a power outlet.  Buy from Amazon.co.uk or from Buy from Amazon.com.

 


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