Train: Afrosiyab, Uzbekistan
- The way Samarkand to Tashkent
- The distance 300 km
- Operator Railways of Uzbekistan
- Class Economy class
- Round Up to 10 times a day
Journey
Samarkand to Tashkent on Uzbek Railways’ eight-car high-speed Afrosiyob service. It is the fastest train in the country, reaching speeds of up to 250km/h, with a scheduled time of two hours and 20 minutes. A full Afrosiyob service runs between Tashkent and Bukhara (it takes about four hours). The Khiva expansion is expected to open this year.
A chair
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Afrosiyob are Talgo’s Spanish-made high-speed trains, and the service has three classes: VIP carriage with leather seats, business class (with 26 seats per carriage), and economy (36 seats per carriage). Economy seats are in a 2-2 arrangement, and each position you book gives you a seat. Each seat has a USB charging point and there are ceiling TV screens (my first brush with a kitschy TV show called. Sound war) and Wi-Fi on board. Despite having three language options on the Wi-Fi login page, it insists on giving me instructions only in Russian, so I settle instead for the glorious desert scenery.
Climbing
You can’t go in without caffeine. Samarkand’s small train station, with its elegant chandeliers and round stained-glass windows, has six coffee shops (and three gift shops if you haven’t done enough shopping in the city). There is one door to climb, and I take cues from the crowd – as others head for the door, I do the same. The station guard is assigned to check tickets, but he waves me past before I can scan my ticket’s QR code. For passengers on the platform, the carriages are invariably numbered. Simple-easy.
Cargo
No need to jump. There is a 36 kg weight limit on luggage and no details on the number of items – and no one can check them. The ends of each carriage have compartments to store larger bags, and there are overhead compartments for smaller items.
Food + drink
The fare between Samarkand and Tashkent includes a snack (strangely, between Samarkand and Bukhara, which is not the shortest journey, there is no such policy). I’m handed a white paper bag with a jam-filled cake and a three-in-one coffee bag – look away now if milky, sweet coffee isn’t your cup of Joe (although you can order tea from the cart). We’ve hardly left the station when food vendors arrive in carriages selling tubs of fruit salad, ice-creams and local mojitos – hold the party, these mojitos are non-alcoholic juices with basil and ice, which are just the tonic on this day which is 36 degrees in Samarkand and 39 in Bukhara. There is also a food cart (without seating) selling the likes of Pringles, Oreos, crepes, bottled beer and, strangely but very common, tin plov – an Uzbek rice dish. I wasn’t game to let it go.
One more thing
Getting to Samarkand’s railway station is easy, and the city’s tram system reopened in 2017 after the Soviet-era lines closed in 1973. To the chagrin of Tashkent residents, it uses trams that once operated on the city’s now-defunct system. Tram 2 runs to the station from the Siyob Bazaar market next to the Bibi Khanym Mosque, a popular tourist site.
Judgment
It’s everything you’d expect from a European high-speed train, but in the desert of Central Asia. It leaves on time – to the minute – and arrives at the same time as Tashkent, with a spectacular desert sun thrown on the way. Space is plentiful, and snacks are available at desert temperatures. It’s pretty good, unless you like your coffee dark and unsweetened.
Our rating out of five
★★★★
The author was a guest of World Travel. worldexpeditions.com
Andrew Bain is a Hobart-based author and writer who has been writing about travel and adventure for over 25 years, and is most at home in the outdoors and remote areas.
