On May 5, Uzbekistan Railways officially launched a new high-speed train connecting the country’s capital, Tashkent, and the historic Silk Road city of Khiva. The rolling stock — named after Central Asian ruler and military commander Jaloliddin Manguberdi — was manufactured by South Korean Hyundai Rotem, a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group specializing in rail systems and defense solutions, the railway operator reported.
The train is capable of reaching speeds of 250 kilometers per hour, cutting the journey of 1,220 kilometers from 14 hours to 7.5 hours. The rolling stock consists of seven cars and offers 389 passenger seats. The train makes stops in Samarkand, Bukhara and Urgench. The train is also adapted to Uzbekistan’s harsh climate and desert dust storms.
The first batch of these trains was shipped in early December last year, based on the EMU-260 model, under a contract signed in June 2024 between Uzbekistan Railways and Hyundai Rotem worth approximately $185.5 million.
Separately, in late April, Uzbekistan received double-decker «Aurora» trains from a Russian manufacturer.
