Uzbekistan 2026: the Silk Road by high-speed train

1. Who goes where: Afrosiyob, Jaloliddin, Sharq and Nasaf

Four names come up again and again, and one table is enough to sort them out. They all leave from Tashkent Central station (also called « North »), not to be confused with Tashkent South, about 7 km away.

Afrosiyob: the Talgo that goes as far as Bukhara

About €23 to Samarkand, €37 to Bukhara (Economy) 2 h 08 to 2 h 30 to Samarkand Up to 250 km/h October: 7 to 25 °C depending on the city

The Afrosiyob is a Spanish Talgo 250 train, running between Tashkent and Samarkand since 8 October 2011 and extended to Bukhara in August 2016 (Wikipedia). It has three classes (Economy, Business, VIP) and a bistro car with steep prices, so bring water and snacks. According to Seat61, it takes around 4 h 10 from Tashkent to Bukhara, and roughly 1 h 40 between Samarkand and Bukhara. Since 27 March 2026, a dedicated Afrosiyob also serves Shakhrisabz, Tamerlane’s birthplace, on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays (check times in the app).

Highlights

• The fastest option between Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara
• Reserved seats, air conditioning, power sockets
• An evening departure (around 19:20) usually fills up more slowly than the 08:00 ones

Pixidia tip: Bukhara’s station is at Kogon, 12-15 km from the old town. Allow about 30 minutes by taxi, and use a ride-hailing app (Yandex Go, roughly $2 to $3) rather than the drivers waiting on the platform. If you reach Samarkand around 10:00, a private tour with transport lets you fit the Registan, Gur-e-Amir and Shah-i-Zinda into half a day without haggling for a taxi between each site.

Private Samarkand City Tour with Transport: Inside Attractions From €67.88 per adult (based on 2 people) · ★ 4.98 (217 reviews)

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Jaloliddin Manguberdi: high speed all the way to Khiva

About €57 in Economy from Tashkent 7 h 31 from Tashkent to Khiva Seven carriages, 389 seats Since early May 2026

This is the real news of the year: a Hyundai Rotem train from the same family as Korea’s KTX, named after the last shah of Khorezm. Sources disagree on the launch date: service was announced for early May 2026, with a first commercial run on 5 May according to the Uzbek press. Train no. 752 leaves Tashkent at 07:00, calls at Samarkand at 09:13 and Bukhara at 10:54, then reaches Khiva at 14:31 (Seat61, Euronews, in French). The return service gets back to Tashkent around 15:00. The Bukhara-Khiva leg takes about 3 h 17, against 4 h 37 on the conventional train no. 707 (Advantour).

On speed, the train is designed for roughly 250 km/h, but other sources quote 200 km/h in service, so go with « up to 250 km/h depending on the section ». A second trainset reportedly entered service on 22 July 2026, bringing the offer to six round trips a week. The timetable has already moved between May and July, so check it in the app a week ahead, then again the day before.

Why it changes the game

• You save about a day compared with the conventional trains between Bukhara and Khiva
• You can get back from Khiva to Tashkent without flying out of Urgench (a 1.5 hour flight, but add the airport and transfers)
• An extension to Nukus has been mentioned, with no official date: treat it as a project

Pixidia tip: Khiva’s station is about 2 km from Itchan Kala, which is a 5 minute taxi ride or a 20 minute walk. Sleep inside the walls to see the ramparts at sunrise. National Geographic put Khiva on its Best of the World 2026 list.

Sharq, Nasaf and night trains: plan B

The Sharq, a conventional express at about 140 km/h, links Tashkent and Samarkand in roughly 3 h 30: it’s the fix when the Afrosiyob is full. The Nasaf is a 2nd class train on the Tashkent, Samarkand, Karshi line, mostly useful for getting to Shakhrisabz; it goes to neither Bukhara nor Khiva (Eurasia Travel). Overnight sleeper trains (for example a Tashkent-Bukhara berth for around €13 in Platskartny) save a hotel night, but they often pull into Kogon at dawn, far from the centre. Older trains are poorly heated in winter and barely air-conditioned in summer.

2. How much tickets cost in October 2026

Fares rose 15% on 1 February 2026 on the Afrosiyob, Sharq and Nasaf, according to Kun.uz. That’s the third increase in three years: an Economy ticket from Tashkent to Samarkand cost 170,000 UZS at the end of 2023, against 311,000 today, about 83% more. The conversions below use €1 for roughly 13,690 UZS (Uzbek central bank rate, early October 2026) and are rounded.

Two honest caveats. The Samarkand-Bukhara Afrosiyob fare doesn’t appear in the official price list we found: we worked it out from the gap between the two fares from Tashkent (509,000 minus 311,000 = 198,000 UZS), which gives a ballpark of about €14 in Economy since February 2026. As for the Jaloliddin prices, they come from Seat61 and a single local source, so confirm them when you book. Sharq 2nd class works out around 35 to 45% cheaper than Afrosiyob Economy, at the cost of a longer journey.

3. Booking: sales window, channels and workarounds

Price isn’t the real issue, availability is. Afrosiyob trains sell out fast, especially in April-May and September-October, and around Navruz (21 March) or Independence Day (1 September).

When and where to buy

• Sales window: about 60 days before departure according to Journal of Nomads and Seat61, although older sources mention 45 days. Check the exact window in the app before you fix your dates.
• Official site: eticket.railway.uz, which now redirects to eticket.uzrailpass.uz, plus the « Uzrailways tickets » app (same account). You’ll need your passport, and the name must be typed exactly as it appears on the document.
• Station ticket offices: show your passport; they sometimes have seats the website no longer displays.
• Third-party platforms: 12go.asia or local agencies, with extra fees but more reliable acceptance of foreign cards.

Travellers’ workarounds when it’s full

• Pay with Google Pay if your physical card is declined.
• Ask your hotel or guesthouse to book for you: plenty do it for a small fee.
• Seats reappear when agency quotas are released, so check the app again over the following days.
• A tip reported by travellers, not official: buy a longer ticket (say to Bukhara) and get off along the way when the section you want shows as full.
• Switch to a Sharq, a Nasaf or another departure time.

Get to the station about 30 minutes before departure: bags go through a scanner and passports are checked. Luggage allowances vary by source, so travel light rather than counting on a precise figure. Online, watch out for mirror sites reselling tickets: check that the address ends in railway.uz or uzrailpass.uz.

4. An 8 to 10 day itinerary, 100% by rail

Here’s a loop that never uses the same train twice. It assumes a direct London-Tashkent flight with Uzbekistan Airways, currently operated two to three times a week (from Heathrow, with Gatwick also served): check fares for your travel month, they swing a lot. If you’re leaving from continental Europe, we’ve already mapped a 10 day itinerary around Samarkand, Bukhara and Shakhrisabz (in French) that you can adapt.

The Jaloliddin only runs on certain days, so fix its dates first and build the rest around them. Express 7 day variant: Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, then straight back on the Afrosiyob (about 4 h 10) and a flight, skipping Khiva. Weekend variant: the Afrosiyob to Shakhrisabz runs on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only.

Samarkand: 2 to 3 nights

Registan: about €7 entry (to be confirmed) 2 to 3 nights

The Registan, Gur-e-Amir, Shah-i-Zinda, the Bibi-Khanym Mosque and Ulugh Beg’s observatory take two full days. According to travellers, the Registan has reportedly gone up to 100,000 UZS (about €7) after being cheaper earlier in 2026: confirm on the spot. It gets very busy (around 4 million visitors a year according to the local press), so aim for the morning or sunset rather than mid-afternoon.

Bukhara: 2 to 3 nights

Ark: about €7 entry (to be confirmed) 2 to 3 nights

The old town is compact: two days are enough for the minaret and Kalon Mosque, the covered trading domes, the Ark citadel, the madrasas and the Lyab-i Hauz pool. There are lots of souvenir shops and some travellers call it « Disneyland », so head out at dawn, before the groups arrive.

5. Budget, season and entry rules

A ballpark budget

The figures below are Pixidia ballparks, per person, for 10 days excluding the international flight. They’re based on the fares above and on travellers’ budgets: one specialist guide quotes roughly €1,000 to €1,500 for two weeks excluding flights, with rooms at €20-30 a night and meals at €10-15 a day.

A tourist tax of around $0.75 per foreign adult per night in a guesthouse is reportedly applied from 1 September 2026, according to a single press article (Kursiv): confirm with your host, as we haven’t cross-checked it.

When to go

The best periods are April-May and September-October. In October, expect 7 to 25 °C depending on the city and little rain, according to Rough Guides; Bukhara and Khiva are warmer. Summer tops 38-40 °C, which makes an air-conditioned train a real advantage. In winter Khiva and Bukhara are almost empty, but pack a jacket for the older trains.

Visa, registration and health

• British passport holders can visit Uzbekistan without a visa for up to 30 days. The FCDO asks for a passport valid for at least 3 months after you arrive; some sources say 6 months, so check with your airline.
• You must register within 3 days of arriving (weekends count): your hotel normally handles it. Keep the paperwork until you leave the country.
• E-cigarettes have been banned since 1 April 2026, and electronic payment is compulsory for alcohol, tobacco and fuel.
• France’s foreign ministry issued a measles alert in March 2026: check your vaccinations on TravelHealthPro. For the Afghan border area around Termez, read the FCDO’s regional risk section before you plan anything there.

Entry rules come from the FCDO’s Uzbekistan travel advice, which changes: read it again before you go.