DETAILS of a major rolling stock purchasing programme have been presented to the president of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, during a briefing earlier this month on the development of the national railway network.

According to local media outlet kun.uz, the president of Uzbekistan Railways (UTY), Zufar Narzullaev, says that 91% of the UTY locomotive fleet is now obsolete. Under its current 10-year fleet modernisation programme, Uzbekistan Railways (UTY) intends to purchase 38 mainline locomotives and 50 diesel and hybrid shunting locomotives from China.

In May, the president instructed UTY to sign a contract with CRRC for the supply of 50 diesel locomotives.

Deliveries of the six high-speed trains, worth €220m, ordered by UTY from Hyundai Rotem of Korea are due to begin next month. The first train is expected to enter service next year on the Tashkent - Urgench - Khiva line, cutting the journey time from 14 hours to 7h 30min.

Each seven-car train can accommodate 351 passengers and has a maximum speed of 250km/h. Deliveries of all six trains are due to be completed by the end of 2026, with a further eight due to arrive by 2030, according to Narzullaev. The second batch will be deployed on the Tashkent - Termez and Tashkent - Andijan lines.

The order for six high-speed trains is being financed with a €185.2m loan from Korea Eximbank, with the government of Uzbekistan providing €21.3m and UTY €13.5m. The loan has a 10-year grace period and a 40-year repayment term.

UTY also plans to purchase 23 EMUs for Tashkent commuter services, as well as new passenger trains from Korea to operate on lines with steep gradients such as across the Kamchik Pass and the Darband mountain corridor linking the Surkhandarya and Kashkadarya regions.

Increasing production

Plans for domestic production include building 250 passenger coaches as well as 10,000 wagons. Over 6000 wagons will be refurbished and major repairs will be carried out on 12 electric locomotives.

With support from the Renewal and Development Fund and additional financing, coach production will be increased from 40 to 50 cars a year, according to Narzullaev. The passenger fleet is being expanded to help UTZ meet its target of doubling traffic from 10 million to 20 million passengers a year by 2030.

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