The Afrosiyob high-speed train, and how to get a seat on it

It is also the thing that most often goes wrong, and always for the same reason: the seats sell out and somebody booked hotels first.

Here is how the service actually works, what it costs, when tickets appear and what we do when the train you needed is full.

What it is

A Spanish-built Talgo 250 train, running at up to about 155 mph (250 km/h) on upgraded track, in service since 2011 and extended west to Bukhara in 2016. Named after Afrasiab, the ancient settlement mound on the edge of Samarkand.

It is genuinely good. Quiet, punctual, air-conditioned, with proper reclining seats, a trolley service, luggage racks at the ends of each carriage and clean toilets. There is nothing rough about it. Travellers who have been told Central Asian rail is an ordeal are usually surprised within ten minutes of leaving Tashkent.

Alongside it run the Sharq, a slower and older express, and various overnight sleepers. Those are the fallback rather than the plan, and they are covered further down.

Journey times

Approximate, and they move with the timetable, which changes at least twice a year. We confirm the current times for your dates when we book.

Note the shape of that table. The high-speed line runs Tashkent to Samarkand to Bukhara, and that is it. Khiva is 280 miles (450 km) further west across the Kyzylkum desert, reached by a slower train or a road crossing of about six hours, and this single fact is the main structural decision in every Uzbekistan itinerary. It is argued out in how many days do you need in Uzbekistan and in Bukhara or Khiva.

The classes, and which to buy

Three classes on the Afrosiyob, and the pricing gap between them is small enough that the decision is easy.

Economy. Two seats each side of the aisle, perfectly comfortable, and what most Uzbeks travel in.

Business. Two seats one side, one the other, wider, more legroom, and usually a small snack and drink included. The step up costs a handful of dollars.

VIP. A small cabin at one end, four seats, only on some services. Rarely worth the difference unless it is the only thing left.

We book business as standard. On a two-hour leg it is not about comfort so much as space for a bag and a window that is not shared with three other people.

As guidance, and fares are set centrally and reviewed periodically:

The whole rail bill for a ten-day route usually comes to under $80 per person, which is less than a single leg in most of the countries we work in. The rest of the budget arithmetic is in what a trip to Uzbekistan costs.

The booking window, which is the whole point of this article

Tickets are released a fixed number of weeks ahead of departure, and that window has changed more than once in recent years. As guidance it has sat at somewhere between one and two months, and we confirm the current release rule with our Tashkent partner before we plan around it.

What does not change is the pattern. On the good departures in April, May, September and October, seats go within days of release, sometimes within hours. The morning Tashkent to Samarkand services and the early Samarkand to Bukhara services are the first to fill, because every group in the country wants the same slot.

So the sequence we work in is:

1. Fix the route and the dates.
2. Put a reminder in for the day the ticket window opens.
3. Book the train seats that day, in business class, before hotels are confirmed.
4. Build the hotels around the train times.

That order looks backwards and it is correct. Hotels can be moved. A sold-out train cannot, and rebuilding an itinerary around a missing seat is how a comfortable trip turns into a six-hour drive on the day you were supposed to arrive in Bukhara for lunch.

When the train is full

It happens, particularly to people who booked late or whose dates moved. The options, in the order we would use them:

A different departure on the same day. Often the four in the afternoon has seats when the eight in the morning does not. Costs you a morning rather than a day.

The Sharq or another slower service. Adds an hour or two, older rolling stock, still perfectly fine. Nobody has ever complained to us about the Sharq except that it is slower.

A car and driver. Tashkent to Samarkand is about four hours by road, Samarkand to Bukhara about four and a half. This costs roughly $70 to $110 for the vehicle and it costs you the day. It is not a disaster: the road to Bukhara crosses genuinely interesting country and a stop for lunch improves it.

The overnight sleeper. For the long western legs to Urgench, this is a legitimate choice rather than a fallback. Four-berth compartments, reasonably clean, and it saves a hotel night and a day of driving.

Getting to Khiva, which is the real decision

Since the high-speed line stops at Bukhara, there are four ways west and each costs something.

Drive. About six hours across the Kyzylkum desert, flat and empty, with a stop at the Amu Darya river crossing. More interesting than it sounds and the version we usually build, westbound.

The slower train. Around six hours to Khiva station, which is a short hop from the walled city. Comfortable enough, and it means you are not looking at a road for a day.

The overnight train from Tashkent. Saves a day and a hotel night, at the cost of a night’s proper sleep.

Fly. Tashkent to Urgench, about an hour and a half, and cheap, usually $40 to $70. Schedules change with little notice so we do not build a tight connection onto one.

Our standard build drives or trains west from Bukhara, spends two nights in Khiva, and flies Urgench to Tashkent at the end, which saves the whole return journey. That is the shape of our classic ten-day route.

Stations, and the small practical things

• Security. Uzbek stations run bags through a scanner at the entrance and check tickets against passports on the platform. Arrive 30 to 40 minutes ahead. Have the passport out.
• Names. Samarkand has more than one station. Bukhara’s main station is at Kagan, about ten miles (16 km) from the old town, and your transfer needs to know which one.
• Luggage. Racks at the ends of carriages, overhead space for small bags. Two normal suitcases per couple is not a problem. Six pieces is.
• Food. A trolley with tea, coffee, water and a snack. On a two-hour leg you do not need to plan around it. Buy a stack of Samarkand bread instead, like everybody else.
• Tickets and passports. Tickets are issued against passport details, so the name and number must match exactly. A renewed passport between booking and travel is a problem worth telling us about.

Fergana, which the train does not reach usefully

The Fergana valley is over the Kamchik pass from Tashkent, about five hours by road through a tunnel and over a mountain, or a slower rail line that loops around. We drive it, because the pass itself is part of the day and because the craft towns are spread out and you want the vehicle anyway. The route is in the Silk Road in 14 days.

Plan this trip

Tell us your dates and we will hold the train seats the day the window opens, then build the hotels around them. Free first proposal, no obligation.

Start planning

Keep reading

• Uzbekistan: the complete guide to planning your trip
• How many days do you need in Uzbekistan?
• What does a trip to Uzbekistan cost?
• Uzbekistan month by month
• Classic Uzbekistan in 10 days
• All our Uzbekistan trips

Frequently asked questions