The main problem in the railway sector in Uzbekistan remains the shortage of rolling stock. This was announced by Transport Minister Ilkhom Makhkamov at a meeting of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis on June 3.
According to the minister, at least 120 carriages are needed to replenish the existing train fleet. At the same time, the obsolescence of some passenger carriages, their sanitary condition not meeting requirements, and the high demand for high-speed trains are causing a shortage of tickets.
"According to analyses, at least 30 percent of citizens who expressed a desire to purchase a railway ticket are unable to buy one due to the existing deficit," said Makhkamov.
He noted that the existing railway infrastructure does not fully allow for the introduction of additional train services. In particular, the Tashkent–Samarkand route is considered one of the sections with the highest level of freight and passenger train traffic. Therefore, difficulties arise in organizing additional trips on this route.
The minister noted that in some regions, suburban train services have not been established, and the quality of service at railway stations is also insufficient.
At the meeting, deputies drew attention to the fact that, despite the known sharp increase in demand for transport during holidays and vacations, additional carriages and trips are not being organized sufficiently, and asked the minister for concrete solutions.
According to Ilkhom Makhkamov, during the Eid holidays, the capacity of trains will be increased by up to 30 percent using all available rolling stock. However, this is not enough to fully meet demand.
"We put all our rolling stock into operation; we cannot create it out of nothing. Therefore, a large-scale program for the purchase of new carriages and trains has been approved. Funding sources have also been identified. But along with the increase in rolling stock, it is also necessary to increase the capacity of the railways," said the minister.
He also announced that the technical infrastructure is being modernized to eliminate problems in the online ticket purchasing system.
"Uzbekistan Railways" and "Passenger Transportation" joint-stock companies are carrying out work to update servers and other technical equipment. We plan to fully resolve this issue this year," said Makhkamov.
At the meeting, it was also announced that the operation of modern electric trains on the Bukhara–Urgench–Khiva route is planned to be launched by the end of the year.
