South Korean company Hyundai Rotem has dispatched the first batch of high-speed trains to Uzbekistan, the press service of the Ministry of Transport reported on December 10.
An official dispatch ceremony was held at Masan Port in the city of Changwon, attended by a delegation from Uzbekistan that included Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev, Deputy Minister of Transport Jasurbek Choriyev, and Chairman of Uzbekistan Railways, Zufar Narzullaev, alongside South Korean government representatives and Hyundai Rotem executives.
“The first train of Uzbekistan’s new high-speed rail fleet, named ‘Jaloliddin Manguberdi,’ was manufactured by Hyundai Rotem under a contract signed with Uzbekistan Railways in June 2024,” as per to the ministry of transport.
The Hyundai Rotem high-speed trains are scheduled to operate on the Bukhara–Miskin–Urgench–Nukus route. The first service on the Tashkent–Khiva line is planned for launch in 2026. Once operational, the travel time on this route is expected to be reduced from the current 14 hours to 7.5 hours.
The state railway company plans to purchase an additional eight high-speed electric trains by 2030 to serve the Tashkent–Termez and Tashkent–Andijan routes, including sections that run through mountainous terrain.
Negotiations between Uzbekistan Railways and Hyundai Rotem began in 2018. However, only in autumn 2023 did it become public that Uzbekistan intended to purchase high-speed rolling stock from South Korea.
The total cost of the supply is estimated at €185mn, with repayment planned over 35 years. The new trains are intended to be deployed on the Tashkent–Khiva route following its launch.
Financing for the project is being provided through South Korea’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF). The final agreements with the EDCF and the Export-Import Bank of Korea were signed during the visit of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to Uzbekistan in June of the previous year.
In August 2024, the president of Uzbekistan approved the technical and economic justification for the agreement on the purchase of Hyundai Rotem electric trains.
