Uzbekistan Railways (UR) will be split into several entities before the year-end. This is provided for by the president’s Oct. 10 decree on reforming the railway transport sector, the Ministry of Justice said.

Entities to be created:

Temiryulinfratuzilma – will be in charge of ensure the functioning of road facilities, power supply facilities, signaling and communications, locomotive facilities, a unified dispatch center and freight stations, as well as their development;

Temiryulkargo - will be in charge of provision of cargo transportation services, maintenance and development of freight wagons and containers, organization of multimodal transportation from door to door, logistics centers and terminals;

Temiryulexpress - will be in charge of the provision of passenger transportation services by high-speed trains, as well as the maintenance and development of high-speed trains;

The following will be created within Oztemiryulyulovchi (a UR subsidiary)- Temir yul stationlari LLC will be in charge of supporting stations and Shahar atrophida yulovchi tashish LLC for suburban transportation;

The Temir Yul Izhtimoiy Hizmatlar - will be in charge of maintenance of children’s camps, healthcare facilities, cultural, educational and sports facilities.

Uzbekistan Railways will own and hold sharesof the above organizations. It will also provide organizations within it with services in accounting, finance, management, digitalization, procurement, staff development and other areas.

The changes are aimed at creating a healthy competitive environment, attracting private investment into the industry, introducing modern management methods and improving the quality, safety and reliability of services, the document says.

At a meeting in September, the president announced that the Uzbekistan Railways would be transformed into a holding company. He said that the public is not happy with corruption in the sale of tickets, facilities and service on trains.

In July, the president ordered to sack Khusnutdin Khasilov from the CEO of Uzbekistan Railways role.

We previously wrote that the same presidential decree provides for the abolition of state regulation of ticket prices for high-speed and high-speed passenger trains from 2024. Tariffs will be set based on market principles.