High-speed railway project from Turkestan via Shymkent to Tashkent is planned to be launched this year, announced the Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin on January 26 at an expanded meeting of the government of Kazakhstan with the participation of the President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev.
“1.1 trillion tenge, (US$ 2.6 billion) worth of projects will be launched this year. In particular, a set of measures will be taken to develop ecotourism and national parks as promising tourist destinations. To increase the inflow of tourists, the construction of a high-speed railway on the route Turkestan - Shymkent - Tashkent will be launched,” Mamin said.
In March 2017, the Tulpar-Talgo high-speed train started servicing on began to run on Tashkent to Almaty route. Travel time is approximately 17-18 hours. Calling stations are: Otar, Chu, Taraz, Shymkent and Saryagash.
It was also reported that the parties are working on the launch of a high-speed train on the Samarkand-Turkestan route.
