Report: new train from Tashkent to almaty with bicycles. Couldn't find any info on how it would go so we decided to try it. 2 people, 2 bicycles, has booked 2 sleeping berths.
On arrival the conductor said they were too big and called one of us inside to negotiate a "price", settling on $20 per bike. Then they said the only place to put them was on one of our bunks. Removed the front wheels and they both fit okay but it meant we had to share one bunk for 16 hours. They are pretty small too! For that price we could've bought a separate bed for the bikes, but I'm not sure if that's even allowed.. alternatively, if you remove the pedals, front wheel, and handlebars it might fit under the bed but we didn't try this.
I checked and found I could book train for only 4 people at a time. We are 2 adults and 3 children (aged 10,7,4).
What would be the best sleeping arrangement?
What are 19:30 sleeper trains from Almaty to Tashkent like? Does one cabin have 2 or 4 beds?
I'm taking it tomorrow, will let you know if there haven't been any more detailed replies, but I'll tell you my experience of the astana-almaty train. I booked with the tickets.kz site, which gives a visual selection menu for choosing tickets i.e. a diagram of the carriage with clickable beds, like booking seats at a theatre. In your case I guess you could choose all four beds in a cabin if available - the three kids and an adult, and book a single bed in a cabin nearby for the remaining adult.
