http://railway.uz/uz/informatsionnaya_s ... osti/7594/
The 335 km line will shorten the distance from Tashkent to Urgench/Nukus by 75 km and will also enable direct serices from Buckara to Urgench/Nukus. These will probaly be useful for travellers visiting Khiva and Bukhara in one trip.
Construction started in march 2017. Total costs are estimated at 283 mln USD. Already 147 km of tracks have been laid meanwhile.
GoogleEarth satllite images show the progress near Bukhara:
september 2016:

june 2017:

Provodnik