Afrosiyob Tashkent - Samarkand train Q&A

[leela]

We arrive in Tashkent in the early hours of the 7th April, have a full day there, then hope to travel on the Afrosiyob to Samarkand early on the morning of the 8th. Will we be able to get tickets during our day in the city, or do they need to be booked further in advance? And if so, how can we arrange to book them from the UK?

Thanks

[steven]

I think there is no problem this time of year to get a ticket a day in advance. You will have to stand in line for a while (1 hour is def possible), that's all.

If you want to book it in advance, fill in the form on this page: http://caravanistan.com/transport/train ... ts-online/

[leela]

It appears to be fully booked for the journey I want to make in four weeks time. Has anyone had any luck with managing to eventually get tickets for a train that seems full weeks in advance?

[steven]

Did you go through an agency or check online? It could actually be booked out, or it could be that people at the kassa are holding the seats so they can sell them on with a little bit of bribe money on top.

In that case it should still be possible to get hold of a seat.

[leela]

I emailed Aliya, recommended here, and she replied that they 'appeared fully booked on the system'. She could book me on a slower train in the evening, but I really didn't want to arrive very late at night, so wondered if it was worth waiting.

[AreWeThereYet?]

I've been in Uzbekistan earlier in April, and out of 3 train journeys I did the Afrosyob was full in 2 occasion. I did the old trick of writing on my notepad the train numbers I wanted to ride on, as well as dates and departing/ending station. The problem is that it's operated on those teeny tiny Talgo Spanish trains, AKA the toy train of high speed convoys. Cars are seemingly half as big as any TGV, ICE or Frecciarossa in Europe, or so it seemed to me. If you've got a couple of tour groups then you're stuffed. Mind you, the slow trains aren't that bad, especially in "Business".

[leela]

Just to update for others who might find this thread on a search, while March might not be a problem, June has proved to be. The Afrosiyob for the day I needed, is fully booked for all four of its journeys that day, four weeks ahead.
There are slower trains, of course, but they are MUCH slower.

[tom5792]

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a ticket from Tashkent to Samarkand on the afrosiyob at 18:50 on 22nd June. Looking at the Uzbek trains website it looks like they don't sell afrosiyob tickets between these cities. Am I making a mistake here or is it not possible to buy them here? If not then how could I obtain these as I only arrive into Uzbekistan on 22nd June so assume I wouldn't be able to buy them at the station,

Thanks

[Milad]

It appears that currently Afrosiyob tickets are put online for sale only 14 days in advance. No idea why. Your alternatives are booking a slower, cheaper train (which are still perfectly comfortable IMO) or waiting.