Korean Consortium to Assess Feasibility of Uzbekistan's First High-Speed Rail Line

Uzbekistan Railways (UZ) has selected a Korean consortium to carry out a feasibility study for the construction of Uzbekistan's first high-speed rail line, which will connect Tashkent and Samarkand, a distance of approximately 300km, The Caspian Post reports citing International Railway Journal.

The study will be funded by Korea Export-Import Bank’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF).

The K-Rail Team consists of Korea National Railway (KNR), Korea’s national operator Korail, Saman and Dongmyeong Technology Corporation.

This study will cover on-site investigation for the construction of the new railway, traffic forecasts, establishment of a basic infrastructure plan, calculation of project costs, economic analysis, and training.

KNR and Korail also plan to conduct a feasibility study from the design and construction stage to operation and maintenance of the new line to accelerate the implementation of the project. It is expected that Korea’s high-speed railway technology will be transferred to Uzbekistan.

In June, UZ awarded a Won 270bn ($US 187.9m) contract to Hyundai Rotem to supply six 250km/h 1520mm-gauge trains, similar to the KTX-Eum trains supplied to Korail.

“Following the first overseas export of high-speed trains last June, we have laid the foundation for Korean high-speed rail to enter the Central Asian high-speed rail market based on the 20 years of KTX construction and operation experience and know-how,” K-Rail says.