Hyundai Rotem's high-speed railway in Uzbekistan / Courtesy of Hyundai Rotem
Hyundai Rotem said Wednesday that its newly supplied high-speed trains began commercial operations in Uzbekistan on Tuesday (local time), marking the first time a Korean-built high-speed train has entered commercial service overseas.
The trains are operating on a 1,020-kilometer route linking Tashkent, the capital of the Central Asian country, with Khiva, a historic Silk Road city in the country’s western region. The line is the longest railway route in Uzbekistan.
The high-speed trains were designed based on the KTX-Eum, a distributed traction high-speed train whose reliability has been proven through commercial operations in Korea. The trains feature dust-resistant designs to withstand extreme heat and desert environments.
Hyundai Rotem expects the launch to contribute to improvements in Uzbekistan’s transportation infrastructure. Travel time between Tashkent and Khiva is projected to be cut roughly in half to about seven hours.
The company added that the project is also expected to create a ripple effect across Korea’s high-speed rail ecosystem. More than 600 domestic parts suppliers that participated in the project will be able to demonstrate their stable cooperation and supply chain capabilities — from manufacturing and delivery to on-site handover — in the global market.
“Having secured the first overseas export of Korean high-speed trains through a supply contract with Uzbekistan Railways in 2024, this launch is expected to have a positive impact on expanding export bases for Korean high-speed rolling stock,” a Hyundai Rotem official said.
Source: Korea Times News
