Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) —  South Korea’s national railway corporation (KORAIL), along with Saman and Dongmyeong Technology Corporation, will develop a feasibility study for the construction of a high-speed railway in Uzbekistan, Yonhap news agency reported.

The high-speed railway will connect Tashkent and Samarkand. The project is funded through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) provided by the Export-Import Bank of South Korea.

The preparation of the feasibility study will take 15 months and is expected to be completed by March 2026. The study will include field research, forecasting future transport demand, developing a basic infrastructure plan, calculating construction costs, and analyzing economic viability. Training for local specialists will also be organized as part of the project.

In November 2023, the first deputy head of Uzbekistan Railways ("O’zbekiston temir yo’llari") announced plans to build a separate high-speed railway line, noting that the existing infrastructure is no longer sufficient to handle increased passenger and freight traffic.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev highlighted the creation of high-speed railways during a meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) governors in September in Samarkand. The new railways will connect Tashkent with Samarkand, and Samarkand with Navoi and Bukhara. Turkish company Rönesans Holding is expected to be involved in the construction.