BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr. 27
By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend:
Uzbekistan Railways (Ozbekiston temir yollari) has set up a regular schedule of high-speed freight train traffic to Afghanistan, Trend reports citing the company's statement.
The train arrives in Afghan Hairaton city from Tashkent city. Part of the train is assembled in Tashkent, and along the way it is complemented by freight carriages departing from the regions.
At the same time, the cargoes are delivered faster: if a previously it took 5-6 days to reach Afghanistan, now it takes two days to reach the Hairaton station. The train will run three times a week.
The first high-speed freight train departed for Afghanistan April 16. The train with 14 carriages left Tashkent, and 36 additional export carriages were attached along the way.
To date, four trains have already been dispatched, consisting of 218 carriages with export-oriented goods of Uzbekistan.
In 2019, it was reported that Uzbekistan plans to purchase two Talgo-250 high-speed passenger electric trains and four carriages. Uzbekistan Railways signed a corresponding contract with Spanish Patentes Talgo S.L.U. following direct negotiations.
The Spanish government has agreed to provide a 57.5 million euro loan to Uzbekistan through the Corporate Internationalization Fund of Spanish Companies (FIEM). The loan is granted for 30 years with a grace period of 10 years at an annual rate of 0.05 percent.
The project on modernization of the Uzbek railway system is scheduled to be implemented from 2019 through 2021.
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