The train times have now changed since making this video. The train now departs Tashkent at 4:40 arriving Almaty 22:58. Reverse direction departing Almaty 9:34 arriving tashkent 02:53. Not great!
Talgo uses this unique technology from more than half a century ago with independent wheels that allows trains to be low floor (better access from low platform stations) and energy efficient since the coaches are lighter. However the ride comfort gets heavily affected by it, and it is an issue that not so many people mention.
A potential great way to save on the train fare is to be informed that international travel within former USSR is far more expensive than the domestic travel. I.e. if you can, you should "split" the ticket. Therefore booking a very short Tashkent - Kazakh (side of the border) international ticket in the coach class and the rest as a domestic Kazakh ticket in the highest possible class will be the best compromise. We did similar compromise back when Europe was split into East Block - West Block, "cutting" tickets at the last East German town (Marienborn). Similar way we did split the tickets to from Budapest to Lvov / Lviv on Russian train back in 2011 when it still was running through Ukraine: buying surcharge from BP to Lvov, having International through tickets from BP to Ukrainian side of the border (Chop) and Ukrainian domestic through tickets from Chop to Lvov. An other time I was just lazy to do that - so I merely drove with my family from BP to Chop, asked locals where is a long-term car parking lot, left our car there. Three of us took a cab from the parking lot to Chop train station and bought the domestic Chop - Kiev ticket in 2-bed cabins, occupying two such cabins. We saved at least $200 compared with three international round-trips. It is good to know: all domestic tickets are set of course in domestic currency. However all tickets across the borders of the former USSR as well as Mongolia, China, VietNam, NKorea, Laos are set in Swiss Franc. "Fränkli" is of course subject of currency speculation and having in mind the current hostilities, it's value going up. I am not sure about Chinese domestic train prices - but I suspect, breaking up the Kunming - Ventiane ticket will have similar effect. The tickets to / from HK are not affected because HK never was in the international train tariff. It is subject of Chinese domestic pricing the way it is set. For instance buying a single through train ticket (in early days based on Soviet Rbl, later based on Swiss Franc tariff) from Ulan Bator to HaNoi was possible (with train / reservation change in Beijing) - but not from Ulan Bator to Hong Kong. In order to reach HK the proper way was to split the ticket at Guangzhou (so we did - at that time the Rouble-based international tickets were significantly cheaper than the Chinese domestic tickets. Now the similar CHF-based tickets cost presumably more. We will try that hopefully in 2024 or 2025).
I traveled with one of these trains for my 4th trip report ever, on a domestic route, how I wish u had these trains from Moscow on to Kazachstan back then haha. Nice video.
Still seems to be a lot of older stock on those really long journeys. My Bishkek to Kazan was old non aircon ammendorf carriges. Definitely an upgrade to a talgo then
Another great video. Thank you for making all these. I'm thinking of the security checks at the big stations. They seem to me very limited. If a terrorist wants to set up a bomb he just would enter a train on one of the smaller intermediate stops, where no security checks take place, exits the train at its final station and deposits the bomb in a toilet cabin and locks the door from outside with a coin for example.
There is a seatmap on the Kazakh railways website where you can pick your cabin railways.kz/en/ On Tashkent-Almaty showers are always in the 3 cabins in carriage 12 and sometimes also carriage 14 but no way to guarantee in 14 as only some of the talgo carriges consists have it :-)
It looks like a decent choice to travel between those locations. Sure a plane would be faster, but I'd rather take the convenience of arriving there rested than the hassle of two airports. Did the cabins/compartments have decent soundproofing or were you woken up by snoring of other passengers in addition to the wheel noises?
There's no way that a 17 hour train ride should be compared to a 1.5 hour flight. If you were saying the 17 hour ride is better than a 10 flight then it's more of an argument.
Hi, its a bit complicated, sometimes the first class cabins have the showers but not always. Best to book using the Kazah railways website and use the seating plan to check. Sometimes its only some of the second class cabins that have it :-)
I dont know about ucell, as i had beeline, but they had a simcard for Tajik, Uzbek, Kazahk and Kyrgystan :D. The track is slow and bad so even if they had Afrosiyob you would not get there much faster
May I ask, when purchasing the ticket on the official Kazakh railway website, one of the information needed is the IIN. What should I put in for that column? Thank you very much.
I took this train from Tashkent to Shimkent on a standard seat. It was a great value for a daytime trip. However, I had the same problem when travelling during nighttime in a private compartment from Almaty to Astana. I couldn't sleep at all, even with earplugs. After that experience, I went back using 3rd class platzkart.
@@tonyahrary1693 no every room is shared, if you want private you have to buy a ticket for every bed in the room as explained towards the end of the video
Hey! Love the video and I'm hoping you can help me as I want to do the same journey in January. I can't find a way to book tickets online, do you know if it's possible?
Yes it should be possible to book on railways.kz/ that's what I did. In theory eticket.railway.uz/en/home should also work. Be aware the train does not run every day of the week
Hi very nicly covered... I'm travelling from India new Delhi to Almaty on 6th Nov would like to book this train before hand from Almaty to Tashkent... Plz share link to book in English thanks
You can book it here eticket.railway.uz/en/home or on the Kazakh railways website, but you might need to use google translate. Not sure November bookings are open yet
all the low seated wagons including 2 floors ones are always too noisy to sleep(by my experience), also very thin plastic walls usually (if someone with crying baby)
@@Simon-Andersen i was sleeping in new wagons they make these days in CIS region with plastic walls and it's horrible because 2 passengers snoring, one at next coupe was clearly heard inside
Bus, shared car, even the planes can be cheap. Or you can travel in one of the cheaper cabins and share with other travelers :-) Check the Kazakh or Uzbek railway website for updated prices as they vary based on demand and travel class
@@Simon-Andersen Yes and the arrival time in Almaty is also not very convenient. Anyway i'm planning to be there in September/October Hopefully the timetable is changed again.
The CIS includes not only Central Asia, the name itself says central. If you look at the map you can see why we should be called Central Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia and so on
"THIS IS *STUPID"* No it's not. It's a different technology with its upsides and downsides. Stop trying to attract viewers with these ridiculous clickbait titles please, you won't go anywhere like this.
Picking the wrong technology for your railway is a pretty stupid move to me. Had Kazakhstan had high quality rails like Spain then it would have been less of an issue
![[TF2] The Russian Bear Trap](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YFNSwz2_rOA/mqdefault.jpg)
The train times have now changed since making this video. The train now departs Tashkent at 4:40 arriving Almaty 22:58. Reverse direction departing Almaty 9:34 arriving tashkent 02:53. Not great!
I was about to ask the train timings as I have not seen any timings available in the afternoon. Also, it's 4:40 departing from Tashkent to Almaty
@@gel-dh9tg thanks I've updated my comment 😊
Where can i buy the tickets and how many days in advance?
Also will there be wifi available?
The new timings are horrible as you waste an entire day on the train. Wish they had an evening departure with an overnight travel
Talgo uses this unique technology from more than half a century ago with independent wheels that allows trains to be low floor (better access from low platform stations) and energy efficient since the coaches are lighter. However the ride comfort gets heavily affected by it, and it is an issue that not so many people mention.
And that's probably why it's acceptable on higher quality Spanish tracks and day trains but on the night trains out here it really starts suffering
Also the use of smaller wheels.
This is an issue on the newer caledonian sleeper coaches too.
I've always wanted to visit Central Asia, and these night trains seem like a great way to get around once you're there.
They are! More fun than flying and so much more comfortable than the cheap busses
Take the Andijon->Osh->Bishkek->Almaty route. It's so worth it, and the scenery is just gorgeous.
I really wanna go back to Uzbekistan again, it was a one in a lifetime experience 😍
It's a great country!
I like that you addressed the noise on the train. Many people forget that
You can also fold up the lower bunk bed. Then you have a quite comfortable seat and also can use the tables. The are also a lot of other features
A potential great way to save on the train fare is to be informed that international travel within former USSR is far more expensive than the domestic travel.
I.e. if you can, you should "split" the ticket.
Therefore booking a very short Tashkent - Kazakh (side of the border) international ticket in the coach class and the rest as a domestic Kazakh ticket in the highest possible class will be the best compromise.
We did similar compromise back when Europe was split into East Block - West Block, "cutting" tickets at the last East German town (Marienborn).
Similar way we did split the tickets to from Budapest to Lvov / Lviv on Russian train back in 2011 when it still was running through Ukraine: buying surcharge from BP to Lvov, having International through tickets from BP to Ukrainian side of the border (Chop) and Ukrainian domestic through tickets from Chop to Lvov.
An other time I was just lazy to do that - so I merely drove with my family from BP to Chop, asked locals where is a long-term car parking lot, left our car there.
Three of us took a cab from the parking lot to Chop train station and bought the domestic Chop - Kiev ticket in 2-bed cabins, occupying two such cabins.
We saved at least $200 compared with three international round-trips.
It is good to know: all domestic tickets are set of course in domestic currency. However all tickets across the borders of the former USSR as well as Mongolia, China, VietNam, NKorea, Laos are set in Swiss Franc. "Fränkli" is of course subject of currency speculation and having in mind the current hostilities, it's value going up.
I am not sure about Chinese domestic train prices - but I suspect, breaking up the Kunming - Ventiane ticket will have similar effect.
The tickets to / from HK are not affected because HK never was in the international train tariff. It is subject of Chinese domestic pricing the way it is set.
For instance buying a single through train ticket (in early days based on Soviet Rbl, later based on Swiss Franc tariff) from Ulan Bator to HaNoi was possible (with train / reservation change in Beijing) - but not from Ulan Bator to Hong Kong. In order to reach HK the proper way was to split the ticket at Guangzhou (so we did - at that time the Rouble-based international tickets were significantly cheaper than the Chinese domestic tickets. Now the similar CHF-based tickets cost presumably more. We will try that hopefully in 2024 or 2025).
Thanks for the great tips! This will be very usefull next time im back in those parts of the world.
I traveled with one of these trains for my 4th trip report ever, on a domestic route, how I wish u had these trains from Moscow on to Kazachstan back then haha. Nice video.
Still seems to be a lot of older stock on those really long journeys. My Bishkek to Kazan was old non aircon ammendorf carriges. Definitely an upgrade to a talgo then
Nice post I’m a sucker for rail travel especially sleeper trains, another subscriber 😊
Welcome onboard!
Thanks for the mini videos.
Another great video. Thank you for making all these. I'm thinking of the security checks at the big stations. They seem to me very limited. If a terrorist wants to set up a bomb he just would enter a train on one of the smaller intermediate stops, where no security checks take place, exits the train at its final station and deposits the bomb in a toilet cabin and locks the door from outside with a coin for example.
Many ways to get around these checks, seems to me more to be politics and for show/false comfort if anything
@@Simon-AndersenIndeed.
We have a new built south train station with modern architecture and all facilities, welcome to Uzbekistan ❤🇺🇿
I hope to visit that one in the future!
This was a good video. But please do a review onboard Iryo
Btw, the "O'Z" is pronounced "UZ" in Uzbek and is short for "O'zbekiston"/"Uzbekistan"
O'z is pronounced as Oz like in Close. Not like Ooz, it's just Russians screwed up the simple pronunciation.
Im definitely looking forward to your review of the ICE L once it comes into service. Many people are quite sceptical on it because of the Talgo 230.
Hey Simon how did you book the room with the shower? Thank you for the cool video keep it up!
There is a seatmap on the Kazakh railways website where you can pick your cabin railways.kz/en/ On Tashkent-Almaty showers are always in the 3 cabins in carriage 12 and sometimes also carriage 14 but no way to guarantee in 14 as only some of the talgo carriges consists have it :-)
It looks like a decent choice to travel between those locations. Sure a plane would be faster, but I'd rather take the convenience of arriving there rested than the hassle of two airports.
Did the cabins/compartments have decent soundproofing or were you woken up by snoring of other passengers in addition to the wheel noises?
I didn't notice any noise from the neighbours but could have been down to luck. I think others have mentioned the walls being thin on these trains
@@Simon-Andersen Not like you'd be able to hear them over the banging anyway.
There's no way that a 17 hour train ride should be compared to a 1.5 hour flight. If you were saying the 17 hour ride is better than a 10 flight then it's more of an argument.
Thanks for reviewing ride quality. I alway want to know if passenegers get a smooth and quiet ride.
good and clear, thanks a lot!
Hey Simon, did you book a first class on the talgo? Do all first class cabins come with an attached washroom?
Hi, its a bit complicated, sometimes the first class cabins have the showers but not always. Best to book using the Kazah railways website and use the seating plan to check. Sometimes its only some of the second class cabins that have it :-)
Another great travel adventure. How was the food on board?
I wish i had tried it! But i was unfortunately sick with food poisoning so did not order anything.
Thank you for excellent video. Im planning to use this service in June this year. Does it have a restaurant carriage?
Yes it does!
R u aware of the rhymes taught in STD one in our schools - Simple Simon met a Pimon going to the fair🖐️rest forgotten. Now I'm going bk on my journey.
Among the other trains Iv seen, these r much better.
Why don’t they have the AFROSIYOB for this distance and can you use ucell mobile in Kazakhstan?
I dont know about ucell, as i had beeline, but they had a simcard for Tajik, Uzbek, Kazahk and Kyrgystan :D. The track is slow and bad so even if they had Afrosiyob you would not get there much faster
凄い鉄道！
May I ask, when purchasing the ticket on the official Kazakh railway website, one of the information needed is the IIN. What should I put in for that column? Thank you very much.
Identification number for the ID you're using. I used my passport number
I took this train from Tashkent to Shimkent on a standard seat. It was a great value for a daytime trip. However, I had the same problem when travelling during nighttime in a private compartment from Almaty to Astana. I couldn't sleep at all, even with earplugs. After that experience, I went back using 3rd class platzkart.
Thanks for sharing! Yeah i think for overnight journeys its better to go for one of the not talgo services
Thank you for your answer,@@Simon-Andersen. Yes, it is good to have this knowledge about this flaw, but back then I wanted to try it anyway :).
are all of them have private rooms? what if its shared rooms?
@@tonyahrary1693 no every room is shared, if you want private you have to buy a ticket for every bed in the room as explained towards the end of the video
Hi .. I wonder if the train restaurants take card payment ?
Nope! So being cash
cooles Video..
Great video. Is there air conditioning in the room?
Yes
Thanks for the reply!
Hey! Love the video and I'm hoping you can help me as I want to do the same journey in January. I can't find a way to book tickets online, do you know if it's possible?
Yes it should be possible to book on railways.kz/ that's what I did. In theory eticket.railway.uz/en/home should also work. Be aware the train does not run every day of the week
Hi, i planning to travel with 5month baby almaty to tashkent and tashkent to almaty. It is okey for baby ?
Hi very nicly covered... I'm travelling from India new Delhi to Almaty on 6th Nov would like to book this train before hand from Almaty to Tashkent... Plz share link to book in English thanks
You can book it here eticket.railway.uz/en/home or on the Kazakh railways website, but you might need to use google translate. Not sure November bookings are open yet
👍👍👍
How much is a private room for one man?
Thanks you 🙏🙏🙏
About 112€ when i did it for a private room like mine
What is the comparison. The trains room is better than my home one. Nevertheless i don't mind.
How much was the private sleeper?
About 120 euro. You can always find the price on my trips at the end of the video or in the description 😎
This station is which railway station in tashkent
Main one Tashkent pass
At 6:34 is that a small tornado?
Hmm maybe! I did not notice it before you pointed it out!
Definitely looks like one. Very rare, so it's lucky you caught it on tape. But maybe I'm seeing it wrong and the experts will weigh in.
You should show your face in these videos so we can see the man behind the voice. Thanks. Sam Jennings (Retired Amtrak Conductor)
Maybe oneday, but otherwise my face is public over on twitter :-)
all the low seated wagons including 2 floors ones are always too noisy to sleep(by my experience), also very thin plastic walls usually (if someone with crying baby)
I can't speak for the walls I didn't notice anything but they are very noisy the wagons
@@Simon-Andersen i was sleeping in new wagons they make these days in CIS region with plastic walls and it's horrible because 2 passengers snoring, one at next coupe was clearly heard inside
Those USSR one's is 1930's German design 😂
how much is in dollars?
@@tonyahrary1693 That depends on which kind of dollar? US NZ HK AUS? It was 119 euro, so if US then about 130 for 2 beds to make it a private cabin
Hi Simon. How did you buy tickets?
On the bilet.railways.kz/ website!
Hi, is there a cheaper train to travel from tashkent to Almaty? This is soo expensive
Bus, shared car, even the planes can be cheap. Or you can travel in one of the cheaper cabins and share with other travelers :-) Check the Kazakh or Uzbek railway website for updated prices as they vary based on demand and travel class
What are you expecting to pay?
Hi, what is the frequency, daily?
Various, ussualy at least every second day, but now the timetable seems to have changed to it leaves at 4:40 in the morning from Tashkent 🥲
I can't find this train, only 1 departing at 4.30 AM.
Sometimes it only runs on certain days of the week, try checking a day earlier or later
I just re-checked on railways.kz and indeed it seems to have changed to leaving at 4:40 from Tashkent now, not a great change!
@@Simon-Andersen Yes and the arrival time in Almaty is also not very convenient.
Anyway i'm planning to be there in September/October Hopefully the timetable is changed again.
What is Central Asia. I know only one Asia. Pls clarify.
CIS countries is often refered as Central Asia, so Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
The CIS includes not only Central Asia, the name itself says central. If you look at the map you can see why we should be called Central Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia and so on
How to book the tickets
You can book it on railways.kz/ or eticket.railway.uz/en/home?f=undefined&t=undefined&date=&date2=
How to book this train?
Online on either Kazakh railways website or Uzbek railways website
Bhai mere dost ko tkiya nhi chiye
"THIS IS *STUPID"*
No it's not. It's a different technology with its upsides and downsides. Stop trying to attract viewers with these ridiculous clickbait titles please, you won't go anywhere like this.
Picking the wrong technology for your railway is a pretty stupid move to me. Had Kazakhstan had high quality rails like Spain then it would have been less of an issue
Boring train