Metro of Tashkent

The Tashkent Metro

Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan, and it is also the most populated city of the country with its 2,485,000 inhabitants.

During its prime, when it was part of the extinct Soviet Union, it had become the metropolis of the highest importance of the Central Asia region. However, after the independence of the nation in 1991, its capital experienced big economical, cultural, and architectonic changes.

Tashkent has a wide array of cultures, ethnicities, and religions. In 2007, it was recognized as the Cultural Capital of the Muslim World due to its high number of historical mosques and other important Islamic places.

The city has had a stable demographic growth, even after its separation from the USSR. As a consequence, it has been facing a growing demand of services by its inhabitants.

An example is the creation of the Tashkent Metro, which is an answer to the transportation needs of its citizens. The construction of this system began during the beginning of the 70s, and ended on 1977, being inaugurated on November 6th of that year.

The works to complete the project were affected by the unique conditions of Tashkent´s underground soil, characterized by being soft and sinuous. However, the structure is currently 36.2 kilometers long, and it has 29 stations that are spread throughout three lines.

Toshkent (Tashkent Metro)

Lines and stations

The Tashkent Metro has three commercial lines, which can be recognized on the system´s maps due to their different colors. These three lines in conjunction have a total road length of 36.2 kilometers, in which 29 stations are built. The lines are designed in such a way that the northern and southern sectors of the capital communicate with each other, as well as with the business district area.

The lines and stations of the metro will be described below:

Chilonzor Line (Red Line)

It is the first line of the system, being inaugurated on 1977 to offer transportation to the districts at the south of the city towards the downtown area and, afterwards, to the west of Tashkent. It has 15.5 kilometers of length and 12 stations.

Stations:

• Buyuk Ipak Yoli: The station is located on the Mirzo Ulugbek district, on Mirzo Ulugbeka Avenue and Buyuk Ipak Yuli Street.
• Pushkin: The station offers service to the Mirzo Ulugbek district, and it lies close to Pushkina Plaza.
• Hamid Olimjon: The stop is located on the Mirzo Ulugbek district, on Pushkina Street.
• Amir Temur Xiyoboni: The station is located on the Mirzo Ulugbek district, at Pushkina Street, near Amira Timura Plaza.
• Mustaqilliq Maidoni: This stop is located on the Yunusabad district, right at the Tashkent downtown area.
• Paxtakor: The station lies at the city´s downtown area, at Yunusabad district, near the Pakhtakor and Yeshlik stadiums.
• Bunyodkor: The station is located at Yunusabad district, and its exits head towards Druzhby Narodov Plaza, Bunodkor and Islama Karimova avenues, and towards the Furkata and Karatash streets.
• Milliy Bog: The stop is located on the Yunusabad district at Bunodkor Avenue, where the city´s amusement park is located.
• Novza: The station lies at the Yunusabad district, right at the intersection between Bunodkor Avenue and Mukimi Street.
• Mirzo Ulugbek: Located at the Yunusabad district, this station lies at the intersection between Bunodkor Avenue and Chalpanota Street.
• Chilonzor: It is located at the Yunusabad district, at the crossing between Bunodkor Avenue and Maloy Kol'tsevoy AvtoDorogi Street.
• Olmazar: This station is located on the Chilanzarskiy district, at Bunodkor Avenue, right at the crossing towards Gavkhar Street.

Ozbekiston Line (Blue Line)

The metro´s blue line was built during the decade of 80s with the goal of uniting the northeastern and eastern districts of the city with the downtown area. It is comprised of a 14.3 kilometer-long road, in which 11 stations are spread throughout.

Stations

• Beruniy: The station is located on the Olmazar district, on the intersection between Beruni Avenue and Farabi Street.
• Tinchlik: This station lies on the Olmazar district, on the intersection between Nurafshon Street and Beruni Avenue.
• Chorsu: The stop is located on the Olmazar district, at Binkent Street.
• Gafur Gulom: The station is localized on the Shaykhontohur district, between Gafura Gulyama Street and Abdully Kadyri Avenue.
• Alisher Navoiy: The station is one the Shaykhontohur District, on the crossing between Alishera Navoi Avenue and Botira Zakirova Street.
• Ozbekiston: The station is located right between the Yakkasaray and Shaykhontohur districts, where Kosmonavtov and Uzbekistanskiy avenues meet.
• Kosmonavtlar: The station is located on the Yakkasaray District, where it has exits towards Sharafa Rashidova Avenue and the streets of Afrosiyob, Mirabadskaya and Yusuf Khos Khodzhiba.
• Oybek: The stop lies on the Mirobod District, on the intersection among the streets of Aybeka, Afrosiyob and Shakhrisabzskaya.
• Toshkent: The station is localized on the Mirobod District, between the Amira Temura Avenue and the Tarasa Shevchenko Street.
• Mashinasozlar: The station is located on the Yashnabad District, on the intersection between de streets of Elbek and Pakhlavona Makhmuda.
• Do’stlik: The stop is localized on the Yashnabad Districts, where Elbeka Street and Alimkentskaya Street meet.

Taskent Metro

Yunusobod Line (Green Line)

The green line is the most recent line and, as a fun fact, it is also the smallest one of the system. It was inaugurated on the year 2001, and it only has six stations that are spread throughout the 6.4 kilometers of underground roads.

Stations

• Shahriston: This station is located on the Yunusabad district, between the Amira Timura and Shakhristanskaya streets.
• Bodomzor: The stop is located on the Yunusabad district, where Amira Timura Avenue and Shivli Street meet together.
• Minor: The station is located on Yunusabad Street, on Amira Timura Avenue.
• Abdulla Qodirii: Just like the previous one, this stop is located on Yunusabad district, on Amira Timura Avenue.
• Yunus Rajabiy: The stop lies at Yunusabad district, very close to Amira Timura Plaza, on Pushkina Street.
• Ming Orik: It is located on Yunusabad district, on the intersection among the streets of Aibek, Afrosiab and Shakhrisabz.

Connections

The Tashkent Metro has many connections with other public transportation systems on its stations. However, some stops do not have connections.

The transfers that you can make on the subway will be shown below:

Chilonzor Line (Red Line)

• Pushkin: It connects with the buses from lines 17, 24, 58, 95 and 155. It also connects with the microbus from line 97M.
• Olmazar: It connects with the buses from lines 32, 41, 74, 86, 98, 100, 103, 105, 116 and 118. It also connects with the tramway from line 17.

Oʻzbekiston Line (Blue Line)

• Beruniy: It connects with the buses from lines 10, 11, 14, 28, 31, 34, 78, 87, 88, 92, 116 and 188.
• Tinchlik: It connects with the buses from lines 11, 28, 29, 64, 65, 76, 92, 147 and 188.
• Gafur Gulom: It connects with the buses from lines 9, 17, 43, 65, 100, 109, 111 and 150.
• Alisher Navoiy: It connects with the buses from lines 35, 36, 53, 64, 65, 100 and 126.
• Ozbekiston: It connects with the buses from lines 13, 42 and 51.
• Kosmonavtlar: It connects with the buses from lines 57, 67, 90 and 140.
• Oybek: It connects with the buses from lines 18, 33, 38, 57, 58, 67, 90 and 98.
• Toshkent: It connects with the buses from lines 12, 16, 22, 26, 37, 40, 46, 55, 60, 62, 68, 69, 70, 76, 78, 81, 93 and 127. It also connects with the tramways from lines 9, 13 and 26.
• Mashinasozlar: It connects with the buses from lines 10, 28, 72, 148 and 155. Also, it connects with the microbuses from lines 43M and 137M.
• Do‘stlik: It connects with the buses from lines 10, 15, 22, 28, 49, 54, 72, 148 and 155. Also, it connects with the microbuses from lines72M, 115M, 137M and 166M.

Yunusobod Line (Green Line)

• Shahriston: It connects with the buses from lines 9, 24, 26, 50, 51, 60, 63, 67, 71, 72, 91, 93, 95, 97, 140 and 150. Also, it connects with the microbuses from lines62M, 102M and 134M.

Business Hours

The Tashkent Metro is open during most of the day. That means that it is convenient for the inhabitants of the city, even though it is not open all day long.

The stations open its doors and bring access to its users starting at 5:00 a.m. The rolling stock transits endlessly until 11:30 p.m., from Monday to Sunday. The subway offers service virtually all year long, with a few exceptions, such as days when maintenance or repairs are required.

The trains tend to arrive at the platforms each five minutes. However, during peak hours, the waiting times are reduced considerably, since they change to only two or three minutes.

Meanwhile, after 9:00 p.m., the units begin to decrease their frequency, reaching a waiting time of 10 minutes.

These frequency estimates only apply during weekdays, since, on weekends, as well as holidays, the vehicles arrive each five or 10 minutes all day long, even during peak hours.

Fares

The Tashkent Metro only accepts a single payment option to grant access to its facilities, which is the use of tokens.

Even though the use of tokens is quite convenient for some travelers, since they do not need to choose among a myriad of passes and subscription plans before travelling, it is also true that frequent users of the subway do not have any discounts available nor any of subscription that would best adjust to their needs.

The tokens are made of plastic and have a circular shape. They are usually blue, and have the metro´s logo on one of their sides, and the word “towkeht” on the other. The price of a token is of 1,200 UZS, which equal to 15 American dollar cents. They can be acquired at ticket booths located at stops.

The token allows you to move around the network throughout all stations, as well as through the three lines of the system. Even though all of the information at the booths is only available in Uzbek, you will barely need to know the local language since the process of purchasing tokens is quite simple.

Rules

• If you carry luggage of a large size, you should make sure that it doesn´t block the way, and that it does not disturb the other passengers.
• Whenever you bring backpacks or similar bags, make sure to put them in front of you while you are on your seat. This way, you will not disturb the other users, and you also avoid incidents such as getting your bag stolen.
• Avoid bring pets with you on the Tashkent Metro, since they are not allowed. If you bring them with you, you will be denied access immediately.
• You cannot smoke on the metro´s facilities.
• You cannot bring suspicious chemicals nor chemicals that may be potentially hazardous for the health of the other passengers.
• It is prohibited to carry fireworks and flammable elements on the metro´s facilities.
• Keep a safe distance from the drawn yellow line at the edge of the platforms at all times. The security staff will be especially wary to make sure that this rule is obeyed.
• You cannot drink alcoholic beverages nor carry them on the metro´s network.
• You cannot enter the stations with medications of dubious origin nor with illegal substances.
• Avoid running on the system´s stations.
• You cannot take photos nor record videos without the previous authorization of the metro´s authorities.
• Violent behavior will not be tolerated on the system´s facilities.
• You cannot sell goods on the stations nor on the wagons of the Tashkent Metro.
• Begging is prohibited on the stations and trains of the metro.
• You cannot hand out flyers within the system´s facilities.
• Make sure to keep the facilities clean. Littering will be considered as sabotaging the metro.
• You cannot play musical instruments on the metro´s facilities.
• Do not play music without headphones while travelling on the network.

Fun facts

• The Tashkent metro´s authorities take the safety of the system very seriously, so it is common that the security staff checks you bags while entering the stations.
• The Tashkent Metro´s trains are still the same ones used during Soviet times, which were built by the Russian firm known as Metrovagonmash. The units are comprised of four sky blue wagons.
• The Tashkent Metro´s ridership has been decreasing continuously over time. Just five years ago, it used to transport 160 thousand passengers daily. In contrast, it barely transports 150 thousand passengers nowadays. This trend began with the fall of the URSS, and it hasn´t changed since then.
• Even though all of the information within the stations and wagons of the metro is only available in Uzbek, there are images that allow foreigners to understand it without a problem.
• The Metro´s most attractive feature is its beautiful architecture, which has the striking Soviet style from its time, with carefully designed details and walls full of art in every station.
• The Tashkent Metro´s construction was being led by the same architects that gave shape to the metros from Moscow and Leningrad, which is why many people consider it “the most beautiful metro in the world”. This statement is may currently be questionable, though.

Connection to the airport

Although the Tashkent Metro does not have a station that provides direct access to the Tashkent International Airport, it does have bus lines that will take you from some stations to the airport.

Among the most striking of these stations is Toshkent Station, from the Oʻzbekiston line, since it is at the heart of the city, and it also connects with the Tashkent Railway Terminal.

From there, it is possible to board any of the buses from line 40, which have a stop in front of the airport. The journey takes between 20 and 30 minutes, depending on the traffic. The price of the journey is of 10 American dollar cents. The units tend to arrive at the metro station each 10 or 20 minutes, but it´s not an express line. This fact is especially important because, since this is not an exclusive bus line to transport people to the airport, the vehicles do not have compartments to store suitcases of big size, so you´ll need to take this into consideration.

Outside of the airport, there are also shared cabs that go to fixed routes, which have a cost of 40 American dollar cents. This is a quite attractive alternative for those who wish to reach downtown in a quick and safe way.

However, if you want to go towards other Tashkent areas, then you will have to use a private taxi line. In that case, you will have to pay a price ranging between 4 and 10 USD.

Future expansions

Recently, on September 2016, the Tashkent Metro´s authorities showed their future plans for the system. According to their data, 20 new stations are expected, which would serve the three current lines. The districts that will benefit the most from these projects will be Yunusabad and Karakamysh.

Likewise, on 2017, the construction of the Sirgʻali line began. This line will have roads of 8 kilometers in length, in which six stations will be built. Its name comes from the district in which it will be located, that is, Sirgʻali. This community has been waiting for this work to be completed since 2001, when the project was originally announced. However, the lack of budget ended up delaying significantly the beginning of the construction. According to the current information, the line will be operational on the year 2020.

Meanwhile, it is estimated that the Halqa line will be built as a long-term project. It will be ring-shaped, similar to the Moscow Metro, and it will connect most of the city´s districts with each other. Its length will be greater than the current lines, since it will have railways of 52 kilometers in length, in which 35 commercial stations will be localized. Its opening is expected to be on the year 2030.

Touristic attractions

Just a few meters from the Kosmonavtlar station of the Oʻzbekiston line, the Uzbekistan State Museum of Applied Art is located. This is an emblematic space where Uzbek art is exhibited.

Its origins date back from 1927, when handicraft works from every corner of the country began to be collected on Uzbekistan´s capital. Since then, a place where the national creations would be put was needed, without needing to move them around from one place to the other every year.

Over time, the Uzbekistan State Museum of Applied Art got newer collections continuously. It currently has exhibits such as Uzbek patchwork handicrafts, local jewels, traditional rugs from the 19th century, paintings and sculptures from the biggest and most famous artists of the country, among many other national works. This is a space that, without a doubt, is worth a visit.

Likewise, at Mustaqilliq Maidoni station, which belongs to the Chilonzor line, you will be able to find Independence Plaza. This space not only works as a reference point for the city, but also as the center of a lot of activities organized by the City Hall of Tashkent. The most important holidays, as well as the traditional festivals celebrated by the citizens, take place at this plaza, which receives visitors from all over the country.

The plaza is comprised of 12 hectares, where the stairs are decorated with granite, and it has many fountains that decorate such a beautiful place. Likewise, 16 columns made from white marble support a huge metal arc, which has a coat of silver moon paint. On top of this arc, delicate figures of storks are exhibited, which represent peace for the Uzbek people since a long time ago.