Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The railway companies of Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, KTZh) and Uzbekistan (Uzbekiston Temir Yullari) have reached an agreement to launch a new passenger route connecting Astana and Samarkand.

This decision came as a result of negotiations between representatives of both sides aimed at strengthening cooperation in passenger transportation, according to a press release from KTZh.

As stated in the announcement, the parties signed an agreement to launch tourist trains between the two countries and created a working group to implement joint projects. The first step in this direction was the launch of the "Jibek Joly" tourist train.

Additionally, the meeting discussed the optimization of train schedules on international routes to improve passenger comfort and increase transportation volumes. In particular, at the initiative of the Uzbek side, the schedule for train No. 1/2 "Almaty – Tashkent" was adjusted.