UZBEKISTAN: The first of six high speed trainsets that Hyundai Rotem is building for Uzbek national railway UTY was shipped from the South Korean port of Masan on December 10, watched by Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev.
The 250 km/h trainsets are the first South Korean-built high speed trains to be exported. Kim Jeong-hoon, Executive Director & Head of Hyundai Rotem’s Rail Solutions Division, said shipping the trainset was ‘a very meaningful occasion’ as it showcased South Korean high speed train technology on the world stage for the first time. ‘The Uzbek high speed train symbolises the co-operation and friendship between our two countries’, he said.
The 270bn won order for the seven-car, 1 520 mm gauge trainsets was signed in June 2024, having first been announced when an Uzbek delegation visited South Korea in 2023. The Ministry of Economy & Finance and Export-Import Bank of Korea provided finance through an Economic Development Co-operation Fund loan.
They are based on the KTX-Eum, also known as the EMU-260, a 260 km/h distributed power trainset that has been in operation with South Korea’s Korail since 2021. The Uzbek trains are designed for local conditions, including high temperatures and windblown dust. According to Hyundai Rotem, the train has 90% South Korean content.
The trainsets are to be branded Jaloliddin Manguberdi after a 13th century ruler, and deployed on UTY’s Toshkent – Bukhara – Khiva route from 2026.
