22 hours on the MYSTERIOUS sleeper train you’ve never heard of...
today I'm riding on a mysterious overnight train that you've probably never heard of spending 21 hours traveling along the legendary silk route Railway in usbekistan we'll Traverse endless incredible Mountain scenery meet some of the locals on Route and even experience the mysterious maximum security Kum cheek tunnel through the mountains this is an unbelievable Journey that you cannot miss out on so join me as I ride across usbekistan hello and welcome back to to another video today I'm here in andan in the east of usbekistan and I'm going to be traveling by train across the entire length of the country to K I've booked a private compartment for this journey and the scenery promises to be amazing I'm looking forward to it let's go good morning from andon the second largest city in usbekistan known for being a stop on the ancient Silk Road let's start off today by heading to the station hidden away behind a major road and a row of trees good luck if you're in a wheel chair and's main station is rather creatively named andjon 1 with andan 2 having closed to passenger trains years ago the station was totally refurbished quite recently and is now a modern construction inspired by historic USC architecture access to the station is tightly controlled with a ticket inspection and Luggage scan a ticket office can therefore be found in a separate building outside the station confines tickets are inspected in this little Hut found in one corner of the fence once through we can head inside the small yet functional main hall This Modern design is definitely a sharp contrast to the outdated train we'll be riding on today after a quick luggage scan we're in the waiting room where plenty of seats can be found facilities include an unstaffed tourist information desk and an unstaffed book shop though luckily there was someone selling packaged snacks and drinks for the long journey ahead with little to see inside the station I decided to head out to the platforms andan one doesn't see that many trains with at most four daily Services heading towards TSH Kent even these trains are relatively new due to political reasons which we'll get too soon we Ban's Railways were mostly built during the Soviet era and there are many telltale signs of this history this passing electric locomotive is a classic Soviet design namely a V8s with the VL standing for Vladimir Lenin of course and with this massive freight train having passed our train is called for boarding my train today is number 125f the 0944 departure to in the west of the country this service is operated by OS isir yolar the national operator of usbekistan and in fact the only train company in the country I'm booked in Carriage 5 today though when I reached the carriage the attendant was still asleep up front today is a 14-year-old OED Das y electric locomotive built by CSR jeul Jal this powerful locomotive is designed specifically for hauling heavy passenger trains on challenging routes much like the route we'll travel on today after much waiting The Carriage attendant was still not present so a whole bunch of passengers had to wait outside the door as departure time fast approached eventually the stairs were deployed and after explaining my unusual ticket situation I was allowed on board this Carriage is a classic ammendorf car a common Soviet era design with thousands of these being built in what was then East Germany from the 1950s though this particular one was built in the early 1990s I'm traveling in coper class today which features private rooms each with four beds my room is number four and I've booked all beds in the compartment to give me extra privacy today's route sees us heading West Winding among the mountains and through the kchek tunnel to toshkent and then along the silk route Railway in the barren Central Asian desert to hia Journey time is scheduled to be 21 hours and 26 minutes covering 1,438 km or about 894 Mi we slowly pull out of under John 1 Station 2 minutes late at 094 [Music] 6 just a few minutes later we're up to speed and running through the Fertile Plains of the ferana valley region before we get to the incredible Mountain views let's take a look around the interior of the small room that's going to be my home for the next 21 hours all rooms have a sliding door this can be locked like this but also features a latch for extra security the rooms have four bunks centered around a small table by day these can be used for sitting on with a firm back rest being provided the benches themselves are actually really comfortable thanks to the soft mattress there's also a very squishy cushion provided making it even easier to relax the room has a table by the window covered by a smart tablecloth when you board you can find a small bottle of water for each bed as well as a selection of black and green tea bags and some sugar also included is a set of fresh bedding but we'll look at that later on when it's time to go to sleep luggage storage on these carriages is plentiful you can find a large shelf above the corridor beneath the lower bunks there's a secure luggage storage box nobody can reach this as you'll sleeping right on top of it next to the door you can find some coat hooks which were in bad condition but should still work fine and each bed gets a net where you can store smaller personal items such as your phone windows on the train are a little bit odd with this bit being heavily tinted to keep the beaming Sun at Bay but this bit at the top is not tinted allowing the full heat of the Sun directly into your room anyway the window can be slightly opened a small Mercy on this hot summer's day as no carriages on this train have airon absolutely brutal as temperatures in usbekistan can reach nearly 50° there was also a sunlind though this wasn't working properly and lastly none of these rooms have any power sockets and whilst there were some in the corridor these weren't working back outside we are pulling into our first station after just under an hour of travel this is marelon a city of 250,000 people in its own right but also the closest station to the similarly sized city of ferana our ride through the fana Valley continues with countless fields of plants most of usbekistan is a dry and arid desert with the fagana valley region flourishing thanks to the increased rainfall and cooler temperatures and as this Pleasant landscape speeds by I decided to get a cup of tea boiling hot water can be dispensed at the end of The Carriage so let's try this usbekistan Railways branded tea by the way these carriages can be fairly rough at speed so be very careful not to burn yourself trains in this part of the world usually serve tea in a glass in a metal holder known as a pod stanic what a classic Vibe as we reach the end of the fana Valley it's time to talk about the politics behind this service until mid 2016 trains between andan and Tashkent took a very different route running through the territory of Tajikistan this required two border crossings and resulted in usbekistan railways incurring some Hefty Transit fees of course in Soviet times this was not an international border allowing freight trains to easily pass through Tajikistan to reach the fana Valley but in the Years following Independence relations between usbekistan and Tajikistan grew unfriendly pair this with the logistical issues and usbekistan urgently sought a replacement route this new mountainous route was funded by Chinese and other International loans with China Railway company also lending its expertise for constructing the 19 km long kic tunnel the railway over the kic pass has become an essential asset to usbekistan and as well as the limited passenger trains it also sees a large amount of freight here we begin to climb a sharp gradient heading away from the densely populated fana Valley region our 8,000 horsepower locomotive makes easy work of this challenging Railway as we climb into the stunning Kurama mountain range this mountain range spans usbekistan Tajikistan and kyrgistan with a length of 170 [Music] km the views from up here are breathtaking with the railway running across the mountains and looking down upon the valley below down there is the town of chodak a start point for many mountain hike trails and a fast growing domestic tourism destination the town is served by con train station I've never really understood stations like this as despite their modern and large construction no trains actually stop here please tell me in the comments if you know [Music] more as a mountainous route there are of course numerous Bridges each one offering a different panoramic view of this dramatic [Music] landscape but this is where things start to get a little bit strange as we slow down just outside the kch tunnel The Carriage attendant passes along the corridor shutting all of the windows and instructs passengers to shut the ones in their compartments too and this was a scorching hot day as as well we came to a stop while a few inspections of the train took place even the Army were present seemingly exchanging paperwork with the driver after 10 minutes we're back on the move and pretty much immediately speed into the comic tunnel this tunnel is shrouded with mystery which was actually the reason I wanted to try out this train in the first place according to a report by fellow train traveler Mark VD the situation used to be even more unusual with the staff prohibiting the use of electronic devices and even pulling down the blinds while in the tunnel this has led to a lot of speculation with some people theorizing that they have hidden something inside the tunnel but whatever the truth is it's certainly mysterious after a 15-minute journey through the tunnel we've emerged from the other side and the scenery here is just as incredible we follow the Aang garan River as it slowly descends towards the city of angaran this River leads to a reservoir and whilst it looks pretty dry at the moment there's a lot of capacity for water [Music] here it's fascinating to think that hundreds of years ago this was part of the main trade route between Europe and Asia of course back then the journey would have been made on Caravans of camels or horses rather than this comparatively luxurious Soviet sleeper [Music] train after a while we reached the akang garan reservoir one of the country's main domestic supplies of water this vast body of water betwix two steep mountain ridges was one of this Journey's most impressive sites though I'll let you in on a secret tonight's sunset is going to be equally incredible and just minutes later we get a look over this vast open pit Coal Mine talk about a contrast this area contains nearly a quarter of the coal in the central Asia region making the mining industry a key contributor to the local economy we are now 5 hours into the journey and arriving at angren station until 2016 this was the Terminus of the line from Tashkent the city was created in the 1940s by way of combining numerous existing Villages as we head towards the usak capital I was paid a visit by some unexpected guests three local men decided to sit in my compartment and have a picnic they also shared some of their food in this case some Kur which is basically a hard dried cheese made from fermented milk and a bit of bread anyway as that surprise picnic was finishing up we arrived in the city of Tashkent this is usbekistan capital and largest city with a population of 3 million we are currently arriving at TSH gent Jan or South Station the smaller of the two major stations in the city I decided to get off here and stretch my legs as well as visit some of the station vendors to stock up on some refreshing cold drinks various snacks and ice creams were also available we Chang our locomotive here with this modern 20- UI electric locomotive taking over for the ride on a highspeed line across the desert this massive two-part Chinese locomotive was built in 2021 and is capable of putting down 12,800 horsepower wow after a 30 minute wait we pull out of toshkent janobi as we leave you can catch a glimpse at two of usbekistan Soviet era commuter trains the venerable electrika the line southwards from Tashkent is capable of supporting high-speed trains and whilst this train is only capable of 120 km an hour some other trains go much faster of course this is reliant on there not being any heavy freight trains lumbering around in front of you this station is guliston the city has also been called mirach until the 1960s and was known as kyum until 2015 where it was renamed to guliston a reference to the area's prominence in the buak cotton industry as the spectacular desert Sunset begins to show itself let's take a quick look around the rest of the train starting off with the toilets two of these can be found in every Carriage one situated at each [Music] end this was in pretty poor condition and only got worse throughout the journey unfortunately by the way these toilets flush directly onto the track meaning they cannot be used at stations and are locked out of use when in urban areas a tiny bar of soap is provided though this usually goes missing water can be had by pushing upwards on the [Music] tap many other carriages on this train are third class which is known as plat cart and features 54 bunks in an open plan layout whilst it won't be winning any awards for Comfort or privacy it is a cheaper option and a great way to meet local people by the way this train had a restaurant car but believe it or not I didn't actually noticed this until I was editing so I didn't visit it being out here in the desert of usbekistan during sunset was really as incredible as these clips make it look [Music] we even pass one of oban's high-speed talgo units nicknamed the afro seab these trains were introduced from 2011 and are capable of 250 km an hour let me know in the comments if you want to see a video on this train the atmosphere of this Dusty desert made this one train journey I will never forget just look at the Vivid orange glow over the landscape but unfortunately all good things come to an end and eventually it gets dark it's soon time to check out my bed for the night but first we make one more stop this station is sarand an incredible historic city that is well worth a visit it's also the country's third largest by population each passenger gets a pack of clean bedding which can be found waiting on the bed once made up this results in a fairly nice bed the mattress was pretty comfortable and on top there was a very soft cushion by the way the room's lighting can be controlled using this this switch but personal reading lights can also be found at each bunk next to the window and with that it's time to get some sleep before tomorrow morning's arrival at the ancient city of [Applause] Kiva good morning from Western usbekistan I managed to get around 8 hours of mostly uninterrupted sleep which is pretty good going thankfully it cooled down a lot during the night allowing me to get some good rest we are currently under the power of a diesel locomotive having swapped to this in the middle of the night this won't be a thing for much longer in usbekistan and you can already see The electrification Works taking place here and now on to how much this journey costs for one bed in Coupe class I paid 26678 USC s I booked this on the easy to use USC Railways app for a 21-hour sleeper train ride across the country I think this is a pretty good deal note that I bought four tickets to ensure a private room which quadrupled the cost of my journey we eventually pull into Kiva station one of the latest additions to usbekistan railway Network having just opened in 2018 arrival at this seriously over ized station is just 3 minutes late at 0713 overall this was a really good journey with usbekistan Railways these old carriages have a lot of charm even if they are lacking modern features you would expect such as power sockets and airon however the scenery friendly fellow passengers and good value more than made up for this short fall as always let me know what you thought of this OPC sleeper in the comments and for a look at the Region's shocking corrupt crossborder train then click up here now
2024-05-10 01:20
