Transport in Kyrgyzstan is severely constrained by the country's alpine topography. Roads have to snake up steep valleys, cross passes of 3,000 m (9,843 ft) altitude and more, and are subject to frequent mud slides and snow avalanches. Winter travel is close to impossible in many of the more remote and high-altitude regions. Additional problems are because many roads and railway lines built during the Soviet period are today intersected by international boundaries, requiring time-consuming border formalities to cross where they are not completely closed. The horse is still a much used transport option, especially in rural and inaccessible areas, as it does not depend on imported fuel.
The Fergana Valley in Central Asia lies mainly in eastern Uzbekistan, but also extends into southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan.
The Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Uzbekistan, the Uzbek SSR, UzSSR, UzbSSR, or simply Uzbekistan and rarely Uzbekia, was a union republic of the Soviet Union. It was governed by the Uzbek branch of the Soviet Communist Party, the legal political party, from 1925 until 1990. From 1990 to 1991, it was a sovereign part of the Soviet Union with its own legislation.
Andijan Region is a region of Uzbekistan, located in the eastern part of the Fergana Valley in far eastern Uzbekistan. It borders with Kyrgyzstan, Fergana Region and Namangan Region. It covers an area of 4,300 km2. The population is estimated to be around 3,253,528 (2022) thus making Andijan Region the most densely populated region of Uzbekistan.
Namangan Region is one of the regions of Uzbekistan, located in the southern part of the Fergana Valley in far eastern part of the country. It is on the right bank of Syr Darya River and borders with Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Tashkent Region, Fergana Region, and Andijan Region. It covers an area of 7,440 km2. The population is estimated to be 2,931,056 (2022), with 35% of the population living in rural areas. The great river Syrdarya, the main waterway in Central Asia, starts in the territory of Namangan. Syrdarya is formed from inflows of the rivers Naryn and Kara Darya. The Namangan region is very rich in various natural resources. In particular, the region extracts oil in Mingbulak District and big gold and diamond deposits have been discovered in Kosonsoy and Pop Districts. There are also large deposits of uranium, silver, aluminum, tungsten, iron, copper, granite, and marble, among others. There are two big mountain tunnels connecting the Fergana valley with the inner city area and other regions of the country, located in the territory of Namangan.
Fergana Region is one of the regions of Uzbekistan, located in the southern part of the Fergana Valley in the far east of the country. It borders the Namangan and Andijan Regions of Uzbekistan, as well as Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Its capital is the city Fergana. It covers an area of 6,760 km2. The population is approximately 3,896,395 as of 2022, with 44% of the population living in rural areas.
Namangan is a city in eastern Uzbekistan. It is the administrative, economic, and cultural center of Namangan Region. Administratively, it is a district-level city. Namangan is located in the northern edge of the Fergana Valley, less than 30 km from the Kyrgyzstan border. The city is served by Namangan Airport.
The M41, known informally and more commonly as the Pamir Highway, is a road traversing the Pamir Mountains through Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan with a length of over 1,200 km. It is the only continuous route through the difficult terrain of the mountains and is the main supply route to Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region. The route has been in use for millennia, as there are a limited number of viable routes through the high Pamir Mountains. The road formed one link of the ancient Silk Road trade route. M41 is the Soviet road number, but it only remains as an official designation in post-Soviet Uzbekistan, as confirmed by official decree. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have passed decrees abolishing Soviet numbering of highways and assigning their own national numbering.
Today, the museums of Uzbekistan store over two million artifacts, evidence of the unique historical, cultural, and spiritual life of the Central Asian peoples that have lived in the region.
FC Neftchi Fergana is an Uzbek football club based in Fergana. They play in the top division in Uzbekistani football and are multiple champions of Uzbekistan.
Fergana International Airport is a small airport serving the city of Fergana, the capital city of Fergana Region in Uzbekistan. It is one of the biggest airports in Uzbekistan after Tashkent international airport named after Islam Karimov, Samarkand international airport and Namangan international airport
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Uzbekistan:
Uzbekistan–Tajikistan relations refers to the relations between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Republic of Tajikistan.
As of March 2017, the total length of Uzbekistan's main railway network is 4,714 kilometres (2,929 mi). A large percentage of the system's track requires major repair. The main line is the portion of the Transcaspian Railroad that connects Tashkent with the Amu Darya. There are rail links with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan. Suburban traffic only exists around Tashkent.
The Kyrgyz Railway (KTJ) is the national railway developer of Kyrgyzstan.
The Tashkent–Samarkand high-speed rail line is a 600-kilometre (373 mi) high-speed rail connection between Tashkent and Samarkand, the two largest Uzbekistan cities. The route passes through four regions: Tashkent, Sirdaryo, Jizzakh and Samarqand in Uzbekistan. Trains operate seven days a week under the brand Afrosiyob. A 141 km (88 mi) long extension to Qarshi started operation on 22 August 2015, though at lower speed of 160 km/h (99 mph). An extension to Bukhara on the Talgo 250 ran for the first time on 25 August 2016 – marking the completion of a project to modernise the 256 km (159 mi) route from Samarkand. Travel from Tashkent to Bukhara, a distance of 600 km (373 mi), will now take 3 hours and 20 minutes instead of 7 hours.
The legacy of the Soviet Union lives on in the infrastructure of Central Asia. As it crumbles, or gets patched up, much of what was built in Central Asia is the backbone of the existing infrastructure for transportation, goods delivery and energy distribution. Much of the industrial infrastructure underwent precipitous decline in the 1990s, after the fall of the Soviet Union, especially in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The roads, railroads and energy lines are thus oriented towards the Russian Federation and away from other regional neighbors, such as China, Afghanistan or Iran.
The Kamchiq Tunnel is a 19.2 kilometres (11.9 mi) long railway tunnel in Uzbekistan, which makes it the longest tunnel in Central Asia and in ex-USSR, and the longest broad gauge railway tunnel in the world.
The Angren–Pop railway line is an electrified railway line in eastern Uzbekistan. It provides an additional transport line besides the Kamchik road pass, improving the connection between the Fergana Valley with the rest of Uzbekistan. The total cost of the project was $1.9 billion. The line opened on 22 June 2016. Passenger trains began operating on 1 September 2016.
High speed rail in Uzbekistan currently consists of 600 km of track and services using Talgo 250 equipment, branded Afrosiyob by operator Uzbekistan Railways, on upgraded conventional lines. All HSR lines have been built using upgraded lines on Russian gauge. Other regional railways exist.
