Empty seats but no tickets available – the ongoing paradox in Uzbekistan's rail sector

Aziz Akkulov, the Chairman of the Tourism Committee, shared with the media that Uzbekistan aims to attract 20 million foreign tourists annually by 2030, with tourism service exports projected to surpass $6 billion. However, reaching these milestones is hindered by several deeply rooted structural challenges.

Among the most pressing issues is the persistent scarcity of tickets for domestic routes and the steep pricing of high-speed train fares. These factors continually raise concerns and cause significant inconvenience for both local residents and international visitors.

Securing a ticket has become a major hurdle. In practice, booking a train or plane ticket for a specific desired date is often impossible due to lack of availability. Paradoxically, trains frequently depart with empty seats despite the system showing no tickets for sale. In other instances, tickets suddenly reappear in the system just hours before departure. While this is often attributed to unsold group reservations being released back into the system, the inefficiency ultimately results in financial losses for Uzbekistan Railways.

When asked about a remedy for this situation, Jamshid Gaziev, a department head at the Tourism Committee, suggested that the upcoming launch of the Sarbon mobile application could provide a solution. However, railway workers previously interviewed by Kun.uz also pinned hopes on the Sarbon app, yet the issue remains unaddressed despite the passage of time.

Chairman Aziz Akkulov emphasized that the current infrastructure simply cannot keep up with demand. He explained that people's appetite for travel today is vastly different from what it was a decade ago, stating that there are now too many travelers for a single railway network. To mitigate the strain, the Jaloliddin Manguberdiy train was introduced to Khiva, and plans are in place to increase the fleet to four trains by September. According to Akkulov, operations are currently limited by existing capacity constraints.

Other media representatives attending the press conference echoed these concerns, stressing numerous complaints from the public regarding unjustifiably high ticket prices and flawed booking systems.