The Angren–Pop railway line () is an electrified railway line in eastern

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

. 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 $. The line opened on 22 June 2016. Passenger trains began operating on 1 September 2016. The long electric rail line connects the existing railways at Angren and

Pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

to create a direct route between the cities of

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

and Namangan. The new rail allows Uzbekistan to abandon the Soviet-era line that cuts across Tajikistan's

Sughd Region Sughd Province ( tg, Вилояти Суғд, Viloyati Sughd, Sogdia Region , fa, ولایت سغد) is one of the four administrative divisions and one of the three provinces ( tg, вилоятҳо, viloyatho , fa, ولایت) that make up ...

, saving Uzbekistan a reported $25 million in transit fees it pays to Tajikistan each year. The project cost an estimated US$1.9 billion and was built over five years. Construction began in March 2013. In September 2013, the

China Railway Tunnel Group China Railway Group Limited known as CREC (the acronym of its predecessor and parent company China Railway Engineering Corporation) is a Chinese construction company which floats in Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges. The major shareholder o ...

signed a construction contract worth $455 million. The project was funded by the Uzbekistan government and international loans. In May 2014, the

Export-Import Bank of China The Export–Import Bank of China (Chexim - China Exim Bank) () is one of two Policy banks (China), institutional banks in China chartered to implement the state policies in Industrial sector, industry, foreign trade, economy, and foreign aid ...

announced it would lend Uzbekistan US$350 million to fund the Chinese tunnel contract. In February 2015, the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

confirmed it would lend Uzbekistan US$195 million for the Angren–Pap Railway. The line includes the

Qamchiq Tunnel The Kamchiq Tunnel ( uz, Qamchiq tonneli) is a 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 (not counting metros). Background This t ...

, the longest tunnel in Central Asia, and of bridges.

Uzbek Railways The Uzbekistan Railways ( uz, Oʻzbekiston Temir Yoʻllari, script=latn) are the national rail carrier of Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, ...

is responsible for the construction and

constructed the Qamchiq Tunnel.

References

External links

Map of railway lines in the area
Railway lines in Uzbekistan Railway lines opened in 2016 {{Uzbekistan transit