1000km from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan by LUXURY TALGO Sleeper Train

1000km from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan by LUXURY TALGO Sleeper Train

This Video is sponsored by Level8 
Luggage. Get 10% OFF Using Code: NONSTOP10 Today we’re taking an international 
train from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan. And if you’ve travelled with 
Spanish railways much – the coaches will be very familiar too – 
but with a couple of HUGE twists… So come along with me and let’s have a blast 
on central Asia’s MOST MODERN sleeper train! You join me on a very long day trip to 
the Charyn River Canyon and Kaindy Lakes, located around 175km (108mi) 
to the East of Almaty. I definitely got my 10,000 steps 
in today – along with seeing some of the beautiful natural sights that 
Kazakhstan is not very well known for. I even got to ride an old Soviet 
van around the area – and maybe this is where the inspiration for 
today’s train suspension comes from? Anyway, back in Almaty the next day – and 
we’re outside Almaty-2, the most centrally located station in Kazakhstan’s largest city – 
which has a population of 2.2 million people. I love how much care is taken 
of the station building and the surrounding area. It’s absolutely beautiful! Heading inside, and there is a basic security 
check before you can access the main concourse. The stunning design features continue inside with the ornate vaulted ceilings 
and gold accented pillars. There are a few shops spread around the 
station, and a large waiting room off to the side of the main concourse, with 
staffed ticket counters down the far end. The service we’ll be taking today is Train No.1, 
from Almaty to Tashkent, departing at 6.25pm. OK, let’s head outside now as our train 
is already and waiting on the platform. Many more food vendors can be found out here 
selling their wares to my fellow passengers. Today’s train is formed of a rake of Spanish Talgo 
coaches, of both sleeper and seated variants. They feature the standard single wheel design, 
shared between two coaches – which is the cause of so many of this trains famous ride quality 
problems in Spain – but more on that later. Hauling us for most of this 
route will be a Kazakhstan Railways KZ4AT Alstom Prima Electric Locomotive. These have a top speed of 200km/h 
(125mph) where line speed permits. Boarding is as easy as finding 
your coach, Number 12 in my case, and checking in with the staff members 
at the door using your passport as ID. They will then direct your 
to your compartment or seat. There is a small step up from 
platform to train – but this coach also has an integrated 
wheelchair lift, if required. I will be travelling in the top 
class of service on this train, a deluxe, en-suite twin compartment which 
is officially called ‘Talgo Grand’ Class. There are just two of these 
in this very small coach, along with the accessible one, which we’ll 
check out in more detail tomorrow morning. Level8 have a wide selection of suitcases and travel accessories designed 
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or in the description below. My first impressions of the room are 
good, with it looking very spacious, modern and clean – but would I rather be on that ex-Soviet coach on the adjacent track? 
That remains to be seen… for now. Before we depart, let’s check out 
our route from Almaty, Kazakhstan, which will see us head west 
near to the Kyrgyzstan border, before turning south towards Uzbekistan, and 
the capital Tashkent, just over the border. We depart Almaty-2 on-time at 6.25pm. This overnight journey is scheduled to take 
us 16 hours and 3 minutes of travel time, covering a distance of 983km (611mi) and, arriving 
in Tashkent around half past ten tomorrow morning. The price for a single adult ticket in this 
‘Grand’ en-suite compartment is 24,884 Kazakh Tenge (£35.78, €42.01, $48.56) which 
I think is excellent value for this journey. If there’s two of you travelling or 
you want sole occupancy, the price is doubled. We start by heading north for a few 
miles, before tuning west and calling at Almaty-1 in the north of the city and 
picking up quite a few more passengers. It’s then full steam ahead and 
out in to the open countryside to properly start this near 1000km journey. The impressive peaks you can see off 
in the distance are in the Tian Shan mountain range – the natural border between 
southern Kazakhstan and northern Kyrgyzstan. OK, time to check out our ‘Grand’ compartment. The door can be locked from the 
inside only, using this single bolt. These switches control the various wall and 
ceiling lights – and the A/C vent is also up here. In day mode, the room has two large chairs 
with armrests – which are very soft and comfy! These have detachable tables which are 
stored up here, and can be deployed like so. The windows have blackout curtains and there’s 
coat hangers available for your clothes. One standard European-style 
power socket is on the wall, along with the headphone jack and controls 
for the TV, which unfortunately didn’t work. There are also instructions for a 
WiFi based entertainment system, but I couldn’t get this to work either. Luckily I’d downloaded lots of 
YouTube videos to watch on my laptop. Fold-out steps are present to allow easier access 
to the top bunk, which folds out from the wall, like so – and the bottom bunk 
folds out from behind the seats. The mattress was soft, and 
the bed sheets were clean. A couple of towels are provided, another top 
sheet, a thick blanket and a fluffy pillow. A large litter bin is available, along with plenty 
of space to store your luggage above the bathroom. And speaking of the en-suite, this 
is what really sets this room apart. It was very clean, the water 
worked and the soap was stocked up. The shower had good pressure, and warm water. Finally, the toilet worked and toilet 
paper was stocked up. A lovely bathroom to go along with a well appointed and 
comfortable room. Now to relax a bit! If you want AD-FREE early access to every 
video, great perks and to help me to do BIGGER & BETTER reviews, then become a 
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join button in every video, thank you! The corridors have dispensers for 
both cold and hot water – so you can make your own tea or coffee, or pot noodles. But there is also a full, sit-down dining car. In here you can probably hear my biggest 
gripe with this train. The ride quality, even at slow speeds is pretty bad 
with constant loud banging noises. Anyway, there is a comprehensive and well-priced 
menu of food and drinks, including alcohol. So I went for a lovely cold draught beer, along 
with the meatballs, mashed potato and chili sauce. To finish, I had this humongous slice of 
red velvet cake to end a very lovely meal. I can’t remember exactly how much I paid, but I think it was around 5,000 Kazakh 
Tenge (£7.29, €8.61, $9.84) in total. After a few more beers, I headed back to 
my compartment to settle in for the night. Let’s hope I can have a nice 
rest – see you tomorrow! Good morning! Well – that 
was actually a good sleep. I woke a couple of times when we made stops, but overall the bed was comfy and the 
noise and the bumps weren’t that bad. We are running pretty much to time 
at this point, so I head to the dining car in search of breakfast with 
a beautiful sunrise in the background. But it seems they are running 
to their own schedule in here, as it’s listed to open at 8am on the 
wall, but half an hour after that, the staff are still fast asleep on 
the seats. No breakfast then I guess. We have now turned south and are heading towards 
the Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan border, at Saryagash. There is lots of freight waiting here 
to cross the border in both directions, as this requires custom clearances 
and a change of locomotive. The border crossings are scheduled 
to take around 2 hours in total, for both sides, with Kazakh exit checks first. You don’t have to get off the train, the 
immigration staff come to you with mobile passport checking terminals 
and stamps – which is nice. We then cross the bridge and 
small river that marks the border, and repeat the process again 
with Uzbek entry checks. Back on the move and as many of the other compartments are now vacant – 
let’s go and check them out. This is one of the 2-berth 
‘Business Class’ rooms. It’s almost the same as mine, but without the en-suite. Here is one of the 4-berth ‘Economy Class’ 
rooms. These are ideal for families or groups travelling together, or for sharing 
with the locals so you can meet new people. Lastly, here is the spacious accessible 2-berth 
room, with it’s own large en-suite bathroom. The beds and bedding in all of 
these rooms are the same as in mine. There is a seated option but I wouldn’t 
recommend this for an overnight trip. We will shortly be arriving in Tashkent, the 
Uzbek capital city and the end of today’s journey, so let me summarise this tripfrom Almaty onboard this Kazakhstan Railways Talgo train, 
in a ‘Grand’ en-suite compartment. Overall, I had a great time! The 
whole train was very modern and clean, the room was well kitted out, the bed was 
comfy, and the en-suite was brilliant to have – especially the shower. It is also 
GREAT value for money in my opinion. I really enjoyed the full dining car, well for dinner anyway, but it’s a shame 
the staff didn’t get up to serve breakfast. My only disappointment was the bad ride quality, 
but that is a Talgo problem worldwide, and not just here. It certainly wasn’t anywhere near as 
bad as some that I’ve previously ridden though. I would recommend this service, however if 
there was a choice to take the old ex-Soviet coaches instead of the Talgo, I would do this 
instead as the ride quality is far superior. To check out my 4-day journey all the 
way across Kazakhstan, from West to East, onboard one of these old-school 
trains – click the link above now! We arrive at Tashkent Station just a 
couple of minutes late, at 10.30am. Now to explore the beautiful 
Uzbek capital for a few days! Have you been on any international trains 
in ex-Soviet countries before? If so, which ones and on which routes? How did you 
find them? Let me know in the comments below! I’m always open to new video ideas, so if you 
have something you’d like to see on the channel, then drop me DM on Instagram, BlueSky or Twitter. Don’t forget to subscribe, and thanks for watching 
to the end, and I’ll see you in the next video!

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Today we’re back in Kazakhstan and will be taking an International Sleeper Train to Uzbekistan!

We’ll be travelling nearly 1000km from Almaty to Tashkent on a Kazakhstan Railways Talgo trainset in a Deluxe en-suite compartment – These are Central Asia’s NEWEST Night Trains, but they have one HUGE problem – come along with me to find out!

#Kazakhstan #Uzbekistan #Talgo #SleeperTrain #TrainWindowViews

Date of Filming: 9 to 10/8/24
Camera: GoPro Hero 12 Black
Operator: Kazakhstan Railways
Departure: Almaty, Kazakhstan
Arrival: Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Cost: 24,884 Kazakh Tenge (£35.78, €42.01, $48.56)

Click here for my EPIC 4-day Sleeper Train across Kazakhstan:

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00:00 – Intro
01:15 – Arrival at Almaty-2 & Tour
02:40 – Train Info & Boarding
03:58 – Level8: My Favourite Luggage
04:44 – Route Info, Departure & Pricing
06:58 – Grand Class Room Tour
09:40 – Dinner & Beer in the Dining Car
10:38 – A Comfortable Night – But NO Breakfast!
11:45 – 2 Hour Border Crossings
12:58 – Other Accommodations on the Train
13:58 – Trip Summary & Arrival in Tashkent
15:30 – Outro