Uzbekistan Railways comments on water washing away railway dam in Samarkand

Earlier, it was reported that river water had washed away a dam carrying a railway line in Tayloq district of Samarkand region. Uzbekistan Railways JSC has commented on the incident.

It was noted that heavy rainfall observed in recent days in the mountainous areas of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan caused the water flow in the Zarafshan River to rise sharply. As a result, the river eroded its banks and changed its course in some areas.

“The incident was caused by a sharp increase in the water discharge of the Zarafshan River, which reached up to 300 cubic meters per second instead of the normal 80-100 cubic meters per second. As a result, the riverbed expanded by 30-40 meters in areas close to the railway, damaging a certain section of the railway located near the riverbed. Such a hydrological situation has not been observed in the past 20 years,” the statement said.

According to reports, work is currently underway to reinforce the riverbanks with boulders in order to ensure traffic safety. Fifteen units of special equipment have been involved in the work. Boulders have been delivered by 30 dump cars. In addition, another 130 dump cars loaded with necessary construction materials have been sent to the area.

“All necessary measures are currently being taken to fully restore railway traffic as quickly as possible and ensure the uninterrupted movement of trains,” the statement said.

It should be recalled that this railway line was commissioned at the end of 2025. The total length of the line is 55 kilometers. As part of the project, two railway stations, two freight stations in the Urgut economic zone, and a number of bridges were built.

It had been stated that the launch of train services would make it possible to transport 359,000 passengers and 8.2 million tons of cargo annually. Uzbekistan Railways also said during the project presentation that a dam had been built to protect the railway tracks running along the bank of the Zarafshan River from water flow.