Nadir YAKUBCANOV

(Нодир ЯКУБЖАНОВ)

History of railways in Uzbekistan dates back to 1874, when a special committee recognized the need to build a railway between Orenburg-Tashkent. However, later the decision was changed - the first steel way as it was thought that it was necessary to connect Tashkent with the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea. Between 1881-1886, Trans-Caspian railway was built. In 1888, it was extended to Samarkand, and in 1894 - to Krasnovodsk. Construction of the road was completed in 1899 and it was called the Central Asian Railway. In 1906, Fergana line was built, and in 1915, construction was completed with Bukhara railway. At the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a conception of economic and geographical structure of rail transport on production and economic grounds was formed. The main problem in the implementation of this concept was the lack of the necessary transport infrastructure for active military, political, administrative, economic and trade relations between Russia and Turkestan. In this respect, much importance was attached to the construction of railway communication. In general, the conduct of railways in Turkestan was dictated by the need to strengthen the position and the presence of the Russian Empire in the region and the Russian-British geopolitical confrontation in Central Asia.

Key Words: Uzbekistan, Turkestan and Central Asian Railway, Trans-Caspian Railway, Rail Lines, The Russian Empire, Russian-British Geopolitical Confrontation in Central Asia