The first railway line in present day Turkmenistan was opened in 1880 from the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea near present day Türkmenbaşy to Mollagara. In 1885 tracks reached Ashgabat. Three years liter the railway was extended to Samarkand, Uzbekistan and ten years later to Tashkent. After the collapse of the Soviet Union trains are operated by state-owned Türkmendemirýollary company.
Last update: 10.02.2024
Turkmenistan has about 5 000 kilometres of railways mainly used for freight transport. Main lines were rehabilitated during 20st century at the same time new lines were build. There are plans to build a high-speed railway from Avaza to Arkadag via Ashgabat.
Turkmenistan is one of the most difficult countries in the world to visit due to visa policy and there is little information on the Internet about travelling by train in Turkmenistan.
Train travel in Turkmenistan – current situation
There are domestic passenger trains on following routes:
Ashgabat – Türkmenabat (586 km)
Ashgabat – Daşoguz (550 km)
Ashgabat – Serhetabat (658 km)
Turkmenbashi – Ashgabat (580 km)
Etrek – Bereket (222 km)
Turkmenabat – Gazojak (322 km)
Ashgabat – Amyderýa (816 km)
Serakhs – Mary (198 km once a week)
Train timetable in Turkmenistan
Mostly of them are overnight trains comprised of Soviet-era carriages with three class:
platzkart – open wagon with bunks
kupe – 4-berth compartment
VIP – 2-berth first class compartment
Sheets, a pillow and a blanket are included in price. Each carriage is fitted with samovar.
Some of the carriages have been refurbished and equipped in air-conditioning (kupe). In traveller’s reports are discrepancies – some travelers describe the trains in Turkmenistan as dirty, slow and neglected, while others describe them as clean, comfortable and very cheap.
The passenger is obliged to appear at the station to check in 30 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train.
Tickets can be purchased five days in advance at the ticket offices or ten days in advance online, but I don’t know if online tickets are available for foreigners. If the train has started, ticket sales at intermediate stations are automatically blocked.
International trains
I don’t have any information about international passenger trains from Turkmenistan. Before pandemic of Covid-19 there was passenger service from Serakhs to Mashad in Iran, probably once a week, but service was suspended. Passenger trains from Ashgabat to Serhetabat ends near the border with Afghanistan.
Turkmenistan has a railway links with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and three links with Iran. There is a link with Afghanistan also 38 kilomeres within Afghanistan territory. Railway connection with Afghanistan was opened in 2016 (3 km long), later was extended to Andkhoy.
Ashqabat monorail
Turkmenistan has also the monorail on Olympic village in Ashqabat. Construction started in 2012 and ended four years later. The monorail was built for The fifth Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games which were held in the capital of Turkmenistan in 2017. Loop length is 5200 meters and monorail connects the various parts of Olympic village such as the main stadium, athlete village, indoor velodrome, aquatics center, indoor athletics arena, a tennis center etc. The line is elevated about 4 – 6m above ground level and served by P30/90 trains with a maximum capacity of 80 passengers.
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