They started to build the Tashkent metro in 1968 as part of the city renovation program after the earthquake. The first line of 9 stations opened in 1977 and the metro became only the sixth in the USSR (after Moscow, Leningrad, Kyiv, Tbilisi, Baku, and Kharkiv), but it was the first until 2011 (when the Almaty Metro opened) in Central Asia. But the late start was compensated by rapid growth: by the length of its three lines Tashkent metro (36 km, 29 stations) is less only compared to Moscow, Petersburg, Kyiv, and Kharkiv. Today the Tashkent underground has the "red" Chilanzar line (1977, the last stations built in 1980), the "blue" Uzbekistan line (1984-1991), and the "green" Yunusabad line (2001). Currently, the metro lines are expanding with recently built ground lines, following the expansion of the capital.
At the entrance of each station, there is a police officer (often under a special umbrella to protect from sun or rain) in a green uniform checking the bags as a security measure. For a single ride in Metro, you must purchase a paper with a QR code ticket office marked by the word ‘KASSA’ (2000 UZS, May 2024). After you enter the glass doors just before the old Soviet turnstiles there would be another police checkpoint with a metal detector and a special table, where they usually make a more thorough search of the bags. This is a standard procedure for all, officers are always very polite, apologize for nuisance, and wish a happy journey.
Taking photos once inside the Metro is no longer prohibited. Tourists may take pictures of the train stations.
Tashkent metro still has the same trains as in most of the former USSR, along with new trains.
All announcements are done in Uzbek, but they are generally easy to understand from the context. The station is "bekati" in Uzbek, and when the train approaches the station the announcement is made about approaching station. When leaving the station they announce the name of the next station. Despite the use of Uzbek for signs and announcements, the system is easy to use, and well enough signposted that you hardly need a map. If you listen as the train doors are about to close, you’ll hear the name of the next station at the end of the announcement: ‘Ekhtiyot buling, eshiklar yopiladi; keyingi bekat…’ (‘Be careful, the doors are closing; the next station is…’).
The main attraction of Tashkent metro is the architecture of the stations. They even have a legend that building the Tashkent metro was commissioned by two teams of metro builders from Moscow and Leningrad. As a result of their competition, they managed to design the Tashkent metro better than at home. Some consider the Tashkent metro is to be the most beautiful in the world, which is, of course, a disputable question. It is not up to the Stalinist classics of the Moscow metro, but it can be safely considered to be the most beautiful subway in Central Asia. The architecture of Tashkent stations is mostly amazing for its epoch of concrete boxes, it is pretentious and very oriental. The similarity of the metro architecture in Tashkent, Baku, Kazan, and Alma-Ata is clearly visible and one can easily draw parallel lines in their styles.
Chilonzor Line
1. Buyuk Ipak Yuli station
2. Pushkin station
3. Hamid Alimjan station
4. Amir Temur station
5. Mustakillik Maydoni station
6. Pahtakor station
7. Bunyodkor station
8. Milliy Bog station
9. Novza station
10. Mirzo Ulugbek station
11. Chilanzar station
12. Olmazor station
Uzbekistan Line
1. Beruni station
2. Tinchlik station
3. Chorsu station
4. Gafur Gulom station
5. Alisher Navoi station
6. Uzbekistan station
7. Kosmonavtov avenue station
8. Oybek station
9. Tashkent station
10. Mashinsozlar station
11. Dustlik station
Yunus Abad Line
1. Shahriston station
2. Bodomzor station
3. Minor station
4. Abdulla Kodiri station
5. Yunus Rajabi station
6. Ming Orik station
Courtesy to: mytashkent & varandej
