The earthquake of April 1966 flattened Old Tashkent, and a new, model Soviet city was born. In 1977 the Tashkent metro opened with much marbelled Soviet grandeur inspired by the Moscow model. It is said to be earthquake-proof, and continues to grow as the seismically-challenged city expands ever outwards (but not upwards). There are three lines: Uzbekiston (green), Chilonzor (blue), and Yunusobod (red), and at the time of my visit there were 31 underground stations. I visited all of them.
Yunusobod (red) line
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| Turkiston. This is one of the newest stations. |
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| Yunusobod. This is the only curved station. |
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| Bodomzor |
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| Minor |
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| Abdullah Qodiriy |
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| Yunus Rajabiy |
Chilonzor (blue) line
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| Olmazor |
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| Chilonzor. This was one of the first stations to open. |
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| Mirzo Ulug Bek, named after the great astronomer |
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| Novza |
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| Milliy Bog (meaning 'National Garden') |
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This is one of the newer trains, but I preferred the old blue rattling carriages captured just above on the left platform at Milliy Bog
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| Xalqlar Do'stligi |
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| Pakhtakor (meaning 'cotton picker', a nod to the mono-agriculture of Uzbekistan which led to the Aral Sea ecological disaster) |
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| Mustakillik Maydoni (Independence Square) |
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| Amir Timur Hiyobuni |
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| Hamid Olimjon |
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| Pushkin |
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| Buyuk Ipak Yuli |
Uzbekiston (green) line
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| Beruniy |
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| Tinchlik |
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| Tinchlik detail |
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| Chorsu |
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| Gafur Gulyam |
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| Alisher Navoi |
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| Alisher Navoi domed ceiling |
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| Ozbekiston. The great lamps symbolise buds of cotton. |
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| Kosmonavtlar. This space race- and cosmonaut-themed station was my favourite. |
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| Kosmonatvlar's tiling fading up through the Earth's atmosphere to the black of space. |
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| Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space |
Click here for a glimpse of Oybek, Ming Orik, and Shahriston, which I omitted to photograph. These links will take you to a most excellent article about the Tashkent metro with detailed background and information behind each one.
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| A marble-lined corridor connecting Ming Orik and Oybek |
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| Toshkent |
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| Mashinasozlar |
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Do'stlik, which connects to the new Yer O'sti overground line, which will eventually be a Circle Line all around the city.
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| Tashkent metro map including planned stations |
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