With financial support from the partly state-owned SQB (O’zsanoatqurilishbank – Uzbek Industrial and Construction Bank), modernisation of Uzbekistan’s only remaining trolleybus system is now under way. In June 2026, the Chinese manufacturer Yutong delivered the first of ten new 12-metre ZK6126BEVG trolleybuses to Urgench, the provincial capital in western Uzbekistan. The city is served by an approximately 33 km interurban trolleybus route leading to the ancient fortress city of Khiva (Xiva) on the edge of the desert. At present, the service is operated by nine Škoda/Iveco 24 Tr trolleybuses dating from 2013.
We previously featured this remarkable operation in detail here:
https://www.urban-transport-magazine.com/en/surrounded-by-the-desert-uzbekistans-last-trolley-bus-service/
The new vehicles are intended to make the service more attractive and will also enable the route to be extended to serve the new railway station as well as Urgench’s airport. Both the station and the airport were served by the trolleybus route in the past, but the overhead wiring was removed around 15 years ago following major road reconstruction works.
The new Chinese trolleybuses are equipped with traction batteries of sufficient capacity to operate beyond the overhead wiring, allowing these sections to be covered in battery mode. To ensure a comfortable journey on the relatively long interurban route, with an end-to-end journey time of around 50 minutes, the vehicles are fitted with effective air conditioning together with specially tinted and insulated windows. Temperatures in the arid desert climate of western Uzbekistan frequently exceed 40°C. As is customary in the country, the new trolleybuses, like the existing Škoda/Iveco fleet, are also fitted with interior curtains to provide additional protection from the intense sunlight.
In addition to the new trolleybuses, a series of similar Yutong battery-electric buses will be in service in the Urgench region, too.
