«Previously, many were skeptical about the Bishkek—Balykchy route—who would want to spend almost five hours traveling by train in hot weather when it is much faster and more convenient to go by car? But we began introducing comfortable carriages, and practice showed that people are interested. With infrastructure upgrades, we reduced travel time to four hours.

«Now work is underway, and we aim to reduce the journey to 3 hours and 40 minutes. However, it should not be made too fast—you might miss the scenery. Unlike places where there are only steppes and fields and everything looks the same, this route has a lot to see. We would not want foreign tourists visiting Kyrgyzstan for the first time to miss our mountains and rivers,» Sakiev said.

He also recalled the recent incident in which a train was pelted with stones.

«It is disappointing to see such incidents. It is extremely dangerous—it can injure passengers inside the train. Many tourists visit our country, and we would not want them to leave with a negative impression. Together with police officers, we are conducting awareness campaigns among the public, including in schools, on railway safety,» Azamat Sakiev emphasized.

He called on citizens to follow the law and treat other people’s property, lives, health and the environment with care.

From June 26 to September 13, trains on Bishkek—Balykchy and Balykchy—Bishkek routes run daily.