Trans-Siberian Railway

 

The Trans-Siberian Railway is an old classic journey. Going between Moscow and Beijing or Moscow and Vladivostok. The track to Vladivostok was completed in 1916. It is the longest railway track in the world, the distance between Moscow and Vladivostok is 9,259 kilometers.  The train journey between Moscow and Beijing is 8961 kilometers.

 

It is possible to travel by train all the way from Western Europe to Vladivostok and Beijing. Although you may have to change trains a number of before reaching Moscow. It is also possible to continue from Beijing by train all the way down to Singapore. Train tickets are cheap in this part of the world but you may have some language trouble.

 

The Trans-Siberian Railway is a broad gauge track, 1520 millimeter, compared to the standard gauge of 1415 millimeter. It is also known as Russian gauge, since it is the main gauge in Russia. Due to the size of the Soviet Union, the 1520 mm gauge is the second mostly used gauge in the world, with around 225,000 km of track. China uses the standard gauge, so a change of bogies is necessary at the border between China and Mongolia.

 

As mentioned earlier, it is possible to start your train journey virtually anywhere in Europe, for example Helsinki, Berlin, Paris or even London. But the real Trans-Siberian railway starts in Moscow. Moscow is an interesting city, it is easy to spend a couple of days in the city. Unfortunately, accommodation is very expensive in Moscow. Before leaving Moscow, it is worth travelling with the underground. It is supposed to be the second busiest underground in the world, after Tokyo. Many of the underground stations are impressive, you can find a lot of examples of the socialist realist style.  Especially the Circle Line stations are worth visiting. Just watch out for pick-pockets in the underground.

 

Moscow has a number of train stations. The Trans-Siberian Railway mainly uses the Yaroslavsky Station but some departure leave from other train stations, for example Kazansky Station, make sure you get to the right train station! A variety of different trains use the Trans-Siberian track, so both the quality of the train and the stops changes all the time. Normally, 2nd class means 4-bed compartments and 1st class compartments have two beds.

 

If you are travelling with a group you are of course stuck with its schedule but if you are travelling on your own you can make stopovers along the track. It looks like most tourists are travelling to Beijing. Very few tourists seem to be travelling to Vladivostok. Maybe because there seems to be very little to do or see in Vladivostok.

 

If you travel non-stop to Beijing, the journey takes five days. The train makes a couple of stops every day, some of the stops are just a few minutes while others are longer. After Ulan Ude, the trains towards Vladivostok continue eastwards while the trains towards Beijing continue south. The train passes through the capital of Mongolia, Ulan Bator. Unfortunately, Ulan Bator is a cold place, it is only during the summer months that it is reasonable warm.  

 

At the Chinese-Mongolian border, the bogies are changed. This because Russia and Mongolia use broad gauge while China uses standard gauge. The carriages are lifted off the wheels and put onto Chinese track. The passports are checked and the train continues towards Beijing.

 

Beijing has a lot to offer visitors, including the Chinese Wall which is reachable by bus. Nowadays China has a very good train network, with affordable prices. The main problem is that virtually everything is in Chinese. If you do not understand any Chinese you will get into trouble quickly if you travel on your own.