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Trans-Siberian Railway

This article is an itinerary.

The Trans-Siberian Railway is the name given to the three rail routes that traverse Siberia from Moscow.

The Trans-Siberian Railway is the longest railway in the world. It was built between 1891 and 1916 to connect the Russian capital Moscow with the Far-East city of Vladivostok. En route it passes through the cities of Perm, Yekaterinburg, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Chita and Khabarovsk.

Travel to Trans-Siberian Railway & Visa Requirements

The three termini of the Trans-Siberian are Moscow, Beijing and Vladivostok. There's also a weekly connection from Moscow to Pyongyang.

Moscow can be reached by train from anywhere in Europe. Fares from London (one-way) start at around £200. Eurolines operate the European coach system, and fares from London start from around £60. Aeroflot is the principal airline operating into and out of Moscow.

From Vladivostok, ferries run during the summer to Fushiki and Niigata, Japan, as well as Sokcho, South Korea. Aeroflot and Vladivostok Air serve Vladivostok, amongst others.

Beijing is served by numerous international airlines. It can be quite easily reached overland from anywhere in China or the Far East.

Visa information

Most travelers will need visas for all three countries.

China and Mongolia are fairly straightforward. The best way to obtain a visa is through your own embassy or consulate or in Hong Kong. Visas for British citizens cost £30. However, Mongolian visas can easily be obtained from the Mongolian consulate in Irkutsk (Russia), and Chinese visas in Ulaanbaatar(NOTE: for the moment it is not recommended to apply for Chinese visas in Mongolia, due to tightened regulations.). Americans (90 days) and Israelis (30 days) do not need Mongolian visas.

Russia is more problematic. Invitations are generally required, and they must be registered in the country within 72 hours of arrival. However, Russian transit visas issued in Beijing or Harbin last 10 days and require no invitation. This would be enough time to make the trip with no stops along the way and spend a couple of days in Moscow. The Beijing consult is open from 9:00 to 11:00 but remember that many Chinese nationals are also trying to acquire visas with you, so show up early. The cost varies for each nationality, but Americans can expect to pay $250 for same-day service or $150 for the five-day service. Upon arrival in Moscow you have FOUR NIGHTS valid on your transit visa, which allows for one or two nights in Moscow, an overnight train and one or two nights in St. Petersburg respectively, but you must be across the border before midnight on the final day of your visa. There are many exits from St. Petersburg, including buses to Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga, Kiev and various other places in Europe, but be wary that nearly all nationalities need a transit visa (or tourist visa) for Belarus (see here if unsure) so be SURE to be prepared with a visa if your plans take you through Belarus. It is generally assumed that border police stationed at bus routes that exit the country are less likely to make a fuss versus the police on trains. A Russia transit visa cannot be extended under any circumstances. If you arrive from Beijing you can register your visa after arriving in Moscow. If you have a 10 day Transit Visa and DO NOT STAY IN ONE PLACE (i.e. go to Saint Petersburg) YOU DO NOT HAVE TO REGISTER YOUR VISA. Unfortunately, if you encounter police officers they might not have the same opinion and you could be faced with a "fine." Have your ticket ready as proof that you've been unable to register sooner and keep all receipts from hotels and/or hostels from places where you haven't registered.

Tickets

The Russian train system is different from European systems. The train tickets are bought for fixed dates and all the stops must be planned in advance. If you have a ticket from Moscow to Vladivostok and step off the train in Irkutsk, you can’t use your ticket for a next train going to Vladivostok. If your stop is not planned in advance and not revealed in your tickets, your ticket will be canceled and you’ll get stuck in Irkutsk. It’s somewhat similar to a plane going from New York to Moscow with a connection in Amsterdam – if you decide to go out in Amsterdam and lose your flight you can’t use your ticket for a next flight to Moscow.

There are three ways of buying tickets for the trip. You can purchase them from a travel agent in your own country (or online), a travel agent in the country from which you will start the journey or turn up and buy tickets yourself. The first option is the safest but the most expensive, the last the cheapest but riskiest. Popular trains can be sold out well in advance, particularly in peak season.

Normally it is possible to buy the tickets in any Russian station, not necessarily one on the route of the train. It used to be possible to buy the tickets for Trans-Siberian routes (eg. Moscow-Irkutsk) in Belarus (eg. Brest), and it was even cheaper there than in Moscow. It is not clear if this is still the case.

In some stations there are still special windows for selling tickets only for foreigners, although the price of tickets should now be the same for foreigners and local people.

Tickets are normally individual, with name and passport number written on them, so you may need to show passports for all travelers when you pay (although perhaps the name and passport number is enough). Also, if you plan to buy tickets on more than one occasion, it may be useful to keep handy a piece of paper with the travelers names written in the Cyrillic alphabet instead of transcribing them each time.

Station numbers

Station numbers are used internally in the Russian railway computer system, but they are usually printed on the tickets as well. Knowing them may help when making the reservation in smaller stations (you could bring this page and use it for pointing), or when buying the tickets abroad.

International

Stations are listed in order from west to east

Russia

List of major stations listed in order from west to east

2004001 St Petersburg - Glavnyi Station (Санкт-Петербург (Главн вокзал))
2004004 St Petersburg - Finliandskii Station (Санкт-Петербург (Финляндский вокзал))
  • 2000000 Moscow (Москва)
2000002 Moscow - Yaroslavskij Station (Москва (Ярославский Вокзал))
2000003 Moscow - Kazanskij Station (Москва (Казанский Вокзал))
2000006 Moscow - Bieloruskij Station (Москва (Белорусский Вокзал))

Fares

Fares are widely variable, but difficult to predict exactly. Fares for Russian trains are subject to seasonal changes, with mark-up for high season being up to 40%. Rough ideas would be

  • Moscow - Vladivostok $250/$500 (2nd/1st class, one-way)
  • Moscow - Beijing $200/$320
  • Moscow - Irkutsk $60/100
  • Irkutsk - Ulaanbaatar $30 (one-way)
  • Beijing - Moscow about $450 (2nd class)from China Travel Service (CITS) in Beijing

Reports show that the government has raised prices recently. Prices will be cheaper if you deal directly with them instead of resale agents, but that rules out English help and visa sponsorship, so be confident in your Russian if you deal directly with the government agency.

Timetables

The Trans-Siberian trains have quite weird schedules - some trains are daily while some go on even dates, some on odd dates and some trains depart only on a couple of days during a week. There are also passing-by trains (проходящие поезда), which are actually legs of longer train itineraries. E.g. a Ekaterinburg-Irkutsk leg of a Moscow-Vladivostok train. In this case not only schedule, but also availability is affected - such tickets are released for sale 24-48 hours before departure.

Russian Railways has all Russian train schedules[1], as well as some of the international trains departing from Russian destinations (e.g. Moscow - Beijing train). Only actual availability is shown, which is released 45 days prior to departure for all Russian trains except for the passing-by ones and 30 days for most international trains. You will need to use alternate spellings for some destinations. Beijing is called Pekin, Moscow is Moskva, Saint Petersburg is Sankt-Peterburg, Yekaterinburg is Ekaterinburg or Sverdlovsk (old name of the city), Ulan Ude is Ulan-ude, Ulaanbaatar is Ulan-Bator, and Khabarovsk is Habarovsk.

Trans-Siberian Railway souvenirs & shopping

Coming from Beijing or Harbin, the last stop in China is Manzhouli. The food being sold there is quite expensive, but many Russians stock up on provisions (i.e. spirits and beer). Be aware that you can take a maximum of 5 beers (Harbin Beer, 0.3l) per person into Russia or you will have to pay a penalty (read: bakshish) to the customs. Get rid of all your Chinese Yuan here as they become virtually worthless once abroad, unless you want to take them as a souvenir. There are a couple of black market money changers in front of the station that change RMB to Roubles at rip-off rates. To get Roubles you have plenty of time on the Russian side of the border (Zhabaikalsk). Walk to the ATM located at the bank in town. Allow 30 minutes to go and come back. The train is stopping for hours (the bogies are being changed), so you can do some shopping at the local food markets (bread, cheese, etc.).

Coming from Beijing via Mongolia into Russia there are still the same rip-off exchange touts, but most if not all platform vendors in Mongolia and Russia take US Dollars or Euros. However, they only take BILLS (or notes), so know the exchange rate and buy a lot if you are using a 5 Euro note. Always ask the attendant how much time is available before you rush off into a station to find a Bankomat (ATM), because the train will not wait for you. If you are not spending time in Mongolia, don't worry about acquiring Mongolian tögrög. They are worthless virtually everywhere else, and the export of tögrög is theoretically forbidden. Therefore, spend Dollars or Euro, but get Roubles ASAP because Russian vendors are more likely to fabricate exchange rates than Mongolian or Chinese platform vendors.

Trans-Siberian Railway Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

On the Moscow-Irkutsk route (and possibly up to Vladivostok) the train stops for 20-30 minutes every 3-4 hours. Everybody can get out of the train, and there are always people on the platform that offer a variety of fresh food (eggs, fish, cheese, bread, fruits, meat or cheese in a cake ...) and often some drinks for passengers. Prices are low; only Russian Roubles are accepted. Many of the trains have dining cars, although if you do not speak any Russian, ordering the food will be an experience, to say the least. Since there is a samovar (hot water dispenser) in every carriage, your best bet is to have a stack of dried noodle soups and Nescafe ready. Just bring your own cup. The carriage attendants (Provodnitsa, Provodnik if male) will often have cold drinks, snacks and even freeze-dried meals available for sale at slightly inflated prices. A highlight is the smoked fish (Omul) being sold on the shore of Lake Baikal (Station: Slyudyanka - quick stop, so be ready).

Trans-Siberian Railway nightlife, bars, clubs & pubs

In every train car there is a pot with boiling water available for making hot drinks (bring your own tea, but the water is free). Carriage attendants also sell tea and coffee, and it's usualy possible to buy soft drinks, beer and vodka in the restaurant carriage to bring to your carriage.

Trans-Siberian Railway cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels & lodging

All tickets for long journeys trains are for sleeping places. Trains between Moscow and St Petersburg have seating places. Most trains in Russia has 3 classes of cabins to choose from;

  • 1st Class (SV) Is the most comfortable, but also doubles the cost of the journey compared to a kupe. Each cabin consists of two sofa's flanking each side of the compartment, that converts into bed's for sleeping. On some train's - e.g. the Trans-Mongolian, the 1st class compartments has private bathrooms. Service on 1st class, actually somewhat resembles the service you would expect in Europe and North America, which is worth considering since the Russian Railways is notoriously bureaucratic, and not very service minded to say the least.
  • 2nd Class (Kupe) Somewhat compares to the standard on Western European sleeper trains, although with the Russian's sense of knick-knack decoration. These carriages are compartmentalized, with each compartment holding 4 beds. One thing of note when buying tickets for 2nd class, is that you will have to share the two lower bunks during the day. There are one shared bathroom on each carriage, that is locked during stops at stations. Kupe is a good compromise between relative comfort, and the ability to meet and mingle with the Russians, in a situation where they are notably more open minded than what is usual in Russia.
  • 3rd Class (Platzkart) Bears some resemblance to the 'Hard sleeper' class on Chinese trains, many travelers find this class to be much better than its reputation. These carriages are in an open layout with two lower and two upper berths, and small, narrow corridor and another two berths that are located on the opposite side below and above the window. There are little in the way of privacy here, but women travelers might prefer this option - as the open layout means you won't get stock with 3 men and a closed door. The provodnitizas - or carriage attendant's are notorious for running the place as a boot camp. On the other hand it's a taste of real Russia, and the price is usualy 40-50 percent lower than kupe.

Note that there is no shower in the train. Even in the 1st class on K19 (Trans-Manchurian). You can have an asian-style hot shower though if you bring along 2 jars. Fill one up at the hot water dispenser, go to the washroom and mix the water you get there in the second one.

Prepare

Packing the following items is recommended for any lengthy journey on the Trans-Siberian railway

  • Pocket knife For slicing up bread and vegetables you can buy from the sellers at major stops
  • Cutlery Instant noodles, or it's Russian version - instant potatoes, become essential snacks for most westeners, since each carriage is equiped with boiling water. But they often come without the normal plastic fork or spoon.
  • Perfumed wet tissues These little things can do wonders for your personal hygiene.
  • Head lamp On these long journeys (through 8 time zones), it often turns out that Einstein indeed was right - time does become relative. So bring a headlamp for reading when other want to slumber.
  • Flip-flops or other slip on footwear, for your days on the train
  • a Deck of cards or other easily explained games are great for socializing with your fellow travelers, and making the long hours spent on the train immensely more enjoyable.

Stay safe

The journey on the Moscow-Irkutsk route (train Moscow-Vladivostok) seems to be very safe, especially if you travel in groups of four (or multiples); then you will get a separate four-bed cabin. Every train car has one or two staff (provodniks/provodnitsas) that check tickets, do cleaning, take care of boiling water, etc.

Cabins can be locked from the inside with two locks. One can be opened from outside with a special key, the other cannot be opened from outside, and when locked allows the door to open no more than 5 cm (2 inches).

This page was last edited at 21:30, on 13 November 2008 by Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. Based on work by Stefan Ertmann, Hotels Combined, Marc Heiden and Peter Fitzgerald, Wikitravel user(s) Texugo, Jonboy and DorganBot, Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel and others.

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