Euromost European Rail Networks & Services
Trans Siberian Express Routes
Often regarded as the rail journey of a lifetime these routes and services extend from St Petersburg and Moscow in Western Russia to Vladivostok (see image below in eastern Russia and on to Beijing Shangahia and Hong Kong on China Pacific facing coast.
The Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway is one of the world's most famous and epic railway journeys, made up of a network of railways which connect the Russian capital, Moscow, with the Far Eastern Russian provinces, Mongolia and China.
From the UK, you can board a train at St Pancras station in London and travel in an easterly direction all the way to the Trans-Siberian Railway's ultimate destination: Vladivostok, located near Russia's border with China and North Korea. You can catch the Eurostar to Brussels, then a connecting train to Cologne, and finally the daily Russian sleeping-car direct from Cologne to Moscow for the start of the trip across Russia.
The Trans-Siberian Railway journey takes about a week one-way, if you don't stop off - although the exact duration varies depending on the route and service taken. Although many people choose to travel all the way from Moscow to Vladivostok or Beijing in one go on a direct train, many others prefer to stop off along the way, most commonly in Ekaterinberg, Irkutsk (for visits to Lake Baikal) and Ulan Bator (in Mongolia). While all trains stop at stations every few hours for at least a few minutes, there's only enough time to get off onto the platform to buy a quick station snack and stretch your legs. So if you want to see destinations on route, you have to plan this into your trip; all sleeping carriage tickets require an advance reservation. It really depends on whether your trip is about the rail journey itself, or also the places along the way.
One (expensive) private tour with GW Travel, detailed below, takes a leisurely fortnight to complete the trip one-way, with several stop-offs in key destinations. You can replicate a similar journey independently, but obviously it takes a fair bit of organisation with reservations for all your various trains.
Possible routes
On the main Moscow-Vladivostok route, the train runs from St. Petersburg on to Moscow then over the Ural mountains which form the boundary between Europe and Asia. It then crosses the wide, open Russian steppes and runs alongside the shores of Lake Baikal, the world’s largest freshwater lake. By the time passengers reach Vladivostok, they will have passed through eight time zones, and travelled over 6,000 miles – a third of the way around the world. The additional Chinese Eastern Railway was built as the Russian-Chinese part of the Trans-Siberian railway, connecting Russia with China.
The second primary route is the Trans-Manchurian. This uses the Trans-Siberian as far as Tarskaya (about 1,000 km east of Lake Baikal), then travels southeast, via Harbin and Mudanjiang in China's Northeastern Provinces, from where a connection to Beijing is made on a Moscow–Beijing train. It joins the main route again in Ussuriysk just north of Vladivostok.
A third key route is the Trans-Mongolian Railway, which uses the Trans-Siberian up to as Ulan Ude on Lake Baikal's eastern shore, then travels south to Ulaan-Baatar before turning southeast to Beijing.
More recently, a fourth route, the Baikal Amur Mainline (BAM), was added. This ventures further north, leading the Trans-Siberian line at Taishet (a few hundred miles west of Lake Baikal), passing the lake at its northernmost side, then crossing the Amur River at Komsomolsk-na-Amure (north of Khabarovsk). It reaches the Pacific at Sovetskaya Gavan.
Many travellers choose to take a classic Trans-Siberian Railway journey, boarding a direct train on the Moscow-Vladivostok route, without any stop-offs.
Accommodation
If you take the regular train (rather than the specially commissioned train used by GW Travel) you can choose from different standards of accommodation. Most western travellers choose to travel second class in a four-berth cabin ('kupé'). The first class two-berth cabins ('spalny vagon') offer more privacy (if travelling with one other person, or as a couple) for twice the price. Third class ('platskartny') is far more basic, with open-plan bunks, and although cheaper is not available on all trains.
Aim to book tickets for a train with a lower train number, as these are generally higher-quality and may offer ticket options 'with services' (including breakfast and dinner) or 'without services'. More basic, slower trains generally have three-digit numbers, such as the slow 904, which few foreigners travel on.
Independent travel
The trip can be completed relatively inexpensively, if you're willing to organise it independently rather than through an all-inclusive (and expensive) tour company – costing as little as €250.00 for a six- or seven-day journey on the Moscow-Vladivostok route. Buying tickets in other European countries such as Germany, Poland or the Czech Republic can prove more straightforward (and sometimes cheaper) than buying them in Russia itself - unless you have the advantage of speaking the language.
You can buy your ticket at the station ticket office, which is the very cheapest option but is not always advisable as you have to reserve ahead and there may not be seats available. The alternatives to this involve organising tickets through a Russian travel agency (cheap and a good compromise), or through a Western travel agency (far more expensive). If you choose a Russian or Western agency, shop around as they can sell tickets for whatever price they choose, and costs vary considerably.
Luxury option
GW Travel even commissioned their own luxury train, the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express, jointly owned by GW Travel and Russian Railways. Their tour appeals to those with more expensive tastes and a generous budget, with two restaurant cars, a bar, and comfortable cabins with en suite facilities including power showers. The train takes it easy, taking just over a fortnight to complete the trip one-way along the Trans-Siberian Railway - giving passengers plenty of time to absorb the sights and changing scenery.
Stops include the capital, Moscow; Yekaterinburg, where the Romanovs were executed; Kazan, with its impressive Kremlin; Irkutsk; Ulan Ude, capital of the Buryat Republic; and Lake Baikal, for a visit to a traditional fishing village. The tour also includes a diversion to Mongolia with a visit to the capital, Ulaan Baatar, before returning to Russia for the rest of the journey.
The cost of the 15-day trip ranges from £4,995 to £14,595 (2009 prices).
When To Go
Trains run along the Trans-Siberian railway all year round, but the most popular travel period is May to September, when you're most likely to meet fellow travellers, there are more daylight hours, and temperatures are warmer. You may, however, need to book well in advance for these peak months. If you decide to go outside of peak season, you'll experience a cosier trip, usually with fewer passengers, toasty trains, and views of a wintry Siberian landscape.
Arranging Visas
You will need to arrange visas for the countries you plan to visit: Russia, plus possibly China, Belarus or Mongolia. For example, you'll need a Belarus transit visa if you're going by rail from London to Moscow on the direct 'London-Brussels-Berlin-Moscow' route, as you'll pass through Belarus. Leave plenty of time for visa processing before your intended travel date – do some research before you book tickets to find out how long processing takes. Some recommend applying for a Russian visa a month before you plan to travel. To get a Russian visa you also have to have a 'Letter of Invitation and Support'. It's possible to organise a visa and letter of support from an agency such as Real Russia (www.realrussia.co.uk ), which is a UK agency based in Russia.
Russian embassy in the UK: http://www.rusemblon.org
Belarus embassy in the UK: http://belembassy.org/uk/
Mongolian embassy in the UK: http://www.embassyofmongolia.co.uk
Chinese embassy in the UK: http://www.chinese-embassy.org.uk
Companies offering these breathtaking jouneys include Trans Siberia, GW Travel & Overland Club.