![]() While this standard diminished during the Soviet years, you can get a taste of what it was like aboard the Golden Eagle, a private train that offers by far the most comfortable Trans-Siberian experience. Golden Eagle private train Restaurant Car on the Golden EagleĮven during the early years, wealthy passengers would use the Trans-Siberian to travel across the country in luxury. During these pauses, you can get off and stretch your legs, take photographs, or buy souvenirs from the hawkers who pace the platforms. I passed the time reading, playing cards, writing a diary and simply watching the passing scenery, which varied from miles of birch forest to rural farms and open steppe.Įvery few hours the train halts to let passengers on and off, which can sometimes take 40 minutes or so. You’re left to conjure up your own entertainment on these trains. The hum of chat gets louder toward the evening as vodka is consumed - you might even witness a Russian singalong. The service can be sporadic, but it’s your best opportunity to mingle with fellow passengers. The restaurant carriage serves hearty dishes such as stroganoff, Russian salads, solyanka (spicy meat soup) and pelmeni (stuffed dumplings). On one leg of my last journey, I shared a cabin with a Russian ice-hockey commentator and his cameraman, who were keen to practice their English with me. You’re greeted by your carriage’s provodnitsa (train attendant), who checks your ticket before boarding and bring menus round once you’re settled in.ĭepending on which class you’re in, you might have a cabin with one set of bunk beds or two, perhaps sharing with strangers. There’s no question that the comfort levels on these trains are much lower than on the Golden Eagle, but nevertheless they were higher than I’d anticipated. Experiencing at least some of your journey on these trains means you get to rub shoulders with Russian, Mongolian and Chinese passengers who, in some cases, travel part of the route every day. Most of the people who travel along the Trans-Siberian Railway are domestic passengers who flit on and off the public trains as a way of getting from A to B. ![]() Public trains Trans-Siberian train between Ulaanbaatar and Beijing You can opt to travel on public trains for a chance to mingle with everyday people or have a more exclusive experience aboard a private train. Life aboard the Trans-Siberian Railway trainsĪ Trans-Siberian Railway journey is as much about life aboard the train as off it. If you’re short on time, you can fly between some sections or just travel part of the route. Some of the stops are days apart, so you need to factor in both your time on the train and how long you want to stay in each place. To do the route justice, I’d say you need at least two-and-a-half weeks. An alternative route to follow (and the one I took) is the Trans-Mongolian, which travels from Moscow to Beijing or vice-versa, crossing Mongolia en route. The original Trans-Siberian route is the longest railway line in the world, running across Russia between Moscow and Vladivostok. Other routes and branches have been added over the years, so what we know as the Trans-Siberian Railway is actually a network of lines stitching together the East and West. It could also move troops across Russia if war broke out on its eastern borders. ![]() Just imagine that at the end of the 19th century the vast areas of Siberia and the Far East still remained isolated from the European part of the Russian Empire, meaning that organizing a path, allowing to get from one part of the country to another within minimal time and expenses was quite a big deal and thus became a priority of governmental scale.The main railway was constructed between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, primarily to ease access to Siberia’s natural resources like coal, oil and metal ores. And it is no surprise that the issue of building such a long-distance railroad across Russian vast expanses was quite poignant. The Trans-Siberian railroad history started more than a century ago. The European part of the Trans-Siberian covers about 19% of the total length of the railway against 81%, belonging to Asia, with the conditional border on the 1778th kilometer. It is known that the Trans-Siberian Railroad connects two parts of the world, passing the territory of 20 subjects and five federal districts of the Russian Federation. The actual length of the main passenger route from Moscow to Vladivostok is 9288.2 km (5771.4 miles) which makes the legendary railroad the longest one on our planet. The Trans-Siberian Railway or the Great Siberian Route is the main railroad artery of the country that connects the European part of Russia with Siberia and the Far East regions.
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