The Trans Manchurian Line which coincides with the Trans-Siberian as far as
Tarskaya, a few hundred miles east of Baikal. From Tarskaya the Trans-Manchurian
heads southeast into China near Zabaikalsk and makes its way down to Beijing.
This route has a length of 9001 km (Moscow - Beijing).
Moscow |
0 km |
0h 0m The capital of Russia. A vibrant historical center. |
Vladimir |
209 km |
2h 30m A small ancient city along the Golden Ring. |
Nizhny
Novgorod |
461 km |
6h 30m A big vibrant industrial center of Volga region (Povolzhie). |
|
790 km |
The end of Nizhegorodskaya region, start of Kirov region. |
Kotelnich |
830 km |
11h 20m Here Trans-Siberian meets with the old track that was going through Yaroslavl. |
|
831 km |
Crossing Vyatka river |
Kirov |
917 km |
12h 50m A small industrial northern city. Center of Kirov region. |
|
1041 km |
Crossing Kosa river |
|
1062 km |
The end of Kirov region, start of Udmurtiya republic |
Glazov |
1125 km |
15h 50m |
Belezino |
1154 km |
16h 20m |
|
1185 km |
Crossing Cheptsa river |
|
1230 km |
The end of Udmurtiya republic, start of Perm region. Start of Urals region. |
|
1396 km |
Crossing Kama river |
Perm |
1397 km |
20h 10m A big industrial town in the beginning of Ural mountains. The main attractions are a few museums in the city, and old prehistorical caves. |
|
1570 km |
The end of Perm region, start of Sverdlovsk region |
|
1730 km |
Crossing Chusovaya river |
Ekaterinburg |
1778 km |
1d 2h 20m Ekaterinburg was founded in 1797, and now it is the unofficial capital of Ural region — the most industrial (and polluted) region of Russia. However, Urals are most known as the mountains that divide Europe and Asia.
Ekaterinburg itself is a nice and real (unvarnished) industrial city of modern Russia with many interesting buildings and sights. |
|
|
The end of Sverdlovsk region, start of Tyumen region (2070 km). The end of Ural, start of Western Siberia. |
Tyumen |
2104 km |
1d 6h 30m The center of Tyumen region — the oil & gas center of Russia. |
Ishim |
2393 km |
1d 10h 10m |
|
2395 km |
Crossing Ishim river |
|
2485 km |
The end of Tyumen region, start of Omsk region. |
Nazyvaemskaya |
2520 km |
1d 12h 30m The closest place to Kazakhstan of the route: about 100 km. |
|
2674 km |
Crossing Irtysh river |
Omsk |
2676 km |
1d 13h 50m |
|
2800 km |
The end of Omsk region, start of Novosibirsk region. |
Barabinsk |
3000 km |
1d 17h 38m |
|
3168 km |
Crossing Chulym river |
|
3300 km |
Crossing Ob river |
Novosibirsk |
3303 km |
1d 21h 30m The biggest city in Siberia region with 1442000 inhabitants, it was founded in 1893. Novosibirsk is the third main cultural and scientific center in Russia (after Moscow and St. Petersburg), the university of Novosibirsk is quite famous too. The city is developing quite rapidly, and is considered to be the capital of Siberia. The area around Novosibirsk is very good for camping and trekking. Besides, Novosibirsk is a great place to start discovering Altai mountains, which are not far. |
|
3440 km |
The end of Novosibirsk region, start of Kemerovo region |
Taiga |
3532 km |
2d 1h 0m |
Mariinsk |
3680 km |
2d 3h 0m |
|
3745 km |
The end of Kemerovo region, start of Krasnoyarsk region. |
Bogotol |
3813 km |
2d 5h 20m |
|
|
Crossing Chulym river (on 3880 km) |
Achinsk |
3881 km |
2d 6h 20m |
Krasnoyarsk |
4065 km |
2d 9h 20m If you have a goal to stop at all the main Trans-Siberian stations, then you should stop in Krasnoyarsk, which is an important Siberian industrial center. But frankly, we personally find there's nothing interesting, except for Stolby National Park, which is outside of the city. |
|
4067 km |
Crossing Enisey river |
Ilanskaya |
4344 km |
2d 14h 0m There's a nice market at the station - eggs, potatoes, fish, sausages, tomatoes, ice cream, salted cucumbers, fresh stuff. Train stays 20 mins usually. |
|
4430 km |
The end of Krasnoyarsk region, start of Irkutsk region. |
Taishet |
4483 km |
2d 16h 30m Here you can change to BAM train line. Check beforehand if there's a train. |
Nizhneudinsk |
4647 km |
2d 19h 20m Shops with beer, babushkas sell food in big bags - they walk with their bags and they open the bags to show you what is inside (there it looks like they're hiding). The air is warm and there are many mosquitoes. |
|
4650 km |
Crossing Uda river |
Zima |
4902 km |
2d 23h 10m A weird place with very hot climate in summer. |
|
4904 km |
Crossing Oka river |
Angarsk |
5113 km |
3d 2h 20m All the chemical and machinery productions are concentrated in this city. It was built by prisoners, so the landscapes are not very welcoming. Also, it is considered to be quite dangerous. |
Irkutsk |
5153 km |
3d 3h 20m Irkutsk is a nice city with unusual atmosphere and interesting architecture. Baikal lake is just 60 kilometers away, and there are also Sayan mountain range quite close. Irkutsk is a good starting point for various outdoor activities and for exploring the western side of the lake Baikal. |
Baikal Lake |
from 5266 km |
Here you start seeing Baikal lake
A truly amazing and beautiful lake. There are a lot of places to enjoy pristine nature, and swim in the lake. It is worth making the Trans-Siberian just because of this lake only.
Spend a few days there and you'll feel as if you were born again. You can either go there by yourself, or join in various outdoor activities offered by tour operators. |
Slyudyanka |
5279 km |
3d 5h 50m
A village on the shore of Baikal. It's more like a port, so it's not interesting
to stay in there.
It is a good starting point for exploration of Circum Baikal railway (which
starts there), or going south to Arshan (3 hours), which is
just next to Sayan mountains — a great place for camping,
walks, and various activities. By the way, you can buy great smoked fish from Baikal lake - Omul - there. Highly recommended.
|
|
5345 km |
The end of Irkutsk region, start of Buryatia republic.
|
Ulan-Ude |
5609 km |
3d 12h 20m
Overlooked by many travelers, this is a great place to stop for a few days (or
even weeks - for Baikal). Ulan-Ude is the first place along the Trans-Siberian,
where you feel like you're in Asia finally (after more than 2 days travel in the
Asian part of Russia!). It has a feel of a calm, friendly Asian town (quite
close to Mongolia, in fact), and there are a lot of interesting things to
discover. Start with a local History Museum, visit a Buddhist Datsan, go to the
open-air Ethnographic museum, and then go on to explore the Eastern shore of
Baikal lake, which is much less tourist than the opposite Irkutsk side.
In
Ulan-Ude the Trans-Siberian splits into two directions: to the south
through Gusinoye Ozero, Djida, Naushki (Russia) to Ulan-Bataar (Mongolia) to
Beijing (China) - Trans-Mongolian, and to the east through
Chita to Vladivostok (Trans-Siberian).
|
|
5730 km |
The end of Buryatia republic, start of Chita region |
Mogzon |
6022 km |
3d 19h 0m |
|
6055 km |
Crossing Khilok river. |
Chita |
6166 km |
3d 21h 50m. The center of Chita region. A big industrial city. |
Karymskaya |
6262 km |
4d 10h 0m The city was founded in 1935 along the banks of the river Ingoda. The city is on both the Trans-Siberian and Trans-Manchurian lines. The stop is 25 minutes. |
Olovyanaya
|
6410 km |
Here the train crosses the river Onon and passengers can make good pictures of the river and surrounding steppe. The stop is 10 minutes. |
Borzya |
6509 km |
Borzya was founded in the XVII century. In 1899, it is became a popular trade and transport center. Nowadays it is still an important spot for traders. The stop is 19 minutes. |
Zabaikalsk |
6626 km |
The town is quite close to the Chinese border. Here, the wheels of the train are changed to fit the different gauge Russian or Chinese tracks. The process takes from two to six hours. During this time, you may want to take a walk but if you do, remember to bring warm clothes. In Soviet times, taking pictures at this station was strictly forbidden but now it is usually allowed just don’t try to take pictures of guards or military objects. |
Manzhouli |
6638 km |
(Manchurian train station – Chinese side of the border)
Be prepared to go through customs and passport control when entering or leaving China. If you are just arriving to Russia from China you will need to fill in a health declaration. The stop is 26 minutes. |
Hailar |
6773 km |
Along the way to Hailar, you can admire the endless steppes and mountains on the route. The stop is 6 minutes. |
Boketu |
6973 km |
Boketu is located in Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of China. The population of the region is 23 million people (79% of Chinese, 17% Mongolian and 4% others). The stop is 8 minutes. |
Harbin |
7573 km |
Harbin is one of the major cities of China and Northeast Asia. It lies on the southern bank of the Songhua River. Harbin is an industrial city but still has charming architecture. It could be called an oriental St. Petersburg because of the great Russian influence which dates back to the time of the construction of the railroad. Harbin has also been chosen to host the Winter Olympic Games in 2010. The stop is 15 minutes. |
Shen’yan |
8120 km |
Capital of the Liaoning province with a population of 7.2 million, Shen’yan is famous for the Mukden Palace - a former imperial palace of the Qing emperors which is now a museum protected by UNESCO. The stop is 15 minutes. |
Beijing |
8961 km |
|
If you travel on Trans Siberian from the east to the west (Vladivostok -Moscow or Beijing
- Ulaanbaatar - Irkutsk - Moscow) you also can make stops on these cities. You
also can look Moscow, Saint Petersburg and then to go home.