The Trans Mongolian Line was built from 1940 to 1956 between Ulan-Ude at Lake
Baikal's eastern shore and the Chinese capital Beijing. From Ulan-Ude the tracks
go south, towards Mongolia, crossing the large Gobi dessert and finally ending
up in Beijing, China. This route has a length of 7867 km (Moscow - Beijing). One
speciality you should see is the changing of the chassis at the Chinese border
because of different width of the tracks in China and Russia.
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 Ulan-Ude, founded in 1666, is the capital of the Buryat Autonomous Republic, which in the 13th - 17th centuries was part of the vast Mongolian Empire.
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 Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia) to
Beijing (China) - Trans-Mongolian, and to the east through
Chita to Vladivostok (Trans-Siberian) and Chita to Manchuria
(Trans-Manchurian).
|
Gusinoe ozero (Goose lake) |
|
5738 - 5766 km. The train goes along the western shore of Gusinoe Ozero (lots of geese used to live here). The town has a Buddhist temple (datsan) built in 1741 which is one of the main datsan in northern Mongolia (although the town is officially part of Russia). |
Slyudyanka |
5747 km |
Gusinoe ozero town: 138 km
This is a picturesque area with valleys surrounded by mountains. The train travels along the Selenga River and makes a short stop in Selendum village. |
Naushki |
5862 km |
This is a Russian border post where the train stops for 2 or more hours. The stop is from 1-3 hours depending on which train.
|
|
5730 km |
Russia - Mongolia border |
Sukhbaatar |
5751 km |
The town was built in 1940 on the banks of the Selenga and Orkhnon rivers. The town was named after the Mongolian military leader Suhbaatar. Nowadays it is the capital of the Selenge Province (aimak) with a total population of 20 thousand. This is the Mongolian side of the border; it can be a tough and rude procedure when crossing. All luggage is always carefully inspected solders. Please do not take any photos at this stop, if you are caught, your film and possibly camera will be confiscated. The stop is approximately 1,5 - 3 hours depending on the train. |
Darkhan |
5874 km |
It takes about 8 hours to travel from Sukhbaatar to Darkhan (380 km). This is the second largest city in Mongolia with a population of 95,5 thousand. Darkhan is an urban city. The south part of Darkhan is quite picturesque. The stop is 30-50 minutes. |
Ulaanbaatar |
|
4d 04h 55m. This is the capital of Mongolia which was founded in 1639 and was often moved along the Selenga river through Orhon and Tuul until it gained its present location. The city is strategically located on the great tea route between China, Russia and Europe. The train will stop for half an hour in Ulan-Bataar. The train station has many traders that can change money for you but using a bad exchange rate so watch out! |
Chojr |
|
The Chojr station looks like a cake and has a statue of VVT Ertvuntz, the first Mongolian cosmonaut. The town was an airbase during the Soviet period. Chojr is right in the middle of the Gobi Desert and has a population of approximately13 thousand. The train stop is 15 minutes. |
Dzamin Ude |
6864 km |
This is the Mongolian border with China and is decorated with lights. Here you will have to show your customs declaration and immigration forms. The luggage of Chinese and Mongolia traders and foreign travelers is checked more carefully than others. The whole procedure takes 1-1,5 hours.
|
|
7045 km |
Mongolia -
China border |
Erlyan’ |
from Beijing 842 km |
It appears that Mongolia and China are in competition to see who will win a prize for the most annoying border service. At the station, the wheels of the train are changed to fit the Chinese tracks. If you will leave the train, please take warm clothes. The stop is approximately 4 hours. |
|
415 km |
At this point, the train crosses the Great Wall of China for the first time. |
Daton |
371 km |
This is a large industrial city with a population of over 2 million. The city is known as an industrial center and is home to numerous coal mines. One of the main attractions is a group of Buddhist cave temples – Yungang Grottoes. However, the stop is short - 8 minutes. |
|
295-272 km |
At this point, the train travels along the Great Wall. The best view is around the 284 km mark. |
Beijing |
0 km |
Beijing is the capital of China, one of the earliest centers of human civilization. This is the end of your journey or perhaps, just the beginning! |
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.