This is a summary of the most important Trans-Siberian trains between Moscow, Irkutsk, Vladivostok, Ulan Bator and Beijing.  You can check all Russian and Trans-Siberian train times using the online enquiry system at the bottom of this page.  A complete timetable can also be found in the Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable.  All trains run to Moscow time, and the times below are Moscow time except where shown - remember that local time can be up to 8 hours ahead of Moscow time..!  Trains normally stop at each station for 5 to 15 minutes, a bit longer at the more important stations.

Note A:  'Rossiya'.  'Firmeny' quality train.  Runs from Moscow on uneven dates (1st, 3rd, 5th etc.), except 31st of the month.  2-berth & 4-berth sleepers & restaurant car.  Check days of operation using www.poezda.net.

Note B:  'Baikal'.  'Firmeny' quality train.  Runs from Moscow on uneven dates (1st, 3rd, 5th etc.), except 31st of the month.  2-berth & 4-berth sleepers & restaurant car.  Check days of operation using www.poezda.net.

Note C:  Runs daily.  4-berth sleepers and platskartny bunks from Irkutsk to Ulan Bator.

Note D:  Runs from Ulan Bator to Beijing on Thursdays and/or Fridays.  Please double-check days of running when you book as Chinese Railways have changed the days several times over the last few years.  Soft class 2-berth & 4-berth sleepers and hard class 4-berth sleepers.  This link may help check days, times and fares for this train.  There are alternative, less convenient but more frequent ways to get from Ulan Bator to Beijing, with changes of train, click here for details.

Note E:  2-berth & 4-berth sleepers & restaurant car.  Russian and Mongolian coaches.

Note M:  Trans-Mongolian Moscow-Beijing express.  Chinese coaches.  1st class 2-berth, 1st class 4-berth, 2nd class 4-berth.  Restaurant car (Russian, then Mongolian, then Chinese).

Note N:  'Vostok' Trans-Manchurian Moscow-Beijing express.  Russian coaches.  1st class 2-berth, 2nd class 4-berth.  Restaurant car (Russian, then Chinese).

Note P:  This is a slightly slower, cheaper, lower-quality alternative to the top-quality 'Rossiya' and 'Baikal' for journeys within Russia.  Train number is 340 on some dates, 350 on others.

Trains 4, 6 & 20 from Moscow to Ulan Bator & Beijing can only be used by passengers making an international journey (for example, Moscow to Beijing, Irkutsk to Beijing or Moscow to Ulan Bator).  They cannot be used for internal journeys within Russia (for example, Moscow to Irkutsk), where there are plenty of domestic trains available.  So if you want to stop off at Irkutsk (for example), you will need to take a Russian internal train (the 'Rossiya' or the 'Baikal') between Moscow and Irkutsk.

* Moscow-Beijing is 7,622 km (4,735 miles) via Ulan Bator or 8,986 km (5,623 miles) via Harbin.

There are many other slower trains not shown here, including a daily slow train (Train 904) from Moscow to Vladivostok taking 9 days compared to the Rossiya's 7 days.  Simply use www.poezda.net to find train times.

Note F:  'Rossiya'.  'Firmeny' quality train.  Runs from Vladivostok on even dates from the 8th of each month, plus the 2nd, 4th, 6th of March, May, July, October, December, and the 1st, 3rd, 5th of other months.  You can check dates at www.poezda.net.  2-berth & 4-berth sleepers & restaurant car.  Virtual tour.

Note G:  Runs from Beijing to Ulan Bator on Tuesdays until 28 May 2008 (when it's a Chinese train), then on Saturdays until May 2009 (when it's a Mongolian train).  Please double-check days of running when you book as Chinese Railways can't make up their mind what day(s) to run it and it has changed seasonally over the last few years.   The Chinese train has deluxe 2-berth, soft class 4-berth & hard class 4-berth.  The Mongolian train has 2-berth & 4-berth sleepers.  There are alternative, less convenient but more frequent ways to get from Beijing to Ulan Bator, with changes of train, click here for details.

Note H:  4-berth kupé and platskartny bunks from Ulan Bator to Irkutsk.

Note J:  2-berth spalny vagon & 4-berth kupé & restaurant car.  Russian & Mongolian coaches.

Note K:  Trans-Mongolian train.  Chinese coaches.  1st class 2-berth, 1st class 4-berth, 2nd class 4-berth.  Restaurant car (Chinese, then Mongolian, then Russian).

Note L:  Trans-Manchurian train.  Russian coaches.  1st class 2-berth, 2nd class 4-berth.  Restaurant car (Chinese, then Russian).

Note Q:  This is a slightly slower, cheaper, lower-quality alternative to top-quality 'Rossiya' and 'Baikal' for journeys within Russia.  Train number is 339 on some dates, 349 on others.

Trains 3, 5 & 19 from Beijing & Ulan Bator to  Moscow can only be used for international journeys.  They cannot be used for internal journeys wholly within Russia.  If you want to stop off at Irkutsk (for example), book a Russian internal train (for example the 'Rossiya' or the 'Baikal') for the journey between Irkutsk and Moscow.  Train 3 may also not take passengers from Beijing to Ulan Bator, at least in the peak summer season, as it is largely reserved for passengers going through to Russia.  Beijing-UB passengers should take train 23 instead.

Have you visited the seat61 Trans-Siberian picture gallery?

Alternatives between Ulan Bator & Beijing...

If you're trying to do the Trans-Mongolian route flexibly, buying tickets as you go, there are a daily trains between Moscow, Irkutsk and even Ulan Bator making this section relatively easy without pre-booking.  However, the weak point is between Ulan Bator and Beijing where there are just two weekly trains, one a through train from Moscow (so there are limited berths available for passengers joining at UB), the other a weekly train that Chinese Railways keep changing the day of running from one year to the next so no-one's quite sure.  However, there are alternatives, so you're unlikely to be completely stuck.  There is a hard class sleeper train from UB to Hohot 2 to 4 times a week, leaving UB around 20:00 and arriving Jining Nan (Jining South) around 19:00 next day.  There are several daily trains from Jining Nan to Beijing, journey 9 hours, fare about $7 with soft class seat.  There may also be a daily overnight train from UB to Saynshand, 40km from the Chinese frontier at Erlian, local buses or taxis available, then daily trains Erlian to Jining Nan (Jining South) and a number of daily trains from Jining Nan to Beijing.  www.chinahighlights.com/china-trains/ will confirm train times for any journey within China (click 'trains between 2 of all stations', this system recognises 'Jining South', not 'Jining Nan', beware that trains 3, 4, 23, 24 aren't daily).  There is no way to check Mongolian train times online.  If you have more information on this alternative UB-Beijing journey, please e-mail me!

	The 'Rus' at Vladivostok. Photo courtesy of Paul Markham
	A 4-berth cabin aboard the Rus. Photo courtesy of Paul Markham

Far East Shipping Co (FESCO)

Sailing from Vladivostok with the Far East Shipping Company is a very comfortable and pleasant way to reach Japan.  The voyage across the Sea of Japan takes 2 nights and 1 day, all passengers have a berth in a cabin, and meals in the restaurant are included.  Allow plenty of time for passport formalities both on departure and arrival, these are normally carried out on board the ship.  One of FESCO's two passenger ships, the Antonina Nezhdanova, was damaged by a cyclone whilst in harbour at Fushiki in late 2004, and all weekly sailings are now operated by their other ship, the Rus (pictured right).

Vladivostok ► Fushiki (Japan):

Ferry sailing dates 2008:  05.01.08, 14.01.08, 21.01.08, 28.01.08, 04.02.08, 11.02.08, 18.02.08, 25.02.08, 03.03.08, 10.03.08, 16.03.08, 23.03.08, 31.03.08, 06.04.08, 14.04.08, 21.04.08, 19.05.08, 26.05.08, 02.06.08, 09.06.08, 16.06.08, 22.06.08, 30.06.08, 07.07.08, 14.07.08, 20.07.08, 28.07.08, 04.08.08, 11.08.08, 17.08.08, 25.08.08, 01.09.08, 08.09.08, 15.09.08, 22.09.08, 29.09.08, 06.10.08, 13.10.08, 20.10.08, 27.10.08, 03.11.08, 10.11.08, 17.11.08, 24.11.08, 01.12.08, 08.12.08, 15.12.08, 22.12.08.

You can check sailing dates at www.bisintour.com or email bis@ints.vtc.ru.  The ship sails from Vladivostok at 22:00, arriving in Fushiki at 09:00 two nights later.

Fushiki (Japan) ► Vladivostok:

Ferry sailing dates 2008:  11.01.08, 18.01.08, 25.01.08, 01.02.08, 08.02.08, 15.02.08, 22.02.08, 29.02.08, 07.03.08, 14.03.08, 21.03.08, 28.03.08, 04.04.08, 11.04.08, 18.04.08, 25.04.08, 23.05.08, 30.05.08, 06.06.08, 13.06.08, 20.06.08, 27.06.08, 04.07.08, 11.07.08, 18.07.08, 25.07.08, 01.08.08, 08.08.08, 15.08.08, 22.08.08, 29.08.08, 05.09.08, 12.09.08, 19.09.08, 26.09.08, 03.10.08, 10.10.08, 17.10.08, 24.10.08, 31.10.08, 07.11.08, 14.11.08, 21.11.08, 28.11.08, 05.12.08, 12.12.08, 19.12.08, 26.12.08.

You can check sailing dates at www.bisintour.com or email bis@ints.vtc.ru.  The ship sails from Fushiki at 18:00, arriving Vladivostok two nights later at 09:00.

Fares & how to buy tickets:

The cheapest fare is US$400 one-way (or $600 return) per person sharing a 4-berth cabin, including meals, if you book directly with FESCO via www.bisintour.com.  Students get a small reduction, $360 one-way.  Return fares start at US$ 420 (no student reduction).  You can check sailing dates and fares at www.bisintour.com or by emailing them at bis@ints.vtc.ru.  The cheapest way to book is by email directly with FESCO / Bisintour, bis@ints.vtc.ru.  The ship seldom sails from Vladivostok fully booked, so there are usually places available even on the day of departure.  You can then pick up the ticket in Vladivostok at their office on the top floor of the ocean terminal.  Address and contact details for Fesco in Vladivostok:

Buisnessintourservis
690091, G. Vladivostok, Okeanski Prospekt, 1 (Morskoi Voksal).
Tel. (4232) 497-391, 497-392, 497-393, 300-146
Fax: (4232) 411-829
E-mail: bis@ints.vtc.ru

Alternatively, you can book the ship along with your train tickets as part of a Trans-Siberian itinerary arranged through UK agencies such as Intourist or The Russia Experience, although this will cost more.

Train connections in Japan:

Fushiki ferry terminal is 10 minutes walk from Fushiki railway station, which is at the end of a branch line.  You can check train times from Fushiki to any station in Japan at www.hyperdia.com (English button upper left).  You are unlikely to have any problems buying a train ticket to Tokyo when you arrive in Fushiki, though unfortunately Fushiki is not a Japan Rail Pass exchange office, which means that you can't start using a Japan Rail Pass there even if you've pre-purchased one.  For more information about train travel in Japan, see the Japan page.

You may prefer to reach Japan by travelling to Beijing and taking a connecting train across China to Shanghai.  From Shanghai, two companies sail weekly year-round to either Kobe or Osaka in Japan - See the China page for details.  

For information about train travel in China, see the China page.

Click the images to buy online...

If you haven't already got them, these two guides to planning, booking and making a Trans-Siberian journey are the ones to buy.  Bryn Thomas' Trans-Siberian Handbook has a mile-by-mile guide to what you will see from the train, making sure you get the most from your trip.

Page last updated:  14 March 2008.

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