Travel by Train From China to Europe

Through Primal Asia past railroad train...

The nigh usual (and easiest) road from Europe to Cathay is via the classic Trans-Siberian Railway, shown in blue on the map beneath.  Just at that place is another route at present open to foreigners, the so-chosen Silk Route via Kazakhstan, shown on the map in yellow.  Let's exist clear, if you want to travel between Europe and China, the main Trans-Siberian road is faster and easier to arrange, both in terms of visas and railroad train tickets - for a start, just ane Trans-Siberian railroad train will get you all the way from Moscow to Beijing.  The Silk route will accept a lilliputian more thought and organisation, with more visas, train tickets and stopovers to arrange.  However, this page will explain routes, train times, costs and how to buy tickets.  Yous can besides apply trains to reach Fundamental Asia from Europe and Moscow.

  Step i, London - Moscow - This is the offset step, with daily trains taking 48 hours.

  Pace 2, Moscow - Almaty or Astana (Kazakhstan) - This is the directly pick, take this route if y'all want to head straight for Mainland china.

  Moscow - Bishkek (Kyrgistan)

  Moscow - Tashkent (Uzbekistan) - Alternatively, accept this train if you want to kickoff by visiting Uzbekistan.

  Tashkent - Samarqand - Bokhara & Urgench for Khiva - Trains link Tashkent with 3 of Uzbekistan'due south nigh remarkable cities.

  Tashkent - Almaty

  Stride iii, Almaty or Astana - �r�mqi - The next step on the route to China.

  Stride 4, �r�mqi- Xian - Beijing - The final railroad train ride into Xian & Beijing.

Route map...

London - Moscow...

It's like shooting fish in a barrel to travel from London to Moscow by train, in 48 hours with comfy sleepers on the first-class Paris-Moscow Express.  For times, fares, how to buy tickets and Russian visa information, see the London to Russian federation page.  Direct sleeper trains run to Moscow from Paris, Vienna, Prague, Warsaw, Berlin, Budapest, Helsinki and many other cities, go to this page and select your starting metropolis, so select Moscow.  You volition usually need a Belarus transit visa besides as your Russian tourist visa, run across the visa section on the Russia page.

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Moscow - Almaty & Astana (Kazakhstan)...

Trains link Moscow with both Almaty and Astana in Republic of kazakhstan.  A directly train links Moscow with Astana every 2d twenty-four hour period.  The fourth dimension-honoured direct Moscow-Almaty railroad train Kazakhstan was sadly discontinued in June 2017 (nobody knows what RZD is playing at here), but it's still possible to travel between Moscow and Almaty with a change at Saratov as shown below.  Or you can travel from Moscow to Astana then Astana to Almaty, which may be better.

Moscow ► Almaty & Astana
Each train runs every ii days		Railroad train 17	Train eight	Train 84
Moscow	depart	xx:00  twenty-four hours 1	-	22:48 day i
Saratov I	arrive	11:41 day 2	-	|
Saratov I	depart	-	23:forty twenty-four hours i	|
Almaty II	arrive	-	17:10 day 4	|
Astana (Nur-Sultan)	arrive	-	-	08:04 day four

Almaty & Astana ► Moscow
Each train runs every 2 days		Train 7	Train 17	Train 83
Astana (Nur-Sultan)	depart	-	-	11:15  day ane
Almaty II	depart	07:14  twenty-four hours ane	-	|
Saratov I	arrive	18:33 24-hour interval iii	-	|
Saratov I	depart	-	19:03 day one	|
Moscow	arrive	-	ten:29 twenty-four hours 2	xv:20 twenty-four hours three

The best place to ostend days of running & times, including times of edge crossings (and therefore entry dates for visa purposes) is at the Russian Railways site world wide web.rzd.ru, or using the Existent Russia online system below.

The Saratov times shown above are Moscow time.  Local time is 1 hour head of Moscow fourth dimension.

UPDATE:  After decades of running to Moscow time, from one August 2018 trains are shown in local time on Russian timetables, usually with the departure from Moscow time shown in brackets, for example (MCK +5).

Train 7 & 8:  Kup� (iv-booth) and platskartny (open program berths).  There are no 2-berth sleepers.  Southbound, railroad train 8 departs Saratov on even dates (2d, 4th, 6th etc of each month).  Northbound, train 7 departs Almaty besides on even-numbered dates.  The train passes from Russian federation into Kazakhstan, but briefly transits some other function of Russia before re-entering Republic of kazakhstan.  However, information technology is reported that you just need single-entry visa for Russian federation to travel on this train.  Multiple-entry visas are not required for this.  In fact, this Kazak visa question may have been resolved completely, as Kazakhstan has removed the demand for Britain & some other nationalities to get a visa from 2014 onwards -please bank check the latest Kazak visa state of affairs.  Moscow to Almaty is 4,017 km in total.

Train 17:  A Russian domestic firmeny (quality) railroad train with spalny vagon (2-berth), kup� (iv-booth) and platskartny.

Trains 83 & 84:  Train 84 leaves Moscow's Kazanski station on even-numbered dates (2nd, 4th, 6th etc of each month).  Train 83 leaves Astana on even-numbered dates.  The train has kup� (4-berth sleepers) & platskartny (open plan dormitory cars) plus eating house car.  There are at present no 2-berths, but y'all tin book 4 tickets in a iv-booth to take sole occupancy for i or two of you.  Moscow to Astana is 3,105 km.

Fares:  Moscow to Astana costs around �247 in kup�, booked with Real Russia.

How to buy tickets:  Yous can book train travel in Russia, including this train, through several reputable Russian agencies, including:

• Real Russia - buy tickets using the online booking organisation below

• Svezhy Veter - world wide web.svezhyveter.ru/sv/trains.htm

• Way to Russia - www.waytorussia.net

You tin can make arrangements for trains, hotels and tours in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan through local agencies such as www.tourasia.kz.  You lot volition need Russian tourist visa for this journey (by all means double-check, but at the fourth dimension I write this Kazakhstan no longer requires UK & some other nationals to get a visa.  For information on Russian visas, come across the visa section on the Russian federation page.

What are the trains like?

Railroad train 83 from Nur Sultan to Moscow, at Nur Sultan. Photos courtesy of Gonzalo Bustos.		4-booth sleeper. Larger photo.

Sleeper corridor...		Train 83 arrived at Moscow Kazanski. Photos courtesy of Gonzalo Bustos.

Scenery betwixt Nur Sultan & Moscow from train 83...

Moscow-Almaty better via Astana than direct?   Traveller Chris Nuttall suggests going Moscow-Almaty via Astana:  "I travelled from London to Almaty (Kazakhstan) and back last fall (2009). On the return journey I travelled via Astana and as a upshot made the journey from Almaty to London in under 5 days, about 13 hours quicker than using the (so) straight train from Almaty to Moscow.  I departed Almaty 2 station at 19:28 on the daily Talgo overnight train to Astana (train number 1/ii) and travelled in Platskartny which consisted of 4 booth compartments, the same as the 'Tourist class' on the Spanish railways own Talgo sleeper trains, rather than the usual Russian semi-open carriages.  According to my sister, who lives in Almaty and has used this train on a number of occasions, this service has a reputation for arriving punctually, dissimilar many other trains in Kazakhstan.  I and so used train 83/84 to Moscow as shown on your site.  Equally well equally existence quicker and giving me the opportunity to explore Astana for a few hours, this road only crosses the Russia / Kazakhstan border in one case. I know yous mention that just single entry visas are required for train vii/8, but I couldn't detect further information on this, so my chosen route gave me added peace of mind."

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Moscow - Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan)...

A train called the Kirgizia links Moscow with Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan, with 4-booth sleepers & restaurant machine.  No 2-booth sleepers.

Moscow ► Bishkek				Bishkek ► Moscow
The Kirgizia		Train xviii		The Kirgizia		Train 17 or 27
Moscow Kazanski station	depart	22:40  Thur & Saturday		Bishkek II	depart	09:39  Mon & Wed
Bishkek Ii	go far	23:06  Sun & Tue		Moscow Kazanski station	arrive	11:15  Thur & Sabbatum

The all-time place to confirm days of running & times, including times of edge crossings (and therefore entry dates for visa purposes) is at the Russian Railways site www.rzd.ru, or using the Real Russia online arrangement beneath.

Fares: Moscow to Bishkek costs �295 in iv-berth kup�, booked with Real Russia.  Check days of running using the Real Russia online organization below.

How to buy tickets: You lot tin book this train in either direction Real Russia online system below.

Above:  The limited from Moscow to Bishkek. Photos courtesy of Chris Nuttall

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Moscow - Tashkent (Uzbekistan)...

There is a train running 3 times a week from Moscow to Tashkent in Uzbekistan.  This is the Uzbekistan, with Spalny Vagon (2-berth sleepers), kup� (four-booth sleepers) and platskartny (open up plan dormitory car) plus restaurant car.  The railroad train passes from Russia into Kazakhstan then information technology enters Uzbekistan.

Moscow ► Tashkent				Tashkent ► Moscow
The Uzbekistan		Railroad train six		The Uzbekistan		Train v
Moscow (Kazanski station)	depart	22:forty  Tue, Wednesday, Sun		Tashkent	depart	18:50  Thur, Sat, Lord's day
Tashkent (Uzbekistan entry signal)	arrive	16:50  Fri, Sat, Wed		Moscow (Kazanski station)	arrive	11:xv  Lord's day, Tue, Wed

The best identify to confirm days of running & times, including times of edge crossings (and therefore entry dates for visa purposes) is at the Russian Railways site world wide web.rzd.ru, or using the Real Russian federation online system below.

Fares:  Moscow to Tashkent costs around �415 in 4-booth kup� or �461 in ii-booth spalny vagon, booked with Real Russian federation.

How to buy tickets:  You can book railroad train travel in Russian federation, including this train, through several reputable Russian agencies, including:

• Real Russia (either direction) - using the online booking organisation below

• Svezhy Veter (journeys starting in Russia) - www.svezhyveter.ru/sv/trains.htm

• Manner to Russia (journeys starting in Russia) - www.waytorussia.net

• Advantour (journeys starting in Tashkent) - www.advantour.com

Visas:  You will need a Russian tourist visa and Uzbekistan tourist visa for this journey.  For information on Russian visas, see the visa section on the Russia page.  By all means bank check the latest Kazak visa situation but at the time I write this Kazakhstan no longer requires UK & another nationals to get a visa.

You tin make arrangements for trains, hotels and tours in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan through local agencies such as world wide web.tourasia.kz or www.advantour.com.

The Uzbekistan from Moscow to Tashkent. Courtesy of Jeff Mortelette.

Life on lath the Uzbekistan:  The corridor, a 4-berth sleeper compartment, and food in the restaurant motorcar. Courtesy of Jeff Mortelette & family.

Travellers' reports...

Traveller Jeff Mortelette travelled Tashkent to Moscow in 2016:  "The boarding arrangements were crazy.  We arrived an hour early and fabricated our manner to the security bank check.  There were tons of people pushing to arrive.  I think there was another train leaving right earlier us, then a lot of people were trying to get on that railroad train.  We waited in line for about half an hour before we realized nosotros needed to start pushing our fashion to the front if nosotros wanted to take hold of the railroad train.  We finally got through with almost ten minutes to spare and hustled to the platform.  Nosotros got on our car with a few minutes to spare.

The train left Tashkent at eighteen:l.  About half an hour later we spent 80 minutes at the border while Uzbek edge patrol went though.  They had me open some bags and reply some questions about where I was going and why.  They spoke no English.  We went for xx more than minutes and did the same thing with the Kazak edge control.  It was pretty like when we left Kazakhstan/entered Russia.  We merely entered Russia once.

On the train at that place were a few power sockets.  Ane at each end and ane in the middle, but none in our cabin.  A prissy characteristic is each machine had shot water dispenser people used for noodles or tea.  We besides had 1 employee of the train assigned to each car and ours was actually helpful, specially when crossing borders.

There was a restaurant car that served Uzbek staples:  plov, lagman, and dumplings.  In addition sometimes people would go by our cabin and sell the food the restaurant cooked.  My friend and I got 2 bowls of plov and scopula beers for around $vii.  It was pretty good for plov, just in that location was not much variety.  Nosotros paid in Kazak Tenge, simply you could besides pay in som or rubles.  It would assist to not deport big bills;  I couldn't utilise my 10,000 Tenge note.  In addition to he food on the railroad train, many stops of at to the lowest degree 20 minutes had places you could buy food.  Mostly crackers, white potato chips, processed bars, water and soda, and uncooked ramen noodles.  Each car of the railroad train had a place where you could get hot water that many people used for tea and ramen noodles.  In Samara, we could find more food for auction:  cheese, bread, sausage.  In full general the closer nosotros got to Moscow the more choices we had when we stopped."

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Tashkent - Samarkand - Bokhara - Urgench (for Khiva): See the Uzbekistan page.

For railroad train service within Uzbekistan, linking Tashkent, Samarkand, Bokhara & Urgench, meet the Uzbekistan folio.

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Tashkent - Almaty

Update:  There were plans for a twice-weekly Tashkent-Almaty train to offset some time in 2017, though it's not clear if this e'er started.  Tashkent depart 15:10 Tuesdays & Sundays, arriving Almaty 08:51 next solar day.  Almaty depart 22:thirty on Mondays & Saturdays arriving Tashkent at 13:47 side by side day.  The train will employ modern articulated Talgo cars, with One thousand Class sleepers (ane or 2 booth compartments with shower & toilet), Business Class (1 or two booth compartments with washbasin) and Tourist (4-berth sleepers with washbasin).

There are reportedly ii infrequent straight trains betwixt these cities, one running once a week departing Tashkent at 17:22 on Wednesdays taking 24 hours, and another running every 4 days, but please bank check locally.  It'due south also possible to become by railroad train on other days with a change at Arys, or by train+bus via Chimkent.  Use www.poezda.internet to cheque train times.  Traveller Helmut Uttenthaler reports "Information technology's possible to go by train with irresolute at Arys. We did this, we had 53 minutes for our connection from daily train 23 (to Aktjubinsk) to the twice-weekly railroad train 381 (Ufa - Tashkent). Although railroad train 23 left Almaty with 40 minutes delay, we arrived at Arys on time. The connecting train was besides on time, so no problem.  Yet, getting tickets in advance from Arys to Tashkent on railroad train 381can be difficult.  Free places for getting on at Arys are very rare and appear in the "express" booking organization only a few days before departure (as the train comes from Ufa in Russian federation).  We were iii people, and when we booked our trip to Arys 8 days ahead it was not yet possible to buy tickets from Arys to Tashkent.  Some days later (4 days alee) we tried it once again and now just 3 free places appeared for Arys-Tashkent. Ii in platskartny, one in kup�. We bought all of them... However, if we had failed to buy tickets or had missed our connection we would have made the style from Arys to Tashkent by taxi, as it'due south only most 150 km.  From locals we heard that they commonly take the train to Chimkent and from at that place a bus to Tashkent.  But we wanted to go by train all the way."

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Almaty & Astana (Kazakhstan) - �r�mqi (Mainland china)

Direct railroad train twice a week...

Two trains per calendar week link Almaty in Republic of kazakhstan with �r�mqi in China, one using the original route through Druzhba/Alashankou, the other via the new much shorter route through Horgos/Altynkol.  Ane train per week carries through cars Astana-�r�mqi.  1 set of carriages is Kazak with 2-berth and 4-berth sleepers, the other fix Chinese with modernistic air-conditioned soft grade four-berth sleeper compartments and hard class open up-program bunks.  A Kazak restaurant car runs Almaty to the border, and a Chinese restaurant motorcar runs from the border to �r�mqi.  If you use this route, delight let me know!

Astana, Almaty ► �r�mqi						�r�mqi ► Almaty, Astana
		Train 104/  K9796	Train fourteen/ K9798	Railroad train 54/14/ K9798				Train K9797 /13	Train K9795 /103	Train K9797 /13/ 53
Astana Nurly Zhol	depart	-	-	sixteen:45  Sat		�r�mqi	depart	23:14 Mon	23:26 Sat	23:fourteen  Mon
Almaty 2	depart	08:36 Mon	00:22 Sun	|		Alashankou (border)	make it	08:00 Tue	|	08:00  Tue
Almaty i	depart	09:22 Mon	00:43 Sun	|		Druzhba (border)	arrive	09:20 Tue	|	09:20 Tue
Altynkol (border)	arrive	18:52 Mon	|	|		Altynkol (border)	go far	|	??:??	|
	depart	22:02 Mon	|	|			depart	|	??:??	|
Druzhba (border)	make it	|	sixteen:35 Sun	16:35 Dominicus		Almaty ane	depart	05:xi  Wed	21:48 Sun	|
Alashankou (border)	arrive	|	22:10 Sun	22:10 Lord's day		Almaty 2	arrive	05:58  Wed	22:34 Lord's day	|
�r�mqi	go far	10:06 Tues	10:19 Mon	x:xix  Monday		Astana Nurly Zhol	arrive	-	-	12:35  Wed

One train is operated by Kazakhstan Railways, the other by Chinese Railways.  Astana is now also known as Nur-Sultan.

Which station in Urumqi?  There are ii main stations in Urumqi, plainly Urumqi which opened in 2016 only northwest of the urban center heart (see map), and Urumqi Nan (see map) which is the original Urumqi station, south of the city centre, and confusingly called obviously Urumqi until 2014.  These trains apply the new Urumqi station.  Urumqi has an unofficial local time 2h backside normal Chinese time, just the times shown above for Urumqi are all the official Beijing time zone used by the railways.

Bank check your train times & dates carefully using the Existent Russia online system below or (for journeys starting in People's republic of china) as times and days of running take changed regularly over the years, and at that place is much alien information online depending where you await.  You lot can get more than definitive info at the Kazakhstan Railways online timetable at https://epay.railways.kz but you lot need to be clever with cutting and pasting Cyrillic identify names алматы for Almaty and урумги for Urumqi.

Fares:  Almaty to �r�mqi costs around �123 in 4-berth or �138 in ii-booth, booked with Real Russian federation.

How to buy tickets:  Y'all can book these trains using the Real Russia online system below for eastbound journeys or world wide web.chinahighlights.com/mainland china-trains (click International Train from Prc above the journey planner) for westbound journeys.

Traveller'due south report...

Traveller Tom Earwaker reports:  "Departure was 23:14 on Mon 14/10/nineteen, Beijing time.  Note that there's an unofficial local time in Urumqi, 2 hours backside Beijing, but railroad train times are all in Beijing fourth dimension. The train had effectually ten carriages, I simply counted about 18 people getting on! I had a four-berth compartment to myself up to the border crossing and there was a prissy German couple in the next compartment.  Information technology was an old train, but clean and comfy, with bedding and hot water provided.  Got to the China side of the edge around 9am where security checked passport, looked around compartment and asked some questions about reason for travelling, where we went in Red china, etc. Got off the railroad train 09:30 with luggage, more than questioning (about purpose of visit, my job, and whether I liked China!), luggage search and they took fingerprints.  They too looked though the photos on my phone for quite a while and the books on my kindle.  It was quite thorough, but they weren't unfriendly about it.  Back on the railroad train and left the station around 11:00, reaching the Kazakh side of the edge at 11:xx (09:20 Kazakh time) There was one.5hr of security checking passport, checking bags, questioning and waiting, all carried out on the train. And so we had to get off the railroad train for another 1.5hr and expect at Druzhba station while they changed the wheels over.  There was a modest cafe at the station serving typical Russian/Kazakh nutrient (Borscht, Samsa, Plov etc.) and I was able to exchange Yuan for Tenge at the station's convenience store (too a depository financial institution nearby with similar exchange rate).  We left at 12:40 Kazakh time, and the railroad train very quickly filled up over the next few stops. Arrived in Almaty 2 station at 05:50 adjacent morning (16/10/19)."

four-bed sleeper. Larger photo.		Train K9797 at �r�mqi. Photos courtesy of Gonzalo Bustos.

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�r�mqi - Xian - Beijing

All these trains have soft & hard sleepers and most take a eating house car, see the Railroad train Travel in China folio for general information nearly trains in China.  There are other trains bachelor between �r�mqi and Xian and between Xian and Beijing, see the Railroad train Travel in China page.

�r�mqi ► Xian, Beijing

Beijing, Xian ► �r�mqi

Eastbound...

Train Z70

Train Z180

Train Z136

Train Z106

Westbound...

Railroad train Z69

Train Z179

Train Z135

Train Z105

Daily

Daily

Daily

Daily

Daily

Daily

Daily

Daily

�r�mqi

depart

xiv:18  day 1

18:50  24-hour interval ane

xx:twenty day 1

18:23 twenty-four hour period 1

Beijing Due west

depart

10:00 day i

fifteen:15* twenty-four hours i

-

-

Xian

arrive

|

|

22:33 day 2

19:21 day two

Xian

depart

|

|

07:34 day one

eleven:01 mean solar day one

Beijing West

make it

20:22  day 2

09:40* mean solar day 3

-

-

�r�mqi

arrive

sixteen:52 twenty-four hour period 2

06:12 solar day 3

08:00 day 2

11:03 day 2

Which station in Urumqi?  There are two main stations in Urumqi, evidently Urumqi which opened in 2016 just northwest of the urban center centre (run across map), and Urumqi Nan (see map) which is the original Urumqi station, southward of the city centre, and confusingly called plain Urumqi until 2014.  These trains use the new Urumqi station.  Urumqi has an unofficial local time 2h behind normal Chinese time, simply the times shown above for Urumqi are all the official Beijing time zone used by the railways.

Fares: �r�mqi to Beijing costs effectually RMB 901 ($146) in soft sleeper or RMB 566 ($92) in hard sleeper, if bought at the station.  �r�mqi to Xian costs around RMB 768 ($124) in soft sleeper.

You can check times & buy tickets at www.mainland china-diy-travel.com or www.chinahighlights.com/communist china-trains.  Not all trains are shown here!

* Trains Z179/Z180 employ Beijing master station, non Beijing West.

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Buy railroad train tickets

What tickets tin can this organisation sell? This arrangement tin sell tickets for any mainline railroad train journey within or between Russian federation, Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the other ex-Soviet states, including (for example) Moscow to Tashkent or Tashkent to Moscow.  It will besides sell tickets for journeys starting in those countries heading outwards, for example Almaty to �r�mqi or St Petersburg to Helsinki.  Reservations officially open 45 days before difference, but Real Russia allow you to request tickets up to 180 days ahead and they will contact you for payment when the cost is confirmed. Can anyone buy tickets using this arrangement?  Yes, you tin can buy tickets online with a credit carte du jour whether you live in the Great britain, U.s.a., Canada, Commonwealth of australia, or wherever. How are tickets delivered?  Tickets can be collected free of accuse at Real Russia's offices in Moscow or St Petersburg, or (if your journeying starts in Russia) an due east-ticket tin be emailed to yous so you can collect the ticket from nearly master Russian stations.  For journeys starting in other ex-Soviet countries, tickets tin can be sent to UK or Eu addresses for a �12-�15 charge, or couriered to any address worldwide, also for an extra charge. Who run this service? Is it reliable?  This service is provided by Real Russia, a reputable joint U.k.-Russian visitor which has got proficient reports from users.  Real Russian federation can also sort out your Russian visa. Booking tips:  Look for a railroad train marked 'Firm' if in that location is one. 'Firmeny' trains are the best 'quality' trains, with modernistic coaches and skilful on-board service.  'TBC' means the system cannot provide a price for that particular train automatically, but they'll contact you with a cost past phone or email. Is information technology cheaper to buy at the ticket office?  Real Russia charge the normal Russian Railways fare plus a 15-23% mark-up to cover their costs.  There's likewise a 2� % charge for credit card payments, though y'all can avert this past calling their UK office to pay by debit carte du jour when your tickets are confirmed.  The fares shown include the mark-up, merely not the credit carte charge.  Past all means buy tickets at the ticket office if you're flexible, just Russian trains can get fully-booked so information technology's proficient to pre-book if yous desire a specific engagement and train.  Russian Railways offer online booking simply it'south only in Russian, so information technology tin be worth the extra to chop-chop and only organise your Russian rail tickets in English.

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Planning your trip...

Probably the best fashion to program a trip like this is to commencement past reading upward on all the possible routes, trains and stopovers, then plan out an itinerary and budget using a simple tabular array or spreadsheet:  How to plan an itinerary & budget.

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