Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Plan Your Trip
Trans-Mongolian Railway
The Trans-Mongolian Railway is part of the vast network of track that links
Bĕijīng and Moscow, a crucial piece of the world's longest continuous rail
route. For rail enthusiasts, a journey on the Trans- Siberian is the railroad
equivalent of climbing Mt Everest. This section offers a broad planning
overview; for details on the schedule and ticket prices,
Click here
.
Trip Prep
Best Pre-Trip Movie
Transsiberian
(2008) is a Hollywood thriller staring Woody Harrelson and Ben Kings-
ley. The film even includes a cameo by a Lonely Planet guidebook.
Best Ways to Meet the Locals
Pack Chinese-, Mongolian- and Russian-language phrasebooks to meet and greet the
locals. Card or chess games can pass the time, or break out a stash of food and
booze to share with new-found friends. Head to
shop.lonelyplanet.com
to purchase a
downloadable PDF of Lonely Planet's Chinese or Russian phrasebooks.
Best Online Tool
Google has uploaded the entire Moscow-to-Vladivostok rail journey online. It even
comes with a soundtrack of Russian books and music. Go to
www.google.ru/intl/ru/
By the Numbers
The gauge of the Mongolian railroad is 5ft wide, as it is in Russia. This is slightly wider
than the 4ft 8.5in used in most other parts of the world. Mongolia has 1810km of rail-
way track (ranking it 76th in the world).
Trans-Siberia Primer
The idea of building a rail route from Moscow to the Pacific Ocean was hatched in the
mid-19th century. This was the age of imperialism, when the powers of Europe were ex-
