My wife and I took a trip to Europe and Russia last summer, visiting Dublin, Vienna, Prague, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Lake Baikal, and Zurich. The map of our trip and the links to all pictures are here:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... eria_trip/
I’m not a hard-core railfan so please forgive me if this report is light on technical detail, but here are some pictures and comments/descriptions of train-related stuff from our trip, focusing mainly on the Russian stuff:
A LUAS tram in Dublin:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1215.jpg
Me on a tram in Vienna:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1371.jpg
Train compartment in a Czech passenger train to Prague:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1400.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1401.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1410.avi (video)
Czech countryside from the train:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1412.jpg
Funicular at the top of Petrin Hill in Prague:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1427.jpg
Views from a Prague-Berlin train:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1521.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1522.jpg
Sibiryak train to Novosibirsk before departure from Moscow:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1722.jpg
Interior of our first-class compartment on the Sibiryak:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1723.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1725.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1727.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1729.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1733.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1734.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1755.jpg
We paid about $200 per person (food included) for a two-day trip to Novosibirsk, which is about half the price of an Amtrak roomette for a trip of equivalent duration. Dining car attendants walked the aisle frequently, selling snacks like bliny with caviar and taking orders for things like champagne. The dining car had a huge menu, available from attendants on request. We had an option of either eating at a dining car or having the food brought to our compartment.
A very useful service on the Sibiryak was a railway ticketing kiosk. My wife wanted to try third class for part of our journey (Tomsk to Krasnoyarsk), and I was able to turn in our first-class tickets, get a refund, and buy tickets for a different train, all onboard.
Lunchtime in our compartment:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1735.jpg
Views of cathedrals near Vladimir station:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1741.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1744.jpg
Nuclear power plant in the middle of the countryside:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1747.jpg
More cathedrals:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1748.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1752.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1753.jpg
Shopping for provisions at one of the smaller stations:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1757.jpg
Some views were less scenic than others:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1774.jpg
Tatarskaya train station:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1787.jpg
Our first glimpses of Novosibirsk:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1788.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1789.jpg
The train arrived in Novosibirsk precisely on schedule, like all the other Trans-Siberian trains that we took. Passenger trains always had the right of way over freights, and we passed quite a few sidelined freight trains along the way.
The infamous Moscow-Ulan Bataar train at the Novosibirsk train station. A lot of enterprising Mongolians buy up tons of cheap consumer goods (mainly clothes, but also bags, carpets, perfume, etc) in their country and take this train to Russia to sell them for a profit. The hyper-speed selling and bartering spree happens when the train stops for 15-20 minutes at major stations. Do not take second or third class on this train, because the carriages are guaranteed to be filled floor-to-ceiling with merchandise! Here are some shots of platform action near this mall-on-wheels:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1810.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1809.jpg
A tram in Novosibirsk:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1815.jpg
A poster in the Novosibirsk metro wishing the passengers a pleasant journey:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1835.jpg
Our hotel room ($40/night) in the Novosibirsk railways station:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1838.jpg
The view from our room was a railfan’s wet dream. It was great just sitting there and watching trains come and go every few minutes:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1839.jpg
Interior of the Novosibirsk station. Hotel rooms are on the upper level:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1842.jpg
Exterior of the Novosibirsk station:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1843.jpg
A suburban train approaches the Akademgorodok platform near Novosibirsk:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1859.jpg
A steam locomotive on display in Novosibirsk:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1886.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1887.jpg
Central train station in Tomsk:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1929.jpg
Our third-class ride to Krasnoyarsk – exterior:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1930.jpg
My wife on the stairs of our third-class train car:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1938.jpg
Third class, as it turned out, wasn't bad at all. The train car wasn't divided into private compartments, like in first and second class, but everyone got a bunk to sleep on and the bedding was clean and comfortable. The walls provided a decent amount of privacy. Wife remarked that third class in Russia is much better than coach on Amtrak. Here she is enjoying gin and tonic from a can in the upper bunk of third class:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1939.jpg
Taiga train station:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1936.jpg
The newly-renovated Krasnoyarsk train station:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_2007.jpg
First-class compartment on the Rossiya train, which we took from Krasnoyarsk to Irkutsk:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_2008.jpg
I didn’t quite like the more “modern” look of this compartment, but on the bright side, there was a DVD player, with a selection of DVDs available from the carriage attendant.
The bridge over the Yenisey river:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_2011.jpg
The section on the Circumbaikal Railway:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... index.html
We originally wanted to take a train on the Circumbaikal (a spectacularly scenic rail line that runs along lake Baikal) from Port Baikal back to Irkutsk, but I tragically misread the schedule and we missed our train. The next train wasn’t due for over a day, so we decided to explore the Circumbaikal on foot, which turned out very interesting in its own way. We loaded up on food and water in Port Baikal, and hiked about 20 km of the 74-km railway. We then camped on the shores of lake and hiked back the next morning, taking a ferry to Lisvyanka and then a bus back to Irkutsk.
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... eria_trip/
I’m not a hard-core railfan so please forgive me if this report is light on technical detail, but here are some pictures and comments/descriptions of train-related stuff from our trip, focusing mainly on the Russian stuff:
A LUAS tram in Dublin:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1215.jpg
Me on a tram in Vienna:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1371.jpg
Train compartment in a Czech passenger train to Prague:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1400.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1401.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1410.avi (video)
Czech countryside from the train:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1412.jpg
Funicular at the top of Petrin Hill in Prague:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1427.jpg
Views from a Prague-Berlin train:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1521.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1522.jpg
Sibiryak train to Novosibirsk before departure from Moscow:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1722.jpg
Interior of our first-class compartment on the Sibiryak:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1723.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1725.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1727.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1729.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1733.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1734.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1755.jpg
We paid about $200 per person (food included) for a two-day trip to Novosibirsk, which is about half the price of an Amtrak roomette for a trip of equivalent duration. Dining car attendants walked the aisle frequently, selling snacks like bliny with caviar and taking orders for things like champagne. The dining car had a huge menu, available from attendants on request. We had an option of either eating at a dining car or having the food brought to our compartment.
A very useful service on the Sibiryak was a railway ticketing kiosk. My wife wanted to try third class for part of our journey (Tomsk to Krasnoyarsk), and I was able to turn in our first-class tickets, get a refund, and buy tickets for a different train, all onboard.
Lunchtime in our compartment:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1735.jpg
Views of cathedrals near Vladimir station:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1741.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1744.jpg
Nuclear power plant in the middle of the countryside:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1747.jpg
More cathedrals:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1748.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1752.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1753.jpg
Shopping for provisions at one of the smaller stations:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1757.jpg
Some views were less scenic than others:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1774.jpg
Tatarskaya train station:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1787.jpg
Our first glimpses of Novosibirsk:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1788.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1789.jpg
The train arrived in Novosibirsk precisely on schedule, like all the other Trans-Siberian trains that we took. Passenger trains always had the right of way over freights, and we passed quite a few sidelined freight trains along the way.
The infamous Moscow-Ulan Bataar train at the Novosibirsk train station. A lot of enterprising Mongolians buy up tons of cheap consumer goods (mainly clothes, but also bags, carpets, perfume, etc) in their country and take this train to Russia to sell them for a profit. The hyper-speed selling and bartering spree happens when the train stops for 15-20 minutes at major stations. Do not take second or third class on this train, because the carriages are guaranteed to be filled floor-to-ceiling with merchandise! Here are some shots of platform action near this mall-on-wheels:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1810.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1809.jpg
A tram in Novosibirsk:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1815.jpg
A poster in the Novosibirsk metro wishing the passengers a pleasant journey:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1835.jpg
Our hotel room ($40/night) in the Novosibirsk railways station:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1838.jpg
The view from our room was a railfan’s wet dream. It was great just sitting there and watching trains come and go every few minutes:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1839.jpg
Interior of the Novosibirsk station. Hotel rooms are on the upper level:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1842.jpg
Exterior of the Novosibirsk station:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1843.jpg
A suburban train approaches the Akademgorodok platform near Novosibirsk:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1859.jpg
A steam locomotive on display in Novosibirsk:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1886.jpg
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1887.jpg
Central train station in Tomsk:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1929.jpg
Our third-class ride to Krasnoyarsk – exterior:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1930.jpg
My wife on the stairs of our third-class train car:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1938.jpg
Third class, as it turned out, wasn't bad at all. The train car wasn't divided into private compartments, like in first and second class, but everyone got a bunk to sleep on and the bedding was clean and comfortable. The walls provided a decent amount of privacy. Wife remarked that third class in Russia is much better than coach on Amtrak. Here she is enjoying gin and tonic from a can in the upper bunk of third class:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1939.jpg
Taiga train station:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_1936.jpg
The newly-renovated Krasnoyarsk train station:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_2007.jpg
First-class compartment on the Rossiya train, which we took from Krasnoyarsk to Irkutsk:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_2008.jpg
I didn’t quite like the more “modern” look of this compartment, but on the bright side, there was a DVD player, with a selection of DVDs available from the carriage attendant.
The bridge over the Yenisey river:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... G_2011.jpg
The section on the Circumbaikal Railway:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~abramovo/20 ... index.html
We originally wanted to take a train on the Circumbaikal (a spectacularly scenic rail line that runs along lake Baikal) from Port Baikal back to Irkutsk, but I tragically misread the schedule and we missed our train. The next train wasn’t due for over a day, so we decided to explore the Circumbaikal on foot, which turned out very interesting in its own way. We loaded up on food and water in Port Baikal, and hiked about 20 km of the 74-km railway. We then camped on the shores of lake and hiked back the next morning, taking a ferry to Lisvyanka and then a bus back to Irkutsk.
