Our country is so huge that not even every Russian can boast that it crossed from edge to edge. After all, we are so eager to get acquainted with all the overseas beauties that we completely forgot how beautiful Russia is. However, in recent years, interest in travel within the country has grown significantly. Many of our compatriots take the train and spend six days simply on an incredible journey that expands the horizons and provides an opportunity to take a fresh look at our country. Every year, this route is used not only by Russians, but also by foreigners who seek to know the real Russia. But you can do this only by finding yourself far from large cities, where ordinary people live their ordinary lives with their joys and troubles. To make this trip, you will need the next train on the route Moscow-Vladivostok. Reviews about him, as well as various nuances of this trip, told by different people, became the topic of our article.
The route "Moscow - Vladivostok": features and description
Crossing our country from edge to edge is possible only on one route - "Moscow - Vladivostok". The train (we will give you reviews in the following sections of the article) will fly you through many cities where you will fully enjoy the local flavor. In parallel, you will change seven time zones and several climatic zones.
Passengers will travel approximately one hundred forty-four hours. During this time, they will travel through fourteen regions, three territories, one autonomous region and one autonomous region, and will also be able to cross sixteen major rivers. That is why the train 002 "Moscow-Vladivostok" reviews are very mixed. For some, this trip is a delight, but for someone it is very difficult. But in any case, we did not find a single person who would be indifferent to this trip.
The Moscow-Vladivostok train departs (reviews of this trip may, in the opinion of many tourists, become a real basis for a book about Russia) from the Yaroslavl Station. The final point is the Vladivostok station, which is located in the beautiful bay of the Golden Horn. Just a few steps from the station, weary travelers enjoy views of the Sea of Japan. And as many say, this sight is worth a few days on the road.
Trains to Vladivostok: a brief description
If you try to book a ticket to the very extreme point of our country and back, then most likely you will be offered the Russia train on the Moscow-Vladivostok and Vladivostok-Moscow routes. Reviews about him are always mostly enthusiastic, which is not surprising - this train is branded and provides many additional services. Details about this composition we will talk a little later.
You may also get the train 100E "Moscow-Vladivostok". We will also provide feedback on it in this article. But more often than not, foreigners and our compatriots prefer to buy tickets for the first train, although both are classified as ambulances and cover a distance of nine thousand kilometers in almost the same time period. All the difference lies in the comfort of the wagons and, of course, the ticket price.
The cost of travel from Moscow to Vladivostok
If you plan to cross the country by rail, then keep in mind that this is quite an expensive pleasure. Many tourists note that the cost of a train and plane ticket is almost identical, sometimes airfare is even several thousand cheaper. But for those who choose the next train on the Moscow-Vladivostok route (reviews of this journey sometimes resemble an adventure novel), the road is important and what they can get during the six-day journey is an impression.
Of course, the price of a ticket varies depending on the season, the class of the carriage and the number of additional services included in the price, but keep in mind that on average you will have to pay at least fourteen thousand rubles one way. To this amount it is necessary to add the cost of food on the road, because it can also make an impressive cost item. If all this does not scare you, and you are ready to travel, then the following information will be very useful to you.
Classification of trains by numbers
The numbers of the trains are not just a set of numbers, although travelers sometimes just think so. But how are these numbers formed? And what information do they conceal?
We’ll try to answer your questions, because the information received will help you navigate your journeys by rail. So, everyone knows that each composition has its own number. Thus, you can find out the characteristics of the train and even its direction. At the moment, the following system operates:
- fast trains that run all year round are indicated by numbers from 001 to 150;
- single or seasonal fast trains have the following digital designations - from 151 to 298;
- numbers 301 to 450 are assigned to regular passenger trains;
- a single and seasonal passenger train will have a digital designation in the range from 451 to 598;
- high-speed trains are indicated by numbers 701-750;
- the latest trains, such as the Peregrine Falcon, developing speeds of one hundred and sixty kilometers per hour, will go under the designations 751-788.
It is also important to understand that an even number indicates the direction of the train to the north or east. And the odd ones go south or west.
Classification of trains
Many inexperienced travelers who buy train tickets rarely are very concerned about the fact that there is often a letter next to the train number. It carries a certain semantic load. For example, how can you decode the designation that the 001M Vladivostok-Moscow train has? Reviews of passengers, unfortunately, do not reveal this secret. If you focus on digital notation, it is clear that the composition is fast. But what about the letter "M"? What is its meaning?
Everything is extremely simple here. The fact is that digital combinations have an extremely limited set, but the letters along with the numbers give wider possibilities in the designation of compositions. With their help, the train becomes unique, the letter allows you to find out which road the train will go on. In our example, "M" appeared, it means that the train goes along the Moscow railway. But the train 100E "Moscow-Vladivostok" (reviews about it are very numerous) will go along the Far Eastern railway.
Therefore, depending on the direction, the composition number can be the same, but the letter designation can be adjusted. Most often, passengers do not even notice the letter code on the ticket; they do not announce it by speakerphone at the station either. However, this information may be useful to you.
Train 002 "Moscow-Vladivostok"
Reviews on this composition should be read to those who plan to make a trip on it in the near future. Such daredevils will need additional information about this route that we can provide.
The train goes all its way along the Trans-Siberian Railway, and this route is considered one of the longest in the world. This alone is worthy of interest. Moreover, not every time a chance is given to see with your own eyes all the greatness of your country. On the way, the train makes about sixty stops and belongs to the Federal Passenger Company.
It is difficult to talk about this train without mentioning its history, so we decided to give some important historical facts.
Route history
The Trans-Siberian Railway is one of the most ambitious construction projects in our country. In 1916, the bridge over the Amur River was completed and the first train "Moscow-Vladivostok" was launched (reviews, photos of the train, unfortunately, were not preserved anywhere). Then the train was an ordinary passenger, and it took him more than one week to overcome the path. But in 1966, the first branded train Moscow-Vladivostok was put on the route. Reviews of passengers about him were enthusiastic. And it is not surprising, because its cars were exclusively new, and the service was very different from the one to which Soviet citizens were accustomed. Therefore, for almost everyone, a long journey turned into an exciting adventure.
The color of the cars of the branded train over the years has managed to change several times. The original cherry hue was replaced by green, red and raspberry. For sixteen years, the entire composition has been painted in the Russian tricolor. Initially, the train went through Yaroslavl, and now through Nizhny Novgorod.
Brief description of the composition
The train leaves Moscow on odd days, in the opposite direction it leaves from Vladivostok, on the contrary, on even days. Usually cars are numbered from the head, if you are leaving Vladivostok, then it is worth counting the cars from the end of the train.
Usually in one train no more than seventeen cars. It is interesting that this train includes male and female cars so rare for Russia. You can buy a ticket for a branded train only in a compartment, a superior compartment or in CB. There are no reserved seats in this train.
Train Comfort: General Description
Since passengers have a rather long journey, usually in the company train there is everything you need and not only. Each carriage is equipped with a dry closet, showers, and household rooms where you can iron things and blow dry your hair. If you need a refrigerator or microwave on the way, they will also be at your service.
Each compartment is equipped with an electronic lock that opens with a plastic card. This eliminates the possibility of theft when passengers are absent. The compartment has televisions on which various films are broadcast daily. And you can eat in the dining car, when buying a ticket with hot meals, tourists will receive meals directly from it.
Train "Moscow-Vladivostok", reviews (2016-2017 year)
In order to form your own opinion about the journey from Moscow to Vladivostok, it is worthwhile to carefully study the reviews of passengers. Thanks to them, you can get reliable information, so to speak, first-hand.
All travelers noted the incredible cleanliness of the cars and their arrangement. In the compartment, everything is decorated in a pleasant turquoise color (it is the most common), the shelves are very interesting to recline - you don’t need to remove the linen from them, since it is fastened with special straps. The pluses of a woman’s car always include a large mirror located on the compartment door. It allows you to see yourself in full growth. Shelves are closed with doors upholstered in soft cloth.
A lot of positive reviews received the toilet. All passengers noted that there are no problems with hot water, soap and cleanliness. Conductors always carefully monitor this. A pleasant plus is the fact that the doors in the cars open and close automatically.
Many positive reviews receive food during the trip. The interior of the restaurant car leaves much to be desired, but the art of the cooks is beyond praise. Delicious and always fresh food delights passengers. Moreover, the prices in the restaurant are quite acceptable for each person.
It is interesting that a lot of foreigners usually travel on this train, but almost all of them leave in Irkutsk. After all, their cherished dream is Lake Baikal, and only very rare desperate heads reach Vladivostok.
A nice addition to all the other advantages of the car is a light panel. It shows the time and temperature in the car. For passengers, this, of course, is a trifle, but very useful.
The disadvantages of the train most passengers include the lack of the promised soul. Instead, there is a household room with a chair and a bucket of hot water.
Passenger train "Moscow-Vladivostok"
If you go on a trip with a regular passenger train, it will be marked 100E, the train 099E Vladivostok-Moscow is in the opposite direction. We will also give feedback on this route in this article a little later. And now briefly describe the features of this composition.
So, an ordinary passenger train has reserved seats along with compartment cars. Those who travel often claim that eight years ago, the train also included common wagons. But it was rather difficult to call such a trip comfortable and enjoyable.
The cars in the train are no longer new and quite battered. Many windows do not open, and air conditioning conductors do not include. There are a lot of broken shelves and hooks in the reserved seat, so you will not succeed in enjoying the ride, as in a company train.
Most often, a restaurant car is not included in such compositions, and all the way passengers “enjoy” the aromas of Chinese noodles, which almost everyone eats. Keep in mind that the journey by passenger train will take seven days.
Travel Reviews for Vladivostok
What about the seven-day ride on a regular passenger train? To be honest, there are very few positive reviews about this trip. Basically, only desperate people dreaming of new experiences decide on such an extreme. Be sure that in dirty and poorly ventilated carriages of emotions you will get even beyond the expected.
The contingent of passengers of such trains is diverse:
- women with children (in summer);
- demobilization;
- migrant workers with families;
- travel and the like.
Many passengers note that all seven days on the train they drink a lot of alcohol. From this, the already stale air acquires an unimaginable aroma. Therefore, at almost every station, almost all travelers go onto the platform without exception.
The final touch to the article
If you still make the journey from the capital of our country to Vladivostok by train, be sure to leave a review about it. Indeed, in this way you will help other people decide whether they should succumb to this adventure or whether it is better to travel in a different way.