Above: The Moscow-Pyongyang through
sleeping-car attached to the Moscow-Beijing 'Vostok'
Photo courtesy of Roger Kidley
Visiting North
Korea...
Visas are not normally granted to foreign independent
travellers to North Korea, only to visitors on an organised
tour with a guide. Several companies can arrange
visits to North Korea. Try Regent Holidays (in the UK)
at
www.regent-holidays.co.uk who can arrange group or
individual tours to North Korea, including booking the
Beijing-Pyongyang and Moscow-Pyongyang trains. Also
try Koryo Tours (Beijing-based) at
www.koryogroup.com, VNC Travel at www.vnc.nl(in the
Netherlands) or
www.northkorea1on1.com (based in the USA). Each of these companies can book the Beijing-Pyongyang sleeper train
and help with visas. You may also find this webpage
useful:
www.tripbase.com/c/northkorea/. Although talks are progressing, there are no
trains (nor any access) across the border between North and
South Korea.
Moscow - North Korea...
Moscow
▶ Pyongyang
Pyongyang
▶ Moscow
Moscow (Yaroslavski)
depart
23:55 Fridays
Pyongyang
depart
10:10 Saturdays
Pyongyang
arrive
19:30
next
Friday
Moscow (Yaroslavski)
arrive
18:13
next
Friday
This train consists of several through
sleeping-cars from Moscow to Pyongyang in North Korea,
attached to the weekly Moscow-Beijing Trans-Manchurian train
for most of the way. There are 1st class 2-berth and
2nd class 4-berth compartments. A restaurant car is
also available. You'll need both Russian, Chinese and
North Korean visas, as the train travels the Trans-Siberian
Railway via Ekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Ulan Ude in Russia then
the Trans-Manchurian line via
Harbin in China. You can see a timetable of this train
from Moscow as far as Harbin on the
Trans-Siberian
timetable page. Russian/Chinese border points are
Zabaikalsk & Manzhouli. The point of entry into North
Korea is Sinuiji (on the same day you arrive/depart
Pyongyang).
Note that the above route is approved for foreigners.
There's another through sleeping-car twice a month between
Moscow & Pyongyang via Tumangan, attached to the
Moscow-Vladivostok 'Rossiya' for most of its journey.
This crosses directly from Russia into North Korea, but this
is not (normally) an approved route for foreigners.
There's a blog by Helmut Uttenthaler, a westerner who did
manage to travel this route, at
vienna-pyongyang.blogspot.com.
Beijing - North Korea...
Beijing
▶ Pyongyang
Pyongyang
▶ Beijing
Beijing
depart
17:30 Mon, Wed,
Thur, Sat
Pyongyang
depart
10:10 Mon, Wed,
Thur, Sat
Pyongyang
arrive
19:30 next day
Beijing
arrive
08:29 next day
The train has soft
class 4-berth sleepers & restaurant car. A
restaurant meal costs around 5 euros. This train is
approved for European & other non-US foreigners but it's
reported as not permitted for US citizens, if you're
American please check.
Above: Pyongyang station. Photo courtesy
of Roger Kidley
Traveller's report...
Traveller David Eerdmans visited North Korea using the
Beijing-Pyongyang train:
"...Using the train is very recommendable, because it gives
a unique insight in the poor rural areas of North-Korea that
are not otherwise shown to tourists (although the villages
along the railway are probably still among the best there
are in the country). You also pass the site of the large
train explosion two years ago, which is still very visible.
The train usually consists of two through cars attached to
respectively a Chinese and Korean train on both sides of the
border (and on some days also a part from Moscow). The train
is pretty comfortable and very comparable to the usual
trains in China and Russia, although it's state was somewhat
less. Track quality is horrible in North-Korea, with the
train travelling very slowly. Stations are in a very
poor state of repair (and of course always spot a portrait
of the Great or the Dear Leaders...sigh...). Delays are very
frequent due to power outages. There are, as you
state, indeed two classes [subsequent report says only one,
4-berth]. Both are pretty similar and
consist of 4-person compartments. From Pyongyang,
western tourists are only allowed on the Soft Sleeper, which
is only used by foreigners, mostly Chinese [subsequent
reports suggest there is no segregation]. From Beijing,
you can also use the Hard Sleeper, which is also used by
North-Koreans ...which creates about the only opportunity to
speak with 'normal' North-Koreans without having a guide
with you. On the way back from Pyongyang I also had an
interesting conversation, because I shared the compartment
with the Indian ambassador in North-Korea! The
through cars are fenced off from the rest of the train (!),
so you can't use the restaurant car [although several other reports
confirm that you can do so!]. In Korea,
however, a meal can be brought to you by the car attendant
[Note: Regent Holidays report that meals in the
restaurant car are included in the fare]. The quality
of the food is pretty good considering the food shortages in
the country. Do expect dog meat however, which is
actually quite tasty. The border crossing is very
slow, but not the pain I expected it to be. The border
officials are usually not too friendly, but not rude or
intimidating.
North Korea - South Korea trains...
Although there have been talks, proposals an test runs,
there is currently no service between North & South Korea,
and the border remains closed.
Thomas Cook Overseas Timetable
Train,
bus and ferry times for every country in Africa, Asia,
America and Australasia are shown in the famous Thomas Cook
Overseas Timetable, published every two months. It's
essential for every serious overland traveller, and an
inspiration for armchair travellers!
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