RUSSIA’S Trans-Siberian Express takes a whole week to cover 9,259km from Moscow to Vladivostok, the longest daily or weekly passenger train journey in the world. (Image: Trans-Siberian Railways)
IN his continuing search for the more weird, wacky and wondrous in the world of travel, David Ellis says that if you were asked what is the longest daily or weekly passenger train journey in the world and you nominated the Indian Pacific between Sydney and Perth, you’d be – shall we say – way off track.
Because the Indian Pacific straddles a mere 4,373km across Australia and takes just 2.5 days to do it, whereas the Trans-Siberian Express from Moscow to Vladivostok takes a whole week to cover 9,259km with some 67 stops along the way.
And the world’s second-longest train journey also starts or ends in Moscow – as, remarkably, does the third. That second-longest runs from Moscow to Beijing via Harbin in China and covers 8,984km over 6 days with 44 stops, while the third-longest also links Moscow with Beijing but by way of Ulan Bator in Mongolia, a distance of 7,826km over 5.5 days and with 33 stops.
And whereas you’d think America with its size would also be up there amongst the top handful of long-distance daily or weekly passenger train services, in fact its longest journey comes in at number eight out of the Top 10: the trip from Chicago to Los Angeles covers 4,390km and takes 3 days – just pipping Shanghai to Lhasa at 4,373km into 9th place, and our Indian Pacific by 38km and a half-day into 10th spot.
David Ellis, [email protected]
