【Travel Anecdotes】Life on the Trans-Siberian Railway

Perhaps there are no coincidences in this world, as if everything is destined. Fate gradually takes shape, leading to encounters and partings. Everything returns to how it was before fate intervened, yet that one chance meeting after fate has woven its thread seems to occupy a small corner in the heart. No matter how tiny, it still exists.

Life on the train is an inseparable part of the Trans-Siberian Railway journey. The entire trip lasts 14 days, with half of that time spent on the train. We spent a total of 7 nights and 4 days on the train, primarily traveling early and arriving late to maximize city exploration time, while using rest periods for the train rides. This way, we managed to complete the long-dreamed-of Trans-Siberian Railway journey within limited time. Although it wasn’t possible—or realistic—to visit every city along the railway, we still fulfilled this dreamlike train adventure.

And every encounter on the train feels like a predestined inevitability arranged by fate:-

The trains on the Trans-Siberian Railway are generally divided into express and regular trains. Aside from speed differences, this usually translates to differences in price and carriage conditions. For express trains like K1 and K37, which run between Moscow and other cities, the carriages tend to be newer and cleaner, with velvet-covered seats or beds, and toilets with push-button flushing mechanisms and faucets. Regular trains, such as Train 99, have older carriages that are generally less clean than express trains. Their toilets use foot-pedal flushing, with waste falling by gravity and minimal water for rinsing. The faucets resemble those on Indian trains, where you push the handle upward to get water. Seats or beds are made of leather. Overall, the more expensive express trains offer a more comfortable carriage environment.

Train berths generally come in three classes. First class features a private room with two berths and luggage space, and it’s lockable. Second class also has a private room with two berths and luggage space, and it’s lockable. Third class, however, has no private rooms—there are six berths in an open-plan compartment area. It’s similar but not identical to China’s hard sleeper layout. It’s more comparable to India’s, as Russian train tracks are wider, allowing for larger carriages. Horizontally, there are four berths (upper and lower), and two additional berths are arranged vertically on the opposite side of the aisle. The vertical lower berths can even be converted into a small table with two seats during the day for eating or sitting.

This design avoids the issue of hitting your head when getting up from the middle berth on Chinese hard sleepers. The extra space in the upper berths can be used for luggage, while the lower berth area provides storage underneath. In short, everyone has their own space for luggage.

Before boarding, conductors check tickets and passports at the entrance to ensure all passengers have valid tickets and are on the correct train. These conductors will also be your companions for the next few days, attending to passengers’ needs, including cleaning, tidying, distributing and collecting linens, and selling beverages. Each carriage has two conductors who work in shifts, so the cleanliness of the carriage largely depends on them.

After the train departs, conductors will verify passengers’ tickets. For third-class travelers, it’s essential to purchase linens (including sheets, pillowcases, and duvet covers) when buying the ticket; otherwise, you’ll sleep without them. Don’t worry—even without purchased linens, you’ll still get blankets and pillows, though they’ve been used by many and may feel unclean. You can also buy linens on board for about 120 rubles. After verification, conductors distribute the linens, and passengers are responsible for making their own beds. Before disembarking, everyone tidies up and returns the linens to the conductors.

Each carriage has toilets at both ends, usually with power outlets nearby. Near the conductors’ rest area, you’ll find the train’s schedule for arrivals and departures at each station, helping you anticipate stops and identify major stations worth visiting. The conductors’ rest area also has a crucial hot water supply, used for making instant noodles, tea, or mashed potatoes.

Every train has a dining car, where a typical meal costs around 500–600 rubles. However, most locals bring their own food and drinks. It’s said that during summer, you can buy bread, roasted chicken, and dumplings at some stops, but in winter, we never managed to buy anything at the stations, so all food had to be brought on board.

Lastly, and importantly, in the dead of winter, temperatures outside can plummet to minus dozens of degrees, but inside the carriage, it’s a cozy 20+ degrees Celsius. This means you’ll shed all your cold-weather gear and sleep in light clothing or even shorts. So, if you’re traveling the Trans-Siberian Railway in winter, consider packing a set of shorts to wear onboard—you won’t need to change clothes and won’t overheat. But if you’re going outside to the station or crossing carriages to the dining car, be sure to wear a coat; otherwise, you’ll freeze.

Diligent Conductors
The first people you meet on any train journey are the conductors, most of whom are kind middle-aged women, though you might occasionally encounter a cold or lazy one. On six train journeys, two involved spending two days and three nights on the train. During those two trips, we met kind-hearted conductresses and extremely clean, diligent conductors. Over those short two days, wonderful relationships formed—as if living in a big family, with the conductors taking on the responsibility of managing household chores. They were happy to help with anything, no matter how small. For example, if you wanted ice cream or mashed potatoes, they’d gladly fetch it from the dining car when they weren’t too busy.

The Dream Team
During long journeys, the people sitting next to you can be incredibly important. They can introduce you to Russian culture, as train life is a part of theirs. But what if you’re surrounded by kids? On the train from Khabarovsk to Lake Baikal, our surroundings were filled with children—almost entire carriages of them. At first, we thought, “This is going to be awful; they’ll be so annoying.” True enough, the kids weren’t shy around strangers and came over to greet and play with us.

These kids, aged 8 to 10, were accompanied by several adults. We later learned they were members of a dream hockey team returning from training in the Far East. They were headed to Beijing at the end of February for a friendly match. Their hometown was Chita (also known as Zhitа)—a major transit hub between Manzhouli and Russia. Initially, we thought they were going straight to Beijing from Chita.

Over the two days, the kids, big and small, brought their own toiletries and utensils, queuing up politely to brush their teeth and wash up. They also washed their own dishes after meals. This shows how Russian education encourages independence from a young age—a far cry from the image of chasing kids to feed them. Of course, kids are kids, and their energetic nature shines through. They played gleefully with tea bags as makeshift hockey pucks. They also couldn’t resist the allure of new-world technology, huddling together to play games. Yet, they’d also join in singing when other passengers broke into song. Altogether, their presence filled the carriage with vitality and joy. We even missed their laughter after they disembarked.

Unexpected Encounters Abroad
Shortly after boarding, a Taiwanese uncle asked us for the time. Later, we learned he was conducting an experiment—setting one phone to Moscow time and another to local time, then comparing them with the train’s displayed time to see which was most accurate. The conclusion? The watch was the most primitive—and the most accurate. This uncle was incredibly observant, delighting in studying a place or country’s development and changes through travel. He was also a travel enthusiast, having visited countless places worldwide.

He told us life shouldn’t require giving up dreams due to work or reality. You still need to do what you must, buy the home you need, and not abandon the trips you want to take. This elderly man was truly an early backpacker—he traveled across China thirty years ago. He went from the start to the end and back again, spending a full half-month on the journey. Along the way, he met different people, saw diverse sights, and learned about various cultures. He also transited in Vietnam en route to Moscow, only to realize upon arrival that his luggage was still in Vietnam. Despite the language barrier, he managed to arrange for his luggage to be sent to Vladivostok, then carried just a small backpack to retrieve it from the airport. Even a young person would struggle with such an unexpected situation. During the long train ride, aside from interacting with others, he read books and newspapers. He shared a wealth of economic knowledge—for instance, that understanding China’s development requires reading the official media’s newspapers on January 1st, as they outline the year’s policies. He also mentioned how terrifying a housing index of 19+ in Hong Kong is and how shrewd Wenzhou businessmen are… Truly, “an old person is a treasure”—this knowledge wasn’t just from books but from observations made after reading.