Passenger service between Moscow and Pyongyang resumes

[Mainline421]

Russia and North Korea plan to restart a direct passenger train service between Moscow and the North Korean capital Pyongyang this month for the first time since 2020, Russia's state-owned rail monopoly said on Monday.

Russian Railways said it had agreed with North Korea's railways ministry to resume a twice-monthly service between the two capitals on June 17, a journey it said took eight days and which, at over 10,000 km (6,213 miles), was the longest direct rail journey in the world.


Another service between Pyongyang and Khabarovsk, a Russian city close to China's northeastern border, will restart two days later.


The services will be operated by Korean State Railway, the state operator, and in the case of the Moscow-Pyongyang route will see a North Korean passenger railcar hitched to the regular Moscow-Vladivostok service and then re-attached to another train.

Passenger rail traffic between Russia and North Korea was suspended in February 2020 at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Passenger trains between Russia and North Korea set to resume

The direct train service has been on hold since 2020

www.independent.co.uk

Never would've thought the Pyongyang through car would return, let alone while Beijing would still require multiple changes

 

[doc7austin]

Passenger trains between Russia and North Korea set to resume

The direct train service has been on hold since 2020

www.independent.co.uk

Never would've thought the Pyongyang through car would return, let alone while Beijing would still require multiple changes

I'd expect an announcement about the resumption of the Beijing-Ulaanbaatar-Moscow train in the next months - at least running as a through car group between Irkutsk and Moscow.
About the resumption of Beijing-Harbin-Moscow - I am not that optimistic.

 

[dutchflyer]

Also posted on the german DSO-Ausland forum. Said to go only once every 2! weeks, as such indeed the longest through service in 1 car (or maybe a few more?) on earth. In the past mostly used by diplomatic staff-and their ´secret´ official mails/parcels. MIN fare quoted as around 321€.

 

[stadler]

Good to hear it has returned. I presumed that covid had permanently cancelled this so i am pleasantly surprised to see it come back. I suppose that means North Korea is starting to finally reopen from covid again. Now we just need the Paris to Moscow train to return and you would be able to get from London to Pyongyang on just three trains again.

 

[AlastairFraser]

Good to hear it has returned. I presumed that covid had permanently cancelled this so i am pleasantly surprised to see it come back. I suppose that means North Korea is starting to finally reopen from covid again. Now we just need the Paris to Moscow train to return and you would be able to get from London to Pyongyang on just three trains again.

Good luck with that!
I think that there will be through passenger service from Kazakhstan to China at some point, so if relations are repaired somewhat with Iran, from London through continental Europe and Turkey to Iran and then through Turkmenistan/Uzbekistan/Kyrgyzstan might be the simplest way (although it's difficult to enter Turkmenistan without a tour agency itinerary).

 

[stadler]

Good luck with that!
I think that there will be through passenger service from Kazakhstan to China at some point, so if relations are repaired somewhat with Iran, from London through continental Europe and Turkey to Iran and then through Turkmenistan/Uzbekistan/Kyrgyzstan might be the simplest way (although it's difficult to enter Turkmenistan without a tour agency itinerary).

Even that way via Turkey is not possible as there is a ferry in the way. Tatvan to Van has to be done by ferry or by road. So it really depends on how strict you are about going entirely by train or if you allow ferries or buses or coaches for shott distances.

There is a line from Turkey to Georgia and a line from Azerbaijan to Iran both under construction. So when they finally get passenger trains then that would be a possible route. They have been talking about those for years. Although you also have the issue of the Azerbaijan to Georgia train being suspended and the border being closed so you would have to wait for that to reopen too.

Turkmenistan is very easy to go to with a transit visa. I have done this before. There is no need to book a tour to go with a transit visa. Just apply at the embassy for a transit visa instead of a tourist visa. I specifically did this so i could visit Turkmenistan without a tour guide. They normally give seven days which is enough time to pass through and visit the country. Although as far as i am aware Turkmenistan has no cross border trains so you hit yet another issue there.

To be fair Russia is still fairly easy to get to. I have visited since the conflict started. If travelling by train it just means you have to walk across the border from Narva to Ivangorod or vice versa. It is a very short walk that i found easy. About thirty minutes total of actual walking plus quite a bit of extra time at the two border controls. It certainly takes longer now but London to Pyongyang entirely by train is still possible now.

I think realistically the Narva to Ivangorod route to Moscow and then the train to Pyongyang is the only possible route from London to North Korea entirely by train. But anyway i doubt many tourists will consider this route. Certainly when i did it about eight years ago i was the only foreigner in both directions and i was told the border only got about five foreigners a year. They all seem to take the train to and from China instead. So even with the Moscow to Pyongyang train restarting i can not see it being that popular with tourists.

 

[Jealgu]

From what I understand the Turkmenistan transit visa is much harder/ impossible to get since COVID.
In the past there have been many random rejections for the transit visa as well.

 

[Fragezeichnen]

For anyone who has not seen it, here is the legendary blog of the Austrian friends who were some of the few western tourists ever to take this train over it's full length: https://vienna-pyongyang.blogspot.com/

The blog gives the impression that the trip was possible only with subterfuge and caused a minor diplomatic incident so might not be repeatable, but the post from @stadler suggests that is not really the case.

 

[AlastairFraser]

Even that way via Turkey is not possible as there is a ferry in the way. Tatvan to Van has to be done by ferry or by road. So it really depends on how strict you are about going entirely by train or if you allow ferries or buses or coaches for shott distances.

True, I forgot about the ferry across Lake Van.

There is a line from Turkey to Georgia and a line from Azerbaijan to Iran both under construction. So when they finally get passenger trains then that would be a possible route. They have been talking about those for years. Although you also have the issue of the Azerbaijan to Georgia train being suspended and the border being closed so you would have to wait for that to reopen too.

Interesting. I had no idea the Azerbajianis had closed the border with Georgia too. At least the infrastructure is there if they choose to reopen it.

Turkmenistan is very easy to go to with a transit visa. I have done this before. There is no need to book a tour to go with a transit visa. Just apply at the embassy for a transit visa instead of a tourist visa. I specifically did this so i could visit Turkmenistan without a tour guide. They normally give seven days which is enough time to pass through and visit the country. Although as far as i am aware Turkmenistan has no cross border trains so you hit yet another issue there.

Fair point about the cross border trains. I think people's experiences may vary when trying to apply for a visa, but a through train from Iran to Kazakhstan would probably help.

To be fair Russia is still fairly easy to get to. I have visited since the conflict started. If travelling by train it just means you have to walk across the border from Narva to Ivangorod or vice versa. It is a very short walk that i found easy. About thirty minutes total of actual walking plus quite a bit of extra time at the two border controls. It certainly takes longer now but London to Pyongyang entirely by train is still possible now.

It really depends on what your occupation is. Many people in the UK are at risk of dismissal from their employment if they visit what is termed a "hostile power or state".

 

[stadler]

From what I understand the Turkmenistan transit visa is much harder/ impossible to get since COVID.
In the past there have been many random rejections for the transit visa as well.

Ah that is a shame to hear. So much travel related stuff has become harder to do since covid happened. I guess i am lucky i went to Turkmenistan before covid happened. I did hear about people getting rejected but luckily i found it quite a simply process and was approved fairly quickly.

For anyone who has not seen it, here is the legendary blog of the Austrian friends who were some of the few western tourists ever to take this train over it's full length: https://vienna-pyongyang.blogspot.com/

The blog gives the impression that the trip was possible only with subterfuge and caused a minor diplomatic incident so might not be repeatable, but the post from @stadler suggests that is not really the case.

Using the Moscow to Pyongyang train and crossing at Khasan Tumangang became an officially approved route in the early 2010s or mid 2010s at some point. It was even confirmed to me by the North Korean Embassy when i went there to get my visa. When those two Austrians went it was indeed an unofficial and unpermitted route but that changed a few years after they went. According to what i was told (from speaking to one of the Russian officials at the border and from speaking to someone at the tour agency) the border gets a couple of foreign tourists every year. I have also found a few other accounts online of foreigners using the Moscow to Pyongyang train so it certainly got a small bit of use before covid.

I posted briefly about my trip a few months ago in the thread aboit unusual border crossings:

Most Interesting Border crossed by Train (Land)

This sole carriage was our "cross border" train from Istanbul to Thessaloniki in 1987. My memories are a bit vague, but we certainly began the journey hooked up to a Turkish Express going somewhere in the general direction of northern Greece. When we awoke next morning this is what our "train"...

www.railforums.co.uk

Although who knows if things have changed since covid. North Korea has been shut for five years so maybe new rules apply now. But i think they are slowly reopening to tourism so hopefully the Moscow to Pyongyang train via the Khasan Tumangang border remains a permitted option.

True, I forgot about the ferry across Lake Van.

Interesting. I had no idea the Azerbajianis had closed the border with Georgia too. At least the infrastructure is there if they choose to reopen it.

Fair point about the cross border trains. I think people's experiences may vary when trying to apply for a visa, but a through train from Iran to Kazakhstan would probably help.

It really depends on what your occupation is. Many people in the UK are at risk of dismissal from their employment if they visit what is termed a "hostile power or state".

Azerbaijan has shut all of their land borders since covid. You can still enter by air (including directly from Georgia by air) but not by train or car or any sea or any land method. They are using the bonkers excuse of covid and saying that restricted entry just to the airport in Baku allows them to manage covid better. Of course this is nonsense in 2025 and they probably just want to save money by keeping the borders closed or some other reason. I really hope the border opens and the Tbilisi to Baku train restarts soon as it makes travel by land in the region far more difficult.

 

[AlastairFraser]

Azerbaijan has shut all of their land borders since covid. You can still enter by air (including directly from Georgia by air) but not by train or car or any sea or any land method. They are using the bonkers excuse of covid and saying that restricted entry just to the airport in Baku allows them to manage covid better. Of course this is nonsense in 2025 and they probably just want to save money by keeping the borders closed or some other reason. I really hope the border opens and the Tbilisi to Baku train restarts soon as it makes travel by land in the region far more difficult.

It is especially weird, given that Georgia is increasingly becoming a tourist destination for even the less inteprid European traveller, and Azerbaijan should be promoting themselves as a natural short excursion from eastern Georgia in particular.

I can understand shutting the border section near the Armenian conflict zone, maybe perhaps they will consider reopening the Lagodekhi crossing.