Beijing – Moscow Trains

Beijing – Moscow Railway is a branch of the Trans-Siberian Railway. There are two railways linking China and Russia. International trains run on these railways once a week. They are trains K3 (westbound) and K4 (eastbound) between Beijing and Moscow via Mongolia; K19 (westbound) and K20 (eastbound) directly from China to Russia via the older and longer route through Manchuria.

Beijing – Moscow Trains: K3/K4

Trains K3/K4 connect China’s capital of Beijing to Russia’s capital of Moscow, passing through the Beijing – Baotou Railway, Trans-Mongolia Railway, and Trans-Siberian Railway. They traverse three countries China, Mongolia, and Russia, with a total distance of 7,818 kilometers, which is considered to be the longest train in Chinese railway.

Quick Facts

• Duration: 127 hours from China to Russia; 132 hours from Russia to China
• Length: 7,826 kilometers (4,863 miles)
• Train number: K3 (called 003 in Mongolia and Russia) from Beijing to Moscow; K4 (called 004 in Mongolia and Russia) from Moscow to Beijing
• Departure: every Wednesday from Beijing Railway Station at 07:27; every Tuesday from Yaroslavsky Railway Station at 23:45
• Arrival: every Monday at Yaroslavsky Railway Station at 13:58; every Monday at Beijing Railway Station at 14:35

Beijing to Moscow Train Timetable

Moscow to Beijing Train Timetable

History of Trains K3/K4

On June 4, 1959, the trains China – Mongolia – Russia international trains K3/K4 officially started to operate. It was first operated by the Soviet Railway. Since the 1990s, with the rapid development of China-Russian relations, frequent trade between the two countries began. Businessmen became gradually became the main passengers of the train. In 2000, China Railway implemented the third nationwide speed increase, trains K3/K4 were upgraded from ordinary trains to express trains. Facilities on the trains have been changed. Since 2012, this pair of trains has offered hard sleeper and superior soft sleeper classes. The soft sleeper class has been eliminated. Since 2020, trains K3/K4 have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

From 1960 to 2010, this pair of trains traveled more than 42 million kilometers, with the mileage equivalent to more than 1,000 laps around the earth, and safely transported more than 1.4 million passengers from more than 100 countries.

Basic Information

When trains K3/K4 are running in China, there are 13 coaches, including 6 hard sleeper coaches, 2 superior soft sleepers, and 1 luggage coach which will be in service for the whole journey. In addition, there are 3 hard sleeper coaches and 1 dining car that are in service from Beijing to Erlian and will be removed when leaving China for Mongolia. The dining cars of this train are separately attached, a Chinese one when in China, a Mongolian one in Mongolia, and a Russian one in Russia. Besides, Mongolian and Russian sleeper coaches will be added along the way.

Beijing – Moscow Trains: K19/K20

Running on the famous Trans-Siberian Railway from China to Russia, trains K19/K20 are operated by Russia during the whole journey. It is the first international train between China and Russia.

Quick Facts

• Length: 8,981 kilometers (5,581 miles)
• Train number: K19 (called 019 in Russia) from Beijing to Moscow; K20 (called 004 in Russia) from Moscow to Beijing
• Departure: every Saturday from Beijing Railway Station at 23:00; every Saturday from Yaroslavsky Railway Station at 23:45
• Arrival: every Friday at Yaroslavsky Railway Station at 14:13; every Saturday at Beijing Railway Station at 05:49
• Duration: 135 hours from China to Russia; 150 hours from Russia to China

Beijing to Moscow Train Timetable: K19

Moscow to Beijing Train Timetable: K20

History

In 1954, international trains K19/20 from Beijing to Moscow and vice versa were officially launched. It is the first international intermodal train after the founding of the People’s Republic of China. In the beginning, it ran twice a week, operated by the Soviet Railway. In 1969, due to political reasons, it ran once a week. Since 2020, trains K19/K20 have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Basic Information

The train consists of 6 coaches when running in Russia, including 4 hard sleeper coaches, 1 superior soft sleeper coach, and 1 Russian dining car. When the train is in China, 1 hard sleeper coach and 1 Chinese dining car will be added to the train.

Since the Russian railway adopts the wide gauge of 1520 mm, while the Chinese railway adopts the standard gauge of 1435 mm, the wheels need to be replaced at Zabaikalsk in Russia every time the train enters and exits. In the whole process, the whole train will be lifted by lifting equipment, the original wheels are pushed out, and then new wheels of another gauge are pushed forward. Passengers will wait at the station. Due to the need for border inspection, the train stops at Manzhouli Station for about 5 hours.

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