Riding the Trans-Mongolian Railway, one of the world’s most epic train journeys
(CNN) — Horses were Mongolia’s chief means of getting around for thousands of years, and they remain an integral part of the national identity.
But in modern times, the iron horse has gained popularity as an excellent way to cross this vast central Asian nation.
Stretching 2,215 kilometers (1,376 miles) from Mongolia’s northern border with Russia to China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the south, the Trans-Mongolian Railway was completed in 1956 after nearly two decades of construction across some of the planet’s most scenic but arduous landscapes.
The train rumbles through stands of taiga (boreal forest), across the fabled steppes of central Mongolia and then the seemingly endless Gobi Desert. Remote towns and settlements flank the tracks, but signs of civilization are few and far between, especially during winter when much of Mongolia is draped in snow.
“The Trans-Mongolian Railway was a great ride and a total contrast to the preceding days of Siberian birch trees and small villages with muddy streets and wooden houses,” says British rail travel expert Mark Smith, founder of The Man in Seat 61 website, of his experiences riding through the country while journeying from Moscow to Beijing on the broader Trans-Siberian rail journey before the pandemic closed global borders.
“Mongolia offered wide-open grassland, camels and frequent ‘yurt alerts’ as nomadic settlements hove into view.”
Which makes it all the more surprising when high-rise buildings appear in the distance and the train rolls into Ulaanbaatar. With more than 1.6 million residents, the booming national capital is home to more than half of Mongolia’s entire population and, when the full Moscow-Beijing Trans-Siberian line was up and running, a great place to break the journey for a couple of days.
Travelers in the Mongolian capital not planning to board a train should even consider visiting the station, which opened in 1949. With elaborate chandeliers dangling above the waiting room and a vintage steam locomotive and coal car permanently parked beside the platform, venturing into Ulaanbaatar’s stocky Soviet-era train station is an instant flashback.
How to ride the Trans-Mongolian
In years past, the vast majority of international passengers, like Smith, experienced the Trans-Mongolian Railway as the central portion of an epic train journey between Moscow and Beijing. However, that route was suspended in 2020 during the Covid pandemic and remains a no-go for most travelers for the foreseeable future.
“It’s a shame because it was one of the great overland trips,” says Christian Stanley, director of the Trans-Siberian Travel Company in London. “There are still a lot of people who have this trip on their bucket list.”
Stanley says for travelers from countries not participating in sanctions against Russia over the war with Ukraine, it’s still possible to undertake a Moscow-Beijing rail journey via Mongolia. Just not on the same train or booking.
No such hassles or sanctions if you’re only riding the rails in Mongolia.
The regular service between Ulaanbaatar and the twin towns of Zamiin-Uud/Erenhot on the Mongolia-China border is definitely worth experiencing, a journey that takes the better part of a day (or night) to cross the steppes and Gobi Desert. Tickets can be purchased at the main train station in Ulaanbaatar.
The Trans-Mongolian went through a period of modernization in recent decades, with some of its Soviet-made diesel locomotives replaced with American models. The carriages feature second-class hard-sleeper (four-person) and first-class deluxe soft sleeper (two-person) compartments with lockable doors, small tables, power outlets and air conditioning/heating. Sheets, pillows and duvets are provided. Hard sleepers share a single Western-style toilet in each carriage, while each pair of soft sleepers share an ensuite bathroom.
“I shared a four-berth cabin with just a young Mongolian mother and her daughter,” says Laura Jopson, a New Zealander who writes about her globetrotting adventures in the Laura the Explorer blog.
“The room was comfortable, warm and quiet. Each evening, the attendants would convert the seating into bunks. Luggage was stored beneath the lower bunk, so it was hard to access during the journey – a small daypack is definitely recommended for things you’ll need whilst on the train. Each carriage had a samovar for making hot drinks and instant meals.”
The trains also boast dining cars with menus that feature local specialties and a few international dishes.
“The Mongolian dining car contrasted with its Russian counterpart (and with the Chinese restaurant car, for that matter),” says Smith of his onboard dining experience while passing through Mongolia. “Good and filling, but you’d better like mutton and rice!”
Passengers can supplement dining car cuisine by stocking up on snacks and drinks in Ulaanbaatar – there’s a small convenience store inside the main station – or dashing onto the platforms at whistlestops along the route.
“I decided to eat in the Mongolian restaurant carriage mainly for the decor!” says Jobson.
“The carriage is decorated in beautifully carved wood. The food was tasty and not too expensive. Otherwise, I brought instant meals (ramen, pasta, coffee), some fresh fruit and other snacks.”
If passengers decide to visit snack shops, food counters and kiosks along the way, they need to keep track of how long the train stops at each station to avoid getting left behind. And Jopson points out that over winter, the station food options were limited to major stations only.
Even though the train toilets are initially stocked, it’s also recommended that passengers bring their own roll of toilet paper.
“The toilets were basic, but clean for the most part,” Jobson recalls. In case the sleeper doesn’t have a universal socket, an electronics adapter is another good idea.
Before boarding the train, convert international currency into a sufficient amount of Mongolian Tugrik, as the dining cars and snack shops are likely to be cash only. There’s a money change kiosk inside the Ulaanbaatar train station and a small bank across the parking lot.
For those who would prefer to book a tour package, several adventure tour operators are getting into the Mongolia rail game. That includes Australia’s Intrepid Travel, which recently announced a new 11-day “Trans-Mongolian Railway Adventure” that combines road and rail travel between Beijing and Ulaanbaatar.
“This has been a rail line that we’ve been passionate about for quite some time,” says Erica Kritikides, Intrepid’s general manager of global product.
“We thought it sounded fascinating and we had run Trans-Siberian trips in the past. So this was an opportunity for us to explore a portion of that rail line and it really fit within our goal of featuring more offbeat rail networks around the world.”
Intrepid’s first Trans-Mongolian Railway trip is scheduled for June 2025. Kritikides says bookings are already brisk and that at least one of next summer’s journeys is already sold out.
Journey highlights
Ulaanbaatar is definitely a high point of any trip to Mongolia. Among its landmarks are the sprawling Gandan Monastery with its many Buddhist relics — including an 85-foot-high (26-meter) golden Avalokiteśvara statue — the Central Museum of Mongolian Dinosaurs, and the various national treasures inside the Bogd Khaan Palace Museum.
Although Genghis Khan established his capital at Karakorum in central Mongolia, the 13th-century military leader, emperor and national hero is remembered in a massive stainless steel equestrian statue just west of the capital, as well as a somber seated figure in front of the Government Palace.
A roundtrip journey on the Trans-Mongolian between Ulaanbaatar and Zamiin-Uud makes for an easy and interesting two-day trip. However, travelers can extend the journey by stopping for a couple of days at major towns along the way.
Set on the edge of the Gobi Desert, Choir is renowned as the birthplace of Jügderdemidiin Gürragchaa, the former cosmonaut and defense minister, who was the first Mongolian and second Asian to venture into space.
After blasting off in March of 1981, Gürragchaa spent seven days aboard the Salyut 6 space station. Choir honors its local hero with a statue in the plaza in front of the station – close enough for passengers to undertake a quick dash and selfie with the skyward-pointing cosmonaut while the train is stopped.
Several small (and very modest) hotels cater to overnight visitors or those who want to venture into the wilderness around Choir to visit the hot springs at Khalzan Uul or search for Siberian ibex and argali big-horn sheep at Ikh Nart Nature Reserve.
Another couple of hours down the track is Sainshand, a much larger town with better facilities for overnight visitors including several hotels, a couple of restaurants with traditional Mongolian dishes and Date Coffee House for bubble tea, milkshakes and specialty coffees.
Located about a 40-minute drive south of town, Khamar Monastery with its towering stupa was founded in the early 19th century by a scholar monk dubbed the “Terrible Noble Saint of the Gobi.” Most of the structures date from the last 35 years, after the restoration of Mongolian Buddhism following the collapse of the communist regime.
Zamiin-Uud punctuates the southern end of the Trans-Mongolian with an elegant train station tower that appears to be modeled after St. Mark’s Campanile in Venice. The roomy plaza outside the station is flanked by restaurants and fast-food joints, a bakery, a bank and even a karaoke lounge.
Crossing the border
For those wanting to travel from Ulaanbaatar into China or vice versa, there’s a round-trip service available every Monday and Friday that heads over the border and into Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia, in northern China.
According to Chinese state media, the route was relaunched earlier this year. From Hohhot, passengers can journey to Beijing and farther into China via high-speed rail.
According to those who have made the journey, the main event at the border is experiencing the train transitioning from the wider track gauge used in Mongolia to the standard gauge used in China.
“We arrived at the Chinese border station to martial music played at top volume over the station’s loudspeakers,” Smith recalled. “You could get off here and stretch your legs or stay on while the whole train was shunted into a shed and jacked up on hydraulic lifts to have its bogies changed from Russian to standard gauge.
“I chose the latter, a fascinating experience with much banging and jolting as each car was separated, then lifted bodily into the air several feet. Our original wheelsets were trundled away and a new set brought in underneath us. It took about an hour.”
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