Train Moscow - Beijing

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Hi,

according to the site www.seat61.com, it's virtually impossible to buy ticket for Transmongolian train from Moscow to Beijing at the ticket office. According to the site, the reason is that almost all of the tickets are sold out to travel agencies before the reservations are open to public.

Is it really so? Early next year, I would like to travel to China by train again, this time via the northern, Transsiberian route. Basically, I would like to really pay for the tickets their face value and not to be ripped-off by any travel agency. I don't mind changing trains along the route. Any recommendations how to buy the tickets? Thanks a lot

As far as we know, it is not true. Agencies usually book expensive purely touristic trains like "Golden Eagle" etc. Regular trains on Moscow-Bejing route is a bit touristic during summer, but not in the manner that it is impossible to purchase tickets at all. There are two trains per week (Russian #20 on Saturdays and Chinese #4 on Tuesday), Russian tends to be more popular, because it goes via Zabaikalsk, thus omits Mongolia (for which Russian citizens need visa). But on the contrary Russian is also more expensive.
For instance, let's look at ticket availability for the nearest train - #4 on 29.03:
*
As you can see, plenty of tickets available. And any international ticket counter will easily sell it to you. For next Russian train (on 2.04) there are about 40 kupe and almost 25 SV/Lux tickets available. But it seems that for train #20 there is also certain limit of tickets for in advance sale, since amount of available seats are app. the same for almost any date in April-May. But probably this is more technical thing imposed by RZD, thus they release batches of tickets closer to the departure date.

And even if you have problems catching tickets for direct trains, you can always use Russian domestic trains with MPT ticket till Bejing, for instance purchase ticket Moscow-Suifenhe-Bejing + reservations for #1 trains Moscow-Vladivostok, then for carriage to Harbin and from there to Bejing. Or similar trick with Zabaikalsk or even catch #5 Moscow-Ulan-Baator and change there for Bejing train.

* I'm using Latvian access to the Express system only because it is in English, Russian one will show you the same thing but in Russian.

Thanks for reply!

And any international ticket counter will easily sell it to you.

You mean any international ticket counter within Russia or in all CIS countries & Baltic states? Thanks for screenshot, I made the query on the Latvian railways site and there's note below: "This is not LDZ formation train, we are not legal to sell tickets for that train online!" So I checked also RZD site and found the connection there, I was even able to select the wagon and number of travellers but as I am not registered the system kicked me out. Nevertheless, it seems that it is possible to buy tickets only for domestic travels and international travels to CIS countries:

 "Продажа проездных документов (билетов) осуществляется на поезда, следующие во внутреннем сообщении по территории Российской Федерации и международном сообщении с государствами СНГ (Азербайджанская Республика, Республика Казахстан, Кыргызская Республика, Республика Белоруссия, Украина, Республика Таджикистан, Туркменистан, Республика Узбекистан, Республика Молдова), Латвийской Республикой, Литовской Республикой, Эстонской Республикой".

One more question: The system shows availability for given train and date but not the price, is it possible to get the price quote somewehere? Thanks.

You mean any international ticket counter within Russia or in all CIS countries & Baltic states?

In theory yes, any international ticket counter having MPT tariff tables (computerized or on paper) and necessary coefficients can issue such ticket in any of the countries participating in MPT tariff. But in real life sometimes there might be surprises, for instance we read messages that it's almost impossible in Kyiv and Tallinn, but possible in Riga etc. Reasons for such unprofessionality are different, but nevertheless, in order to be 100% sure it is better to purchase such tickets as Moscow-Bejing either in Moscow/Saint-Petersburg or any other Russian station Moscow-Bejing trains run through.
Also when purchasing MPT tickets from Russian station in countries other than Russia there is problem with sleeper reservations, you can't avoid the need to have access to Russian system, so reservation can be actually reserved and taken out sale.

I checked also RZD site and found the connection there, I was even able to select the wagon and number of travellers but as I am not registered the system kicked me out. Nevertheless, it seems that it is possible to buy tickets only for domestic travels and international travels to CIS countries

Yes, RZD online selling system allows sale of so called interstate (Russia to former Soviet countries, MGPT tariff) tickets only, but not international (MPT, East-West etc.)

The system shows availability for given train and date but not the price, is it possible to get the price quote somewehere?

There is no free web access to the MPT or East-West tariff fares, so you can't know today's fare for sure, especially due to CHF-RUB currency fluctuations, but app. 610 CHF ticket+reservation for Russian train #20 (2/4) and 515 CHF for Chinese train #4 (also 2/4), maybe a bit more since we heard about small raise recently. Both fares one-way, for return you get discount 20% on ticket part.

Well, I did a lttle reserarch on MPT Tariff and found out very interesting thread:

http://forum.virtualtourist.com/discussion-540423-1-1-Miscellaneous-0-0-World-discussion.html

Basically, the OP says that in Chop, they can issue CHINESE, KOREAN, TRANSSIB (Moscow-Beijing) tickets at will with only government-mandated (minimal, 1-2 Euro) fees. It sounds almost unbelievable. My Russian is passable so I can give it a try. What do you think?

What can we say... GyuriFT is a well-known specialist when it gets to tariffs tricks in case of former Soviet countries, China, Mongolia etc., but in most cases he is writing with a presumption that what is right in theory should work in practice. In most of the European countries this is a true statement, especially when computers simplify the work of ticket cashiers and the only thing s/he need to know is how to insert correct request.
But in former Soviet countries, especially those where tickets are still handwritten and far more than one international tariff, theory and practice might not work "together". Plus we add here unprofessionality  of cashiers, who don't bother to issue something more complicated than Kyiv-Budapest or Chop-Budapest ticket, many might not even know what MPT tariff is.
As result, yes, in theory Ukraine is in MPT and at least major international ticket counters throughout the country must know how to issue MPT tickets, but somehow nobody from internet communities we know (neither foreign or Ukrainian) ever succeeded (while many tried) with MPT ticket purchased in Ukraine, even in Kyiv main ticket office.
Resume: if you do have free time and money to make a trip to Chop and ask for MPT ticket - you might try it, but, philosophically saying, be ready that you will not succeed, because of one of the above reasons when true in theory doesn't work out in real life 

Btw, recently ones more we confirmed possibility to purchase MPT tickets in Riga (Main station, ticket desk #24)
It took a bit of time, but ticket cashier was able to sell computerized ticket for #20 Moscow-Bejing for 9.04 (251.47 LVL for the ticket + 65.06 for reservation 2/4)

Thanks, tUt. My friend is going to Uzhgorod this weekend so I told him to find out the possibilities. He is equipped with all available info, even with the OSJD agreement on MPT in russian. So let's see