Transportation guide for heading to Russia from Harbin

Railway

K19 International Train

K19( in China ) or 019 (in Russia), is the only direct international train connecting Harbin to Russian cities. It sets off from Beijing Railway Station every Saturday, passing through Tianjin, Hebei, Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, before leaving China from Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia autonomous region. It finally arrives at Moscow Yaroslavskiy Railway Station on Friday after 119 hours and 58 minutes.

 [Source from travelchinaguide.com]

How to purchase the tickets

For individual passengers, the international railway ticket is open for booking 30 days ahead of departure and released seven days beforehand; for group passengers (minimum six), it is available 60 days ahead and released 14 days beforehand. One can book tickets either from designated ticket counters at railway stations or from agencies who are commissioned to sell international railway tickets.
Basic information

Put into service on Jan 31, 1954, train K19 is operated by Russia during its entire journey. It runs on the Chinese branch of the famous Trans-Siberian Railway while in China and Mongolia and on its main route while in Russia. The MEST series carriages are made in Russia and equipped with televisions, telephones, automatic fire alarms, air-conditioners, and washrooms accessible for the disabled. The deluxe soft sleepers are decorated in Russian style. When running in China, the train has 16 carriages, including 12 hard sleeper carriages, one dining carriage, and one luggage carriage. Before leaving China in Manzhouli, a hard sleeper carriage and the dining carriage are unlinked. Due to the unlinking process and border check, the train usually stops there for about 3 hours. When entering Russia in Zabaikalsk, two hard sleeper carriages and a dining carriage are added on and the train gets fitted with Russian gauge wheels. The border check in Zabaikalsk is strict and the train may stop for 3 or more hours.

Tips

1.  Passengers of train K19 should apply for a Russian visa before boarding;
2. The plug on the train is European standard. You may need an adapter;
3. Goods like fruits, vegetables, meat, and medicines can not be brought on board into Russia and must be consumed before the border check by Russian customs at Zabaikalsk.