Step1
Tell us the route and dates
Where from, where to, which date, how many travellers and what class. Passport details are needed at purchase, so send scans when you are ready.
Train ticket assistance
The tickets you cannot buy from home.
Domestic Mongolian rail, the Trans-Mongolian to Beijing and the line north to Irkutsk — bought on your behalf, in person, in the right building.
Mongolian rail tickets are difficult to buy from abroad in a way that surprises most travellers. The national operator’s site is in Mongolian and unreliable, international tickets are sold from a different floor of the station than domestic ones, the counters take cash in tögrög or a Mongolian bank card, and English is not spoken.
International seats also open on a fixed window before departure and, on the weekly services in summer, sell out quickly. We buy in person against your passport details and deliver the hard-copy tickets to your hotel in Ulaanbaatar.
What you get.
Set out clearly, so you know exactly what is arranged.
Included
- Availability checked against current timetables before you commit
- Tickets purchased in person at Ulaanbaatar railway station
- Class and berth chosen with you — which carriage, upper or lower berth, two-berth or four-berth
- Hard-copy tickets delivered to your hotel in Ulaanbaatar
- A written briefing on your specific service: departure platform, border timings, what to bring on board
- Station transfer and platform assistance on the day, if you want it
Not included
- The ticket price itself, passed through at cost with the receipt
- Visas for China or Russia, which are your responsibility and must be arranged in advance
- Any fare change made by the railway after purchase
- Luggage consignment fees
Pricing.
Quoted for your dates and party size, and confirmed in writing before anything is booked.
The ticket itself is passed through at cost with the receipt. Fares are set by the railways, vary by class and change without notice; we confirm the current fare when you enquire.
Prices are confirmed in writing before anything is booked. Payment by bank transfer or on invoice; we do not take cash in the vehicle.
How it works.
The main thing we need is time.
Step2
We check what actually runs
Timetables change and services have been suspended and restored in recent years. We confirm what is running on your dates before you plan around it.
Step3
We buy when the window opens
International seats open on a fixed window ahead of departure. We are at the counter when it does, which matters on the weekly summer services.
Step4
Tickets reach your hotel
Hard copies, delivered in Ulaanbaatar a few days before departure, with a written briefing on your service.
Step5
We put you on the train
Optional, and worth it for the international services, where the platform, the carriage numbering and the customs formalities are all in Cyrillic.
Worth knowing.
The details that decide whether this goes smoothly.
Weekly, around 31 hours
Trains K23 and K24 run once a week over roughly 1,550 km. The day of the week has changed more than once recently, so we confirm it against the current timetable rather than a guidebook.
Expect several hours
At the China–Mongolia crossing the carriages are lifted to change the wheel gauge. It takes hours and it is normal, not a delay. You may be on board throughout.
Around 24 hours
The northern service runs a few times a week and crosses at Sükhbaatar and Naushki. The crossing itself commonly takes four to six hours.
Not our department, but our warning
A Mongolian entry position tells you nothing about China or Russia. Both need arranging well in advance, and a Chinese transit exemption may not apply to arrivals by rail.
Questions.
Asked often enough to answer here.
How far ahead should we book?
For international services in June to September, aim to have us working on it two months out. Domestic tickets need less notice, but the Gobi and Erdenet lines still fill in summer.
Can we buy the tickets ourselves at the station?
Yes. Domestic tickets are sold on the ground floor, international on the second. Bring your passport and cash in tögrög, and be prepared to write your route down, because English is not spoken.
Is the Moscow through-service running?
The Moscow–Ulaanbaatar–Beijing through-train has been suspended for some time with no confirmed restart. We check the current position when you ask rather than repeating what was true last year.
What is the difference between the classes?
Broadly: four-berth compartments, two-berth compartments and, on some services, open carriages. Two-berth is markedly more comfortable and sells out first. There are no showers on the Mongolian or Chinese trains.
Can you book domestic sleepers to the Gobi?
Yes — Ulaanbaatar to Sainshand and Zamyn-Üüd are the usual requests, and both are a comfortable overnight if you take a berth.
Give us two months.
Tell us the route and the dates, and we will tell you honestly what is available and what it involves.
Request this serviceOther services.
Most travellers book two or three together, which is simpler for everyone.