One of the world’s iconic railway journeys, it conjures up all sorts of romantic visions. Extending 9,259 km from Moscow to Vladivostok on the Pacific, it normally is a six-day journey. Most tourists only go as far as Irkutsk and Lake Baikal, 5,153 km from Moscow. This takes 3 days and 2 hours and has 24 stops of 1-30 minutes, the times and duration of which are listed on a handy chart in the corridor. That is the trip I took. The cost was $622 and most easily booked through the website Russiantrains.com. Tickets can only be purchased 45 days before your travel date but I ordered and paid for them weeks before that. There are three classes of berths, but most tourists opt for the 2nd class ‘kupe’ cars that have 4 berths per compartment and two toilets at the end of the hall. The Russian train system runs on Moscow time wherever it is. The “train time” in Vladivostok is 9 hours behind local time and 5 hours behind in Irkutsk. The track is doubled all the way. Power was supplied by an electric locomotive for the entire trip.