When did/does the Trans-Mongolian pass through Datong?
On July 8th 2018, I took train K4 departing at 07:30 local time from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and arriving at 14:30 the next day in Beijing, China. The schedule bolted to the wall of my train (pictured) as well as everything I can find online indicates that the current routing on the Chinese side is Erenhot-Jining-Zhangjiakou (Shalingzi West)-Beijing.
However, our train actually detoured through Datong (lower route), arriving in Beijing several hours after the timetable said we were supposed to, and a casual trawl through Google Books suggests that until at least the 2000s this was in fact the standard route for trains to take. It also was not an unexpected delay, since the arrival time was correct to the minute on our tickets.
When was the route changed? And why did my train take the "old" route in 2018?
Personal guess: something to do with the construction of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou HSR, which was completed in 2019.
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Does the Trans Siberian railway pass through Mongolia?
The 7,621 km (4,735 mile) journey takes 6 nights. This train crosses Siberia, cuts across Mongolia and the Gobi desert, then enters China.Where does the Trans Siberian Express go?
Undoubtedly the world's greatest railway journey, the Trans-Siberian Railway runs like a steel ribbon across mysterious Russia connecting east and west from Moscow over the Urals, across the magnificent and endless steppe and alongside the shore of the world's largest freshwater lake.How much is the Trans-Mongolian railway?
On standard Trans-Mongolian trains, which carry regular passengers and tourists, expect to pay around $1,700 in a two-person sleeping compartment, and about $1,060 in a second class four-person sleeping compartment if you were to buy your tickets through a ticket agent.Which Russian Railway takes guests to the Mongolian steppes of the Gobi Desert?
The Trans-Mongolian railway spans 1,820 miles, traveling from Russia, across the vast Mongolian grasslands and then on to the Gobi Desert in China.TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY JOURNEY BEGINS! First Class Wagon Tour
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Images: Andrea Piacquadio, Photography Maghradze PH, Sora Shimazaki, Ketut Subiyanto