One heck of a journey

A new train line that began business yesterday has made it theoretically possible to travel by rail from Inverness in Scotland all the way to Seoul in Korea.  Here’s how it can be done:

Number of stages in the journey: 19
Total time in trains: 177 hours, 35 minutes; just over 7 days.
Total maximum cost: £1452
Value of the experience of riding the world’s longest non-continuous train ride: priceless

Stage 1: Inverness-London
Time: 9 hours. Cost: £112-£131 Line: Great North Eastern Railway
Stage one is the longest journey a traveller can make by rail within the borders of the United Kingdom. The route is so long that it once took two days. Today, express trains speed along the route, departing from Inverness every two hours with sleeper service at night.

Stage 2: London-Paris
Time: 2 hours 35 minutes. Cost:£154-£225. Line: Eurostar
Since Eurostar constructed its line under the English Channel, the time it takes to travel between the two great European capitals has dropped dramatically. Now, the trip takes less than three hours and will soon take even less time, when track developments in the UK are complete.

Stage 3: Paris-Berlin
Time: 11 Hours. Cost: £62-£142. Line: Rail Europe
The rails between Paris and Berlin have been buzzing with trains for the past 70 years, only stopping for a short period during WWII. Although you won’t see any of the beautiful European scenery on the overnight train, you will get a good night sleep and arrive in Berlin around 8am.

Stage 4: Berlin-Warsaw
Time: 6 Hours. Cost: £20-£171. Line: Various
The low budget option for this leg of the journey would have you aboard a diesel train built by Russians and packed with Polish, Ukrainian and Russian students. For the more luxurious travel option ride aboard the air-conditioned sleeper known as the Berlin-Warszawa Express.

Stage 5: Warsaw-Minsk
Time: 10 Hours. Cost: £47-£63.
Hop onto the train that runs between Cologne and Minsk and travel overnight into the heart of the old Soviet system.

Stage 6: Minsk-Moscow
Time: 10 Hours. Cost: £53-£79
There are nine railway stations in Russia’s monumental capital, but each is named for its primary destination, ensuring that even the most clueless tourist won’t get lost. Head for the building that looks like it was cut out of a fairytale and you’ll find yourself ready to climb on board the Trans Siberian Railway at Yaroslavsky Rail Terminal.

Stage 7: Moscow-Perm
Time: 20 Hours. Cost: £100. Rail: Trans Siberian Express
Although it is not the longest leg of the journey, this section of the route is all about time. The train, for some reason, keeps to Moscow time, while passing through 11 different time zones on its way through the beautiful landscapes of western Russia.

Stage 8: Perm-Yekaterinburg
Time: 6 Hours. Cost: £66. Rail: Trans Siberian Express
It may be easier to locate the city of Yekaterinburg on the rail timetable by its other name, Sverdlovsk. The city is nestled in the stunny Ural mountains and hosts a famous church with a bloody history.

Stage 9: Yekaterinburg-Novosibirsk
Time: 20 Hours. Cost: £99. Rail: Trans Siberian Express
Novosibirsk began as a city centred around the train and grew into the third largest metropolis in Russia. Besides a necessary stopping point on the long journey across the vast country, it also has the cache of being the capital of Siberia.

Stage 10: Novosibirsk-Irkutsk
Time: 30 Hours. Cost:  £27
The biggest attraction to Irkutsk is that you get to get off the train after a ridiculously long trip. Actually, the city has a beautiful freshwater lake that is great for ice skating in the winter and gorgeous all year round.

Stage 11: Irkutsk-Ulan Ude
Time:  8 Hours. Cost: £52. Line: Trans Mongolian
The Trans Mongolian has the honour of being the only train anywhere across the globe that travels across more than one continent. As the tracks take you out of Russia and into Asia, you’ll find yourself in a strange place between two worlds. Ulan Ude is the Buryat Republic’s capital, a semi-autonomous part of Russia. And whereas Russia may hold the area’s political reins, Asia has its heart, as Buddhism as the most prevalent religion.

Stage 12: Ulan Ude-Ulan Bator
Time: 30 Hours. Cost: £25. Line: Trans Mongolian
Perhaps the most frustrating part of this leg is the waiting around for ten hours as the train leaves Russia and switches onto a different guage set of rails. The scenery outside the window once you get back on board will be worth it, however, and the hours will speed by until you arrive in Mongolia’s capital.

Stage 13: Ulan Bator-Beijing
Time: 30 Hours. Cost: £70. Line: Trans Mongolian
Although it is long, this is perhaps the most epic part of the journey. From Mongolia, the rail line kisses the edge of the Gobi Desert and rubs shoulders with the Great Wall, then slides happily into China. The scenery is worth staying awake for as the train passes sand, mountains and fields of green rice paddies.

Stage 14: Beijing-Shenyang
Time: 8 Hours. Cost: £11
You shouldn’t have any trouble killing time in Beijing before catching your next train. The sprawling, crowded, chaotic city is full of fun and mystery. You should not miss out on visiting Tiananmen Square or the Forbidden City while you are in town.

Stage 15: Shenyang-Dandong
Time:  4 Hours. Cost: £5-£15
Shenyang has the dubious distinction of being a city fought over by all the armies of the earth and of currently being filled with Soviet architecture. It is also the entryway into the forbidden zone of North Korea.

Stage 16: Dandong-Pyongyang
Time:  4-5 Hours. Cost: £26
Dandong is the only place where trains enter North Korea and they do so amidst heavy artillery and a great deal of firepower. Outside the train window, you can catch a glimpse of tourists taking photos of themselves on the border, of many guards on patrol and of the carcass of two collided trains where 3,000 people died three years ago.

Stage 17: Pyongyang-DMZ
Time: 3-4 Hours. Cost: £40-100
Not much can be said about DMZ. You’ll have to stay in the demilitarized zone and keep everything about the city and the state absolutely top secret. Everything else about the country is.

Stage 18: DMZ-Seoul.
Time: 1 Hour, Cost: No amount of money on earth will get you on this train, as it is not open to foreigners.
From the South Korean side, the border between North and South Korea is one of the most popular tourist destinations. If you thought the China/North Korea border had firepower, then think again. For this route to become feasible, the train link must open to foreigners.

Stage 19: Seoul-Busan.
Time: 3 Hours. Cost: £25-£35
Don’t continue on the journey without stopping first to enjoy the city of Soeul. There is so much life, action and great food that you won’t want to miss the chance to stretch your legs and have some fun, even if the journey is almost over.

Stage 20: Arriving in Busan.
The port of Busan is on the tip of the Korean peninsula and as you pull into town it may very well strike you that you have come a long way from home. In fact, the journey has convered more than 7,000 of railway tracks and dumped you, for no particular reason other than it is the longest non-continuous train ride in the world, in an Asian town full of skyscrapers and fish vendors.  Now the real question is, how are you going to get home?

www.eurostar.com