Passenger Rail Service Restarts Between Pyongyang, Moscow

(MENAFN) After a five-year halt due to the COVID-19 outbreak, passenger train operations linking Pyongyang and Moscow have officially recommenced, as confirmed by Russian officials on Wednesday.

The Russian Ministry of Transport revealed that the international trains will now run twice a month, covering an extensive journey of over 10,000 kilometers (approximately 6,200 miles), making it the longest passenger rail route globally. The trip takes just over eight days to complete.

“This is the first time in five years! Together with Russian Railways and colleagues from the DPRK, we have resumed direct rail service between our capitals,” the ministry declared.

This service employs North Korean passenger carriages and stops at key Russian urban centers including Ussuriysk, Khabarovsk, Chita, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Yekaterinburg, Kirov, and Kostroma.

Tickets departing from Pyongyang are available within the DPRK, while passengers in Moscow and other Russian cities can purchase tickets at international ticket counters operated by the Federal Passenger Company, a subsidiary under Russian Railways.

Moreover, beginning June 19, a new monthly train route will connect Pyongyang and Khabarovsk, broadening rail options between the two nations.

Passenger rail travel between Russia and North Korea had been suspended since February 2020 due to pandemic-related border restrictions.

Partial restoration of rail links first occurred in December 2024 with limited service resuming between Tumen in the DPRK and Khasan in Russia, laying the groundwork for this full-scale revival of the Pyongyang-Moscow connection.

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