''Sibiryak'', lit. 'a Siberian erson ( ) was a passenger train which linked

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

to some of main routes and cities of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The

train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

passed through

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

and

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

, partly traveling on the

Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway, historically known as the Great Siberian Route and often shortened to Transsib, is a large railway system that connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway ...

. With 5,130 km from Berlin to

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siber ...

it was the longest route of any that depart from a station within the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. The train service was discontinued with effect from 14 December 2013, due to lack of demand. The line was not actively promoted to potential customers by the

Deutsche Bahn (, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). DB was fou ...

,Hidden Europe, Letter from Europe: From Berlin to Siberia, 2013. http://www.hiddeneurope.co.uk/from-berlin-to-siberia but it was available in their search engine.

Overview

The train, which departed from Berlin Zoologischer Garten station, and stopped also at

Berlin Hauptbahnhof Berlin Hauptbahnhof () (English: Berlin Central Station) is the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. It came into full operation two days after a ceremonial opening on 26 May 2006. It is located on the site of the historic Lehrter Bahnhof, ...

and

Berlin Ostbahnhof Berlin Ostbahnhof ( German for Berlin East railway station) is a main line railway station in Berlin, Germany. It is located in the Friedrichshain quarter, now part of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough, and has undergone several name changes i ...

, ran through

and

, serving

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

and

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

. In the Belarusian capital the train was divided into branches: ''

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

n'' (4 branches), ''Southern'' (3 branches), and one to St.Petersburg. The total number of destinations was eight:

, St.Petersburg,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk; , is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, seventh-largest city in Russia, with a population ...

, Ufa,

Nur-Sultan Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...

(in

) and Adler, a city in the suburbs of

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

.
The train was scheduled to arrive in Berlin every Saturday at 09:12 and to leave again at 15:16. Until the early 2000s the train had departed from

Berlin-Lichtenberg station Berlin-Lichtenberg is a railway station in Berlin, Germany. It is located on the Prussian Eastern Railway, Eastern Railway, Wriezen Railway and Berlin Frankfurter Allee–Berlin-Rummelsburg railway lines in the Lichtenberg (locality), Lichtenbe ...

. From 2008 it periodically changed its ''Berliner'' route,Some saturdays on Summer stopping again at Lichtenberg and ending at Gesundbrunnen station.

Routes

Scheme

Description

The train ran on a common route from Berlin Zoologischer Garten to Minsk Passazhirsky, through

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

( Dworzec Główny station),

( Centralna and Wschodnia), Brest ( Tsentralnaya) and

Baranovichi Baranavichy or Baranovichi is a city in the Brest Region of western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Baranavichy District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has a population of 170,817. ...

( Tsentralnaya). Other stops were in

Rzepin Rzepin () is a town in western Poland. Situated in the Lubusz Voivodeship (since 1999), in Słubice County it is the seat of Gmina Rzepin. From 1975 until 1998 the town, from an administrative point of view, belonged to the Gorzów Wielkopolski Vo ...

Łuków Łuków is a city in eastern Poland with 30,727 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2005). Since 1999, it has been situated in the Lublin Voivodeship, previously it had belonged to the Siedlce Voivodeship (between 1975–1998). It is the capital of Ł ...

and

Terespol Terespol (; ) is a border town in eastern Poland on the border with Belarus. It lies on the border river Bug, directly opposite the city of Brest, Belarus. It has 5,794 inhabitants as of 2014. Overview Since 1999 Terespol has been within Bia� ...

. From Minsk to

Orsha Orsha (; , ; ) is a city in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the fork of the Dnieper, Dnieper River and Arshytsa River, and it serves as the administrative center of Orsha District. As of 2025, it has a population of 101,662. History ...

the train was separated into 3 branches through Zhodzina and

Barysaw Barysaw or Borisov (, ; , ) is a city in Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Barysaw District. It is located on the Berezina, Berezina River and north-east from the capital Minsk. As of 2025, it has a population of 1 ...

.Consulted timetable
on the

ÖBB The Austrian Federal Railways ( , formally or () and formerly the or ''BBÖ'' ), now commonly known as ÖBB (), is the national railway company of Austria, and the administrator of Liechtenstein's railways. The ÖBB group i ...

website *Berlin - St. Petersburg: This was a periodic train running, from Orsha, to

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...

and through

Pskov Oblast Pskov Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the west of the country. Its administrative center is the Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Pskov. As of the Russian Census ...

. Its terminal in Saint Petersburg was at Vitebskaya station. *Berlin - Moscow: This train worked daily as part of the

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

-Moscow

EuroNight EuroNight, abbreviated EN, is a European train category that denotes many mainline national and international night train services within the Western and Central European inter-city rail network. Overview The classification and name were brough ...

. On Saturdays, as part of ''Sibirjak'', it reached

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

Vyazma Vyazma () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District, Smolensk Oblast, Vyazemsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk, the ...

and ended at Moskva Belorusskaya station. *Berlin - Novosibirsk: This was the longest route of ''Sibirjak'' as for km. From Vyazma to

Vladimir Vladimir (, , pre-1918 orthography: ) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, widespread throughout all Slavic nations in different forms and spellings. The earliest record of a person with the name is Vladimir of Bulgaria (). Etymology ...

it bypassed Moscow reaching

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət, t=Lower Newtown; colloquially shortened to Nizhny) is a city and the administrative centre of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast an ...

, Kirov, Perm and

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...

. After this city the train entered in Central

through

Tyumen Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura ( ...

and

Omsk Omsk (; , ) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia and has a population of over one million. Omsk is the third List of cities and tow ...

and ended at Novosibirsk Glavny Vokzal. Periodically the train ran, from Vladimir to Yekaterinburg, through

, excluding Novgorod, Kirov and Perm. *Berlin - Kazan: At Nizhny Novgorod station some detached

coaches Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

served Kazan. Periodically it happened that the Berlin-Novosibirsk ran through the

Tatar Tatar may refer to: Peoples * Tatars, an umbrella term for different Turkic ethnic groups bearing the name "Tatar" * Volga Tatars, a people from the Volga-Ural region of western Russia * Crimean Tatars, a people from the Crimea peninsula by the B ...

capital excluding Novgorod from the main Siberian route. When the train was scheduled to this line (Vladimir-Kazan-Yekaterinburg) it was guaranteed a service of wagons from Kazan to Nizhny Novgorod. *Berlin - Cheljabinsk: At

station some detached coaches served

. The only stop was at

Kamensk-Uralsky Kamensk-Uralsky ( rus, Ка́менск-Ура́льский, p=ˈkamʲɪnsk ʊˈralʲskʲɪj) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kamenka River (Sverdlovsk Oblast), ...

. *Berlin - Ufa: After Minsk and Smolensk, the train reached

Ryazan Ryazan (, ; also Riazan) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 C ...

and

Michurinsk Michurinsk () is the second most populous town in Tambov Oblast Tambov Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Tambov ...

. Here the coaches to Adler were separated from the rest of the train. The train continued through

Tambov Tambov ( , ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Central Federal District, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna River (Moksha basin), Tsna ...

Rtishchevo Rtishchevo ( rus, Ртищево, p=ˈrtʲiɕːɪvə) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Saratov Oblast, Russia, located west of Saratov, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: History The village of Rtishchev ...

and

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

. At this station, after the detachment of the coaches to Astana and a long stop of 7 hours, the train continued to

Samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...

Buguruslan Buguruslan () is a town in Orenburg Oblast, Russia. Population: History It was founded at the end of 1748 as a settlement (Buguruslanskaya settlement) by Russian peasants and artisans who migrated to the Volga region, on the ancestral lands o ...

and ended at

Ufa Station Ufa is a Central Ufa railway terminus, located in the Sovetsky District of Ufa on the historical direction of the Trans-Siberian Railway. In managerial terms, the station enters the Bashkir region of the Kuybyshev Railway. History The history ...

. *Berlin - Astana: After the long stop in Saratov the train entered in

Oral The word oral may refer to: Relating to the mouth * Relating to the mouth, the first portion of the alimentary canal that primarily receives food and liquid **Oral administration of medicines ** Oral examination (also known as an oral exam or ora ...

. After the stop it entered again in

reaching

Orenburg Orenburg (, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies in Eastern Europe, along the banks of the Ural River, being approximately southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is close to the ...

Orsk Orsk () is the second largest city in Orenburg Oblast, Russia, located on the steppe about southeast of the southern tip of the Ural Mountains. The city straddles the Ural River. Population: It lies adjacent to the Kazakhstan–Russia border. ...

and

Kartaly Kartaly () is a town and the administrative center of Kartalinsky District in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located in the valley of the Kartaly-Ayat River (left tributary of the Tobol), southwest of Chelyabinsk, the administrative center of th ...

, at Russian-Kazakh frontier. It ended at Astana station, 99 hours after its departure from Berlin. This was a periodic service. *Berlin - Adler: After the stop in Michurinsk the train travelled to southern Russia following the line of the

Don River The Don () is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its basin is betwee ...

. It passed Liski,

Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...

Rostov Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don (river), Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as the ...

Krasnodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

, reaching the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

coast in

Tuapse Tuapse (; , Ṫuapsă ) is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the northeast shore of the Black Sea, south of Gelendzhik and north of Sochi. Population: Tuapse is a sea port and the northern center of a resort zone which extends sou ...

. It continued to

and the neighbouring town of Adler, close to the borders with

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

, breakaway republic from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. There were some plans to extend the service to

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

Notes

References

External links

Map of ''Sibirjak''Photo of ''Sibirjak''Routes of ''Sibirjak''
{{Semi-fast trains of RZD International named passenger trains Named passenger trains of Germany Named passenger trains of Poland Named passenger trains of Belarus Named passenger trains of Russia Named passenger trains of Kazakhstan Rail transport in Europe Rail transport in Asia Rail transport in Siberia Night trains Railway services discontinued in 2013