Sibiryak[a] (/sɪbɪərˈjæk/ sib-eer-YAK) was a passenger train which linked Berlin to some of main routes and cities of Russia. The train passed through Germany, Poland, Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan, partly traveling on the Trans-Siberian Railway. With 5,130 km from Berlin to Novosibirsk it was the longest route of any that depart from a station within the European Union. 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,[2] but it was available in their search engine.

Sibiryak
Map of Sibiryak routes
Overview
StatusDiscontinued[1]
LocaleGermany, Russia, Poland,
Belarus, Kazakhstan
Former operator(s)Deutsche Bahn, Russian Railways, Polish State Railways, Belarusian Railway, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy
Route
TerminiBerlin
Novosibirsk (and others)
Service frequencyOne weekly
Technical
Track gauge1,520 mm (4 ft 11+2732 in)
1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in)
Logo of Sibirjak
Class 189 locomotive in Berlin Zoologischer Garten station
Passenger car in Berlin Zoologischer Garten station
Novosibirsk Glavnyj Vokzal
Berlin Zoologischer Garten

Overview

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The train, which departed from Berlin Zoologischer Garten station, and stopped also at Berlin Hauptbahnhof[3] and Berlin Ostbahnhof, ran through Poland and Belarus, serving Warsaw and Minsk. In the Belarusian capital the train was divided into branches: Siberian (4 branches), Southern (3 branches), and one to St.Petersburg. The total number of destinations was eight: Novosibirsk, St.Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan, Chelyabinsk, Ufa, Nur-Sultan (in Kazakhstan) and Adler, a city in the suburbs of Sochi.
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. From 2008 it periodically changed its Berliner route,[4] stopping again at Lichtenberg and ending at Gesundbrunnen station.

Routes

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Scheme

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Endpoints Main cities traversed km Duration[5]
Berlin - St.Petersburg Poznań-Warsaw-Brest-Minsk-Vitebsk 2,284 36:12[6]
Berlin - Moscow Poznań-Warsaw-Brest-Minsk-Smolensk 1,978 28:40[7]
Berlin - Novosibirsk Poznań-Warsaw-Brest-Minsk-Smolensk-
Vladimir-N.Novgorod-Kirov-Perm[8]-
Yekaterinburg-Tyumen-Omsk
5,130 89:18
Berlin - Chelyabinsk Poznań-Warsaw-Brest-Minsk-Smolensk-
Vladimir-N.Novgorod-Kirov-Perm[8]-Yekaterinburg
3,892 72:28
Berlin - Kazan[9] Poznań-Warsaw-Brest-Minsk-
Smolensk-Vladimir-N.Novgorod
2,836 50:54
Berlin - Ufa Poznań-Warsaw-Brest-Minsk-Smolensk-
Ryazan-Tambov-Saratov-Samara
3,871 72:06
Berlin - Astana Poznań-Warsaw-Brest-Minsk-Smolensk-
Ryazan-Tambov-Saratov-Uralsk-Orenburg
4,300 99:15
Berlin - Adler Poznań-Warsaw-Brest-Minsk-Smolensk-
Ryazan-Voronezh-Rostov-Krasnodar-Sochi
3,643 63:58

Description

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The train ran on a common route from Berlin Zoologischer Garten to Minsk Passazhirsky, through Poznań (Dworzec Główny station), Warsaw (Centralna and Wschodnia), Brest (Tsentralnaya) and Baranovichi (Tsentralnaya). Other stops were in Rzepin, Łuków and Terespol. From Minsk to Orsha the train was separated into 3 branches through Zhodzina and Barysaw.[10]

There were some plans to extend the service to Baku. [citation needed]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Russian: Сибиряк, IPA: [sʲɪbʲɪˈrʲak], lit. 'a Siberian [person]'

References

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  1. ^ Hidden Europe, Letter from Europe: From Berlin to Siberia, 2013. http://www.hiddeneurope.co.uk/from-berlin-to-siberia
  2. ^ Hidden Europe, Letter from Europe: From Berlin to Siberia, 2013. http://www.hiddeneurope.co.uk/from-berlin-to-siberia
  3. ^ Berliner main railway station
  4. ^ Some saturdays on Summer
  5. ^ Period calculated in hh:mm
  6. ^ Berlin-St.Petersburg periodical train
  7. ^ Berlin-Moscow train ran every day, only on saturday on Sibirjak
  8. ^ a b Periodically the "Berlin-Novosibirsk" route, and so the "Berlin-Chelyabinsk", served Kazan (in a different line from Vladimir to Yekaterinburg), excluding Novgorod, Kirov and Perm
  9. ^ Periodically "Berlin-Nizhny Novgorod", when the route to Novosibirsk ran through Kazan
  10. ^ a b c (in German) Consulted timetable on the ÖBB website
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