Friday, Mar 29 2024
All Cities
Choose Your City
'Right on the bank of the river there is a station Ob, a big trading city with magnificent cathedral, great schools and shops — very American-like.'
0

The Other Siberian Railway, how The New York Times writer saw it

By 0 and 0 and 0
13 August 2012

0

Part of Baikal-Amur Mainline goes along lake Baikal, making for unforgettable sights. Picture: Alexander Lesnyanskiy

It's a new name for the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) railway journey - 'a 2,500-mile all-you-can-eat buffet' - but this is a delightful account of a few days on 'the other Siberian railroad'.  

Many people crossing Russia on the main Trans-Siberian routing do not even think of the more northerly BAM which, as Finn-Olaf Jones, writer for The New York Times, says, 'inexplicably darts north through a blank spot on the map with few towns or even paved roads, a mysterious and enormous railroad loop through nowhere'. 

Baikal-Amur Mainline

Soviet post stamp, marking the opening of Baikal-Amur Mainline


But this is part of the excitement and this traveller - like others taking this less trodden route - found 'an undeniable romance riding through Siberia's vast wilds', going for hours without seeing a living soul.  

There was also a typically warm welcome for this foreigner from the train attendant who, typically, cares for her passengers in a style that has been lost on many Western railways.  

'Once she realised that I was her only foreign passenger she became almost maternal, doling out tea bags, mineral water and candy from her closet-size kiosk next to the bathroom. At sunset, to add to the train's living room ambience, she hauled out curtains on long rods that she fitted over the corridor windows.'  

The train may have had 'a nothing-fancy dining car that served essentially as a round-the-clock bar'; yet still this travel article is likely to whet your appetite to try the BAM. Soon, too, this line will have an even more exotic offshoot - a link northwards to the permafrost diamond capital of Yakutsk - for the more adventurous rail travellers. 

See more on Finn-Olaf Jones Siberian journey http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/08/12/travel/the-other-siberian-railroad.html?pagewanted=all

Comments (2)

Alexander's pictures of Baikal are one of the best I've ever seen
Baikal's fan, Belgium
14/08/2012 19:47
4
0
top of my wish list. I live in Russia, and not that far away from B-A Mainline, but have never tried it
Maria, Tomsk
13/08/2012 23:03
4
0
1

Add your comment

We welcome a healthy debate, but do not accept offensive or abusive comments. Please also read 'Siberian Times' Privacy Policy

Name

Town/Country

Add your comments

The views expressed in the comments above are those of our readers. 'Siberian Times' reserves the right to pre-moderate some comments.

Control code*

Type the code

* obligatory


News

Business

The Bank of Russia official exchange rates of foreign currencies
EUR99.71USD92.26GBP116.52Other...