The direct train service between Moscow, Russia, and Pyongyang, North Korea, which was suspended due to COVID-19, will resume operations on the 17th.
Russian Railways announced on the 9th (local time) via Telegram that, "In agreement with North Korean railway authorities, the international direct train service connecting Pyongyang and Moscow will resume on the 17th."
The Moscow-Pyongyang train will operate twice a month. It will depart from Pyongyang on the 3rd and 17th of each month, arriving in Moscow on the 11th and 25th, respectively. Trains from Moscow to Pyongyang will leave on the 12th and 26th of each month, arriving in Pyongyang on the 20th and 4th, respectively.
Russian Railways explained, "This is the longest direct train route in the world," noting that "the distance between the two cities is over 10,000 km, and the journey takes 8 days."
This train will stop in cities such as Hassan, Ussuriysk, Khabarovsk, Chita, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Yekaterinburg, Kirov, and Kostroma in Russia.
Starting from the 19th, there will also be a direct train service between Pyongyang and Khabarovsk, Russia, operating once a month. The schedule includes a departure from Pyongyang on the 19th of each month, arriving in Khabarovsk two days later on the 21st. From Khabarovsk, the train will depart on the 21st and arrive in Pyongyang on the 23rd.
Russian Railways announced that ticket sales will begin soon.