Underfloor heating warms Siberian holidays

Not many people would choose Siberia for a holiday – but underfloor heating on the Trans-Siberian Express is helping boost its credentials as a tourist destination 

Apart from a few railway enthusiasts, there aren’t many people to have chosen Siberia as a holiday destination. But underfloor heating on the revamped Trans-Siberian Express is helping boost the regions credentials as a tourist destination. 

Siberia has long had an image problem. If anywhere needs underfloor heating, it is the region that both Tsars and Communist rulers used as a 13-million square kilometre prison for criminals and dissidents. Its name has become a byword for cold. But as travellers on the Trans-Siberian Express have found, there is more to it than snow and tundra – provided you can keep warm. 

Underfloor heating and vodka

Way before underfloor heating came to Russia, the Express’s route was built to connect Moscow with the eastern port of Vladivostock. Until recently, the train was a rite of passage for extreme backpackers, promising them Dr Zhivago but serving up discomfort and boredom, with vodka rather than underfloor heating to keep them warm. 

But a revamped Trans-Siberian Express has been launched that features all mod-cons: power showers, plasma TVs, en-suite bathrooms and the all-important underfloor heating throughout the train. The 6,000-mile route covers eight different time zones and doesn’t come cheap: a trip on the luxury Express costs around £4,000. 

Lake Baikal and permafrost

The Express is, however, a great way to see Lake Baikal: the deepest lake in the world and the largest body of fresh water on the planet. Other natural features of Siberia include permafrost – a climatic feature threatened by global warming; something which a wider use of underfloor heating might help to reduce. Stunning Siberian scenery can be seen elsewhere on the route, and the historic Russian towns of Nizhny Novgorod (formerly Gorky), Omsk and Tomsk. 

More adventurous travellers can still travel the line using the old Trans-Siberian service – but be warned: it still doesn’t have underfloor heating, so make sure you’ve got a bottle of vodka handy. 

Get your underfloor heating on track with Robbens Systems

Robbens Systems is a company with many years of expertise in underfloor heating. With more than 15 years in the business, the company is ideally placed to help you plan and install underfloor heating in a wide range of buildings – from care showrooms to renovated buildings. 

Our expertise can help you get the underfloor heating system you’ve always wanted, and our trained technicians are there to help you every step of the way. For more information, call us today on 01424 851111 or email robbens@underfloorheating.co.uk.