It's a very good guide. Although this version was somewhat out of date, it is great reading and contains lots of interesting history. It makes riding the railroad really a guided adventure, with information on important sites given by kilometer markings and a decent amount of history to keep you amused. It is worth having as background reading even if you don't need a guide to hotels and internet cafes. I preferred it to the Lonely Planet guide, which has the latter aim, but is equally out of date and hallucinatory about prices.