Ulyanovsk is accessible from Moscow by air and by rail. The city has two airports — Baratayevka (ULV) handles domestic flights, and the larger Ulyanovsk Vostochny (ULY) also serves cargo and some charter traffic. Flights from Moscow Domodedovo take around 1 hour 25 minutes.
By rail, several trains a day connect Moscow's Kazansky station with Ulyanovsk, with a journey time of around 16 hours. There are also connections from Kazan (roughly 4 hours) and Samara (around 5 hours), making Ulyanovsk a reasonable stop on a Volga itinerary.