The Paris to Moscow train seen at Paris Est
 

The Paris-Moscow Express at Paris.

  Tea served on the Paris-Moscow Express
 

Your sleeper attendant can serve delicious Russian tea for a few eurocents.

  2 or 4 bed sleeper in day mode
 

A 2 or 4-berth sleeper in day mode.

More photos...

All aboard the Paris-Moscow Express

It's the classiest way to travel from London or Paris to Russia.  Russian Railways (RZD) operate an entire train from Paris Gare de l'Est to Moscow once a week all year round, with comfortable 2 & 4 berth regular sleeping cars, luxurious 1 & 2 bed VIP deluxe sleeping-cars and a restaurant car.  You can book it for the whole journey or even for intermediate journeys such as Paris to Berlin or Berlin to Moscow.  The train runs for some 3,483 km or about 2,164 miles from Paris to Moscow, making it the second longest direct passenger train in Europe - the longest being an identical train which links Moscow with Nice every week.  These trains are jacked up at Brest to have their wheelsets changed from European standard track gauge to Russian gauge, an interesting experience.  IMPORTANT:  Read this update about travel to Russia through Belarus.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: ALL TRAINS TO/FROM RUSSIA SUSPENDED.  All trains to/from Russia were suspended in 2020 due to Covid-19 & now remain suspended due to sanctions.

small bullet point  Train times   small bullet point  What's the train like?  
small bullet point  How much does it cost?       small bullet point  Video guide  
small bullet point  How to buy tickets   small bullet point  A brief history  

Timetable eastbound

 Paris ► Berlin Moscow

 TRAIN CANCELLED

Every Thursday

 Paris Gare de l'Est depart:

18:58  Thursday

 Berlin Hbf arrive:

07:21  Friday

 Berlin Hbf depart:

07:26  Friday

 Warsaw Wschodnia arrive:

15:08  Friday

 Warsaw Wschodnia depart:

15:42  Friday

 Brest arrive (2 hour stop):

21:10  Friday

 Minsk arrive:

03:05*  Saturday

 Moscow Belorussky arrive:

11:44*  Saturday

Always check times for your date of travel as they can vary.  You can book it between any two stations.

* = Arrives Minsk 02:05, Moscow 10:58 from 29 March to 24 October as Russia has no Daylight Saving Time.

** = Leaves Moscow 18:17, Minsk 03:13 to 28 March & after 24 October as Russia has no Daylight Saving Time.

Timetable westbound

 Moscow ► Berlin Paris

 TRAIN CANCELLED

Every Tuesday

 Moscow Belorussky depart:

17:14**  Tuesdays

 Minsk depart:

02:12**  Wednesdays

 Brest (3h stop) depart:

10:43  Wednesdays

 Warsaw Wschodnia arrive:

11:28  Wednesdays

 Warsaw Wschodnia depart:

12:23  Wednesdays

 Berlin Hbf arrive:

20:15  Wednesdays

 Berlin Hbf depart:

20:34  Wednesdays

 Paris Gare de l'Est arrive:

09:40  Thursdays

How much does it cost?

 One-way per person, in either direction:

Sharing

4-berth

sleeper

(2nd class)

Sharing

2-berth 

sleeper

(1st class)

Sole occupancy 

of a 2-berth

sleeper

(1st class single)

Luxury sleeper,

sharing a

2-berth

(Business class)

Luxury sleeper,

sole

occupancy

(Business class)

 Paris-Moscow bought at www.rzd.ru

€313

€439

€489

€1010

€1145

 Paris-Moscow bought at www.raileurope.com

?

?

-

?

?

 Paris-Warsaw bought at www.rzd.ru

€191

€345

?

€798

?

 Paris-Berlin bought at www.rzd.ru

€167

€273

?

€624

?

 Paris-Berlin bought at www.raileurope.com

-

£169

-

£346

£470

 Berlin-Moscow bought at www.rzd.ru

€170

€237

€281

€557

€677

Returns are twice the one-way fare.    Children under 12 half price.    Interrail & Eurail passes are not valid on the Paris-Moscow Express at all.

Berths are sold individually, prices are for one person in one bed.  So if you book (say) one 2nd class ticket you will travel in a 4-bed sleeper sharing with three other passengers of the same sex.  There is no need to pay for sole occupancy unless you want to!

You can buy tickets for any stage of the journey, for example Paris to Berlin, Paris to Warsaw, or Berlin to Moscow, see www.rzd.ru for tickets & prices.

There's more detailed fare information at www.rzd.ru including discounts for honeymoons & a week either side of your birthday, with details of the generous luggage allowances and how to take pets.  Switch it to English by clicking the UK flag, click Passengers top left then look for International routes at lower left.

Additional Berlin-Moscow trains:  Although the Paris-Moscow train reduces to once a week in December, from 17 December 2016 there will also be a twice-weekly sleeper train Berlin-Moscow, for details see the Trains from Berlin or Trains from Moscow pages.

How to buy tickets

Visas...

What's the train like?

Regular sleepers:  1st class 2-berth, 2nd class 4-berth

The train has classy modern air-conditioned sleeping-cars built by Siemens in Austria in 2014.  Each car has eight 4-berth compartments, each compartment has a washbasin and two power sockets for laptops & mobiles.  Although all compartments have four beds (two lower & two upper berths), some cars on the train are designated as 1st class 2-berth with only the two lower beds in use, others are designated as 2nd class 4-berth with all four beds in use.  The cars are carpeted, quiet and extremely smooth-riding, a pleasure to travel in.  A sleeper attendant (provodnik or provodnitsa) travels with each car and can serve excellent Russian tea for a few eurocents when required.  There's even a good hot shower in one of the toilets at the end of the corridor, but bring your own towels.  See panorama photo inside a 4-berth sleeper.  Identical sleeping-cars operate from Moscow to Vienna, Prague & Warsaw.

One of Russian Railways new international sleeping-cars   The corridor

The Paris-Moscow Express, boarding at Paris Gare de l'Est...

 

The carpeted corridor...

A 2-berth or 4-berth compartment in daytime mode   2-bed sleeper, night mode   A 4-berth sleeper with beds folded out

Sleeper compartment in day mode.  Panorama photo.

 

Used as a 1st class 2-berth.

 

Used as 2nd class 4-berth.

The sink is under the table

 

Key cards

 

Toilet with shower

Lift the table to reveal the sink...  Note the electrical socket for laptops & mobiles, there are in fact two, one either side of the sink.

 

The compartment doors have an electronic lock, each passenger gets a key card...

 

There are two toilets at the end of the corridor, one with a nice hot shower (shown here)

Restaurant car

A Polish restaurant car staffed by WARS, the Polish Railways dining- and sleeping-car service, is attached between Paris and Warsaw.  A Russian dining-car is attached between Brest (on the Poland/Belarus border) and Moscow.  By western standards it's not expensive.  For breakfast, freshly-cooked scrambled egg with ham & salad costs €6, a side order of smoked salmon €4.  For dinner, goulash soup costs €5, chicken breast stuffed with bacon and cheese served with potatoes and salad costs €14.  The menu is written in Russian and English.  Tip:  Eastbound from Paris to Moscow, the Polish restaurant car is detached at Warsaw, so it stops serving lunch quite early.  Take some provisions for that afternoon, as the Russian restaurant car attached at Brest doesn't start serving dinner until after 22:00.

The restaurant car on the Paris-Moscow train   Scambled eggs for breakfast   Restaurant car exterior

VIP deluxe sleepers

The train also features several VIP luxury sleeping-cars, expensive and no doubt aimed at Russian oligarchs.  These modern air-conditioned cars feature just 4 compartments each with a sofa which converts to an extra wide lower berth by night, an upper berth folds out from the wall, there's an en suite shower & toilet with soap, towels & complimentary amenities kit, and the compartment also has a CD player & flat-screen TV.  Each sleeping-car has a small bar-lounge area at one end.  If you travel VIP class, a hot breakfast in the restaurant car is included.

VIP deluxe sleeper on the Paris-Moscow train   Deluxe sleeping-car on the Paris-Moscow train

A VIP sleeper in day mode with sofa, table & side seat.

 

VIP sleeping-car on the Paris-Moscow Express at Paris.

The en suite, taken standing in the shower!   VIP sleeper in night mode with beds folded out   The VIP sleeping-car has a small bar area

En suite toilet & shower...

 

VIP sleeper in night mode...

 

Each VIP sleeping-car has a small bar area...

The Paris-Moscow train at Strasbourg   Corridor outside VIP sleeper compartments

The Paris-Moscow Express en route....

 

VIP corridor...

A brief history of the Paris-Moscow Express

Lunch on the Paris-Moscow train   Brest station on the Belarus border.   Jacking up the train at Brest to chnage the wheels

Lunch...  Courtesy of Phillip Dyer-Perry.

 

Brest station, on the Poland-Belarus border. Courtesy David Smith

 

Jacking up at Brest to change the wheels.  Courtesy Phillip Dyer-Perry.

Byelorussia station in Moscow   Statue at the Byelorussia station, Moscow

Welcome to Moscow!  Arrival at Moscow Belorussky Station.  Photos courtesy of David Smith.

Video guide:  Paris-Moscow Express


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