Times, fares & tickets in Russia...

The Russian rail system is one of the largest in the world, and trains serve almost every town and city in Russia.  Train travel is a safe, comfortable and inexpensive way to get around.  In fact, it can be safer to use Russian trains than internal flights!  It will certainly be cheaper and far more interesting.  This page will help you understand Russian train system, choose the right train & on-board accommodation for you, and buy your train tickets securely online from a reputable source.

  How to check train times & fares in Russia

  Moscow to St Petersburg by train - a quick guide

 How to buy Russian train tickets online

  How to buy Russian train tickets at the station

  What are Russian trains like?

  Hotels in Russia

On other pages...

  Russian visas & how to get one

  Useful country information: Time zone, currency...

  Train travel from London to Moscow

  How to book a trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway

  Trains from Moscow to Central Asia

  Moscow & St Petersburg to Helsinki by train    

  Moscow & St Petersburg to Tallinn by train

  Moscow & St Petersburg to Riga by train

  The Paris-Moscow Express

How to check Russian train times & fares...

There are several ways to check train times & fares for journeys within Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and the other ex-Soviet republics:

• Use the Real Russia online booking system.  This links directly to the Russian Railways database for train times & availability, although the prices shown are those charged by Real Russia, which include their booking fee (typically 15%-23% above the ticket office price).  You can use this to book online with Real Russia, a good option as they offer good English-language after sales service.

• Use the Russian Railways website, www.rzd.ru.  This shows up-to-date train times & availability, plus the actual Russian Railways price that you'd pay at the ticket office.  It used to be available only in Russian, but since 2013 it's had a (somewhat hidden) English version.

Booking tips

• Booking opens 90 days ahead for most trains.  From April 2019, a handful of trains including the Moscow-St Petersburg Red Arrow and (for summer) all Sapsan trains will open up to 120 days ahead.

• Train fares in Russia are not particularly expensive, although there have been significant price rises over the last few years.  Moscow-St Petersburg on a top-quality firmeny sleeper train such as train 1/2 Krasnaya Strela costs around 3,200 roubles.  On a lower quality Moscow-St Petersburg overnight train such as train 56, you can find kupé tickets for as little as 2,260 rubles, platskartny berths for 1,400 rubles, though I'd still recommend taking the better trains.

• Look for trains described as firm, short for firmeny which is the top quality category of long-distance fast train with the most modern coaches and a high standard of on board service.

• Russian fares vary by season.  Higher fares are charged at Easter, New Year, July & August, lower fares in January & February.  Higher fares are charged for the fast high-quality firmeny trains, lower fares for slower unnamed low-quality trains.

• On the best trains you can buy tickets either 'without services' (no meals) or 'with services' (meals included, either served in the restaurant or in your compartment).  A number against a knife & fork logo on the Real Russia booking system or a 'У' with a number in the 'category' column on rzd.ru indicates the total number of meals you get with a 'with services' ticket, it might be just one or two even on a journey lasting several days.  An example of the sort of meal served can be seen in these photos from the Moscow-Irkutsk-Vladivostok Rossiya.

• Trains used to run to Moscow time in Russia, even where local time was 7 hours ahead of Moscow, and Russian rail timetables used to show Moscow time for all stops.  However, after over a century RZD Russian Railways ended this practice in August 2018, and you should now find online booking systems and station timetables showing local time at each stop.  It makes things a lot easier to understand!

• Children:  In Russia, one child aged 0 to 4 travels free, children aged 5 to 9 travel at half fare, children aged 10 and over must pay full fare.  Important:  Note that unlike trains in most of Europe, on Russian trains even infants and babies travelling for free must have a (free of charge) ticket with their name on it.

Moscow to St Petersburg by train:  A quick guide...

• Moscow-St Petersburg is the most popular route in Russia.  This trip has traditionally been made overnight by comfortable sleeper train (with a hotel bill saved!), though Sapsan high-speed daytime trains are now making their appearance with the journey time cut to as little as 3 hours 50 minutes.  Incidentally, in 2010 train travel had a 77% share of the Moscow to St Petersburg market (48% Sapsan and 29% sleeper & other trains).  Air travel accounted for just 23% of journeys.

• Sapsan high-speed daytime trains, introduced on 18 December 2009:  The first Sapsan (Peregrine Falcon) 250 km/h high-speed daytime trains were introduced between Moscow & St Petersburg in December 2009, taking just 3 hours 55 minutes.  There are now 5 services daily in each direction, with a 99% on-time performance and an average load factor of 83% full.  The Sapsan trains are built by Siemens and based on the superb German ICE.  See the Russian railways Sapsan video.

• Overnight sleeper trains:  The most historic Moscow-St Petersburg overnight train and still one of the best is the Krasnya Strela or Red Arrow, train 1 southbound, train 2 northbound, see the photos below.  This was Russia's premier train in Soviet times, and still leaves both Moscow (Oktyabrskaya/Leningradski station) & St Petersburg (Glavny/Oktyabrskaya/Moskovskaya station) at 23:55, arriving around 08:25 next morning.  It has high-quality 2-berth an 4-berth sleepers, plus an expensive deluxe sleeping-car with 2-berth en suite compartments.  Ticket office fare around 6,000 roubles (£125) in spalny vagon (1st class 2-berth) or 3,000 roubles (£62) in kupé (2nd class 4-berth).  It's now been joined by a couple of other quality 'Firmeny' trains running to very similar timings, train 3/4 Ekspress and train 5/6 Nicholaevsky Express.  There are many other less-prestigious overnight trains on the Moscow-St Petersburg route, too.

• Luxury Grand Express overnight train:  There's now also a privately-run luxury train between St Petersburg and Moscow overnight, the Grand Express.  Fares start from about 3,300 rubles (£68 or $110) for the cheapest of four classes of sleeper, all with in-room TV (note that solo passengers must pay for two tickets for sole occupancy, they cannot share a 2-berth room).  The most expensive rooms have a private shower and toilet.  Their website is www.grandexpress.ru.

• Traveller Ian Newberry reports:  "on May 19 I travelled from Moscow to St Petersburg on high-speed Sapsan train 156 leaving at 13.00.  Departure was punctual and the staff greeting passengers could not have been better - they all speak English as well as Russian.  The service on the train was extremely good and in business class a full 3 course meal was served with wines and spirits all included in the price of the ticket.  Information was supplied through screens and announcements in English as well as Russian. The train is very comfortable and arrived 5 minutes ahead of schedule at 17.40.  If one wants to avoid a night train then this is a very civilised way to travel, on a par with any equivalent TGV or ICE available in western Europe."

• Book Moscow-St Petersburg trains online with Real Russia

Moscow to St Petersburg option 1:  By Sapsan high-speed train in 3 hours 55 minutes...

All baggage is X-rayed before you board a Sapsan, so arrive in good time for your train...

A 150mph Sapsan train between Moscow and St Petersburg.  Above right, 2nd class seats on the Sapsan train.  Photos courtesy of Mark Pascoe

Moscow to St Petersburg option 2:  By sleeper train, including the famous Krasnaya Strela (Red Arrow)...

A first class 2-berth sleeper on the Krasnaya Strela, from Moscow to St Petersburg.  Photo courtesy of Chris Sparks		Train number 1, the famous Krasnaya Strela  (Red Arrow) from St Petersburg to Moscow.  Photo courtesy of Chris Sparks

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Buy tickets online from Real Russia...

You can buy tickets online in plain English from www.trains.realrussia.co.uk, with good after-sales service if you need it.  This system is good for checking Russian train times, too, even if you plan to buy tickets at the ticket office.  You can use it to buy Russian train tickets wherever you live in the world.  If you live in the UK they can also sort your Russian visa & visa support.

Trans-Siberian journey planner & ticket sales Arrange a Russian visa

Which tickets can Real Russia sell?  They sell tickets for any mainline train journey within Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Lithuania, Kazakhstan and the other ex-Soviet states, also for international journeys to or from those countries, for example Moscow to Berlin or St Petersburg to Helsinki, and also for Russian sleeping-car services within Europe, for example Paris-Moscow, Paris-Berlin or Budapest-Sofia. 

Reservations officially open 60 days before departure, but Real Russia allow you to request tickets up to 180 days ahead and they will contact you for payment when the price is confirmed.

Can anyone buy tickets using this system?  Yes, you can buy tickets online with a credit card whether you live in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, or wherever.

How are tickets delivered?  If your train is e-ticketable, an e-ticket will be emailed to you.  If it's not, tickets can be collected free of charge at Real Russia's offices in Moscow or St Petersburg or they can be sent to any address worldwide.  Postage to a UK or EU address costs around £12-£15.

Who run this service?  Is it reliable?  This service is provided by Real Russia, a reputable joint UK-Russian company which has got very good reports from users.  Real Russia can also sort out your Russian visa & if necessary, Belarusian visa.

Booking tips:  Look for a train marked Firm if there is one. Firmeny trains are the best 'quality' trains, with modern coaches and good on-board service.  'TBC' means the system cannot provide a price for that particular train automatically, but they'll contact you with a cost by phone or email.  Note that even babies & infants need to have a ticket booked for them, even though they travel for free.

Is it cheaper to buy at the ticket office?  Real Russia charge the normal Russian Railways fare plus a mark-up to cover their costs (all agencies charge a mark-up).  There's a 2.5% charge for credit card payments, but you can easily avoid this by calling their UK office to pay by debit card when your tickets are confirmed.  The fares shown include the mark-up, but not the credit card charge.  By all means buy tickets at the ticket office if you're flexible, but Russian trains can get fully-booked so it's good to pre-book if you want a specific date and train.  Russian Railways offer online booking but it's only in Russian, so it can be worth the extra to quickly and simply organise your Russian rail tickets in English.

Buy tickets online at rzd.ru...

You can also now buy Russian train tickets direct from Russian Railways at www.rzd.ru which now has an English version.  It's a bit fiddly and not as user-friendly as Real Russia, but there are no fees and it does work if you persevere.  It accepts some overseas credit cards, though not all.  It may currently reject US-issued cards, though perhaps not all.

How to buy tickets at the station...

The cheapest place to buy Russian train tickets is at the station reservation office.  Here are some tips:

• Remember to take your passport, even if you only want a Russian domestic train ticket.

• Russian train reservations open 60 days before departure, you can't buy tickets before reservations open.

• Russian Railways have an efficient computerised reservation system, and you can book any journey within or out of Russia at the reservation office at any Russian railway station.

• To avoid language problems if you don't speak Russian, it's a good idea to learn the Russian alphabet so you can write down the journey and date you want to show to the ticket office staff.  When writing dates, use roman numerals for the month, or example for '3 June 2008' write '3 VI 2008'.

• People often ask me, "If I go to the ticket office the day before I want to travel, will I find tickets available?".  Well, if you know the Russian alphabet, you can check how many berths in each class are still available on any train on any date within the next 60 days using the Russian Railways website, www.rzd.ru.  So you could see how many berths are left today on trains from (say) Moscow to St Petersburg tomorrow or the day after.  This will give you a pretty good idea of how many places are likely to be available if you ask at the station a day or two before departure.

• Many main stations have a 'servis tsentr' (service centre) where you pay a small fee (about 100 rubles) to book your ticket in a relaxed air-conditioned environment.  The extra 100 rubles can be well worth it!

Other agencies who can arrange Russian train tickets...

You can also arrange train travel in Russia through several Russian agencies, including:

• Svezhy Veter - www.svezhyveter.ru/sv/rutrains.htm

• Way to Russia - www.waytorussia.net

Feedback from 'seat61' correspondents has generally been very positive about the first three of these Russian agencies, nothing has yet been received about the All-Russia agency.  Remember that Russian train reservations only open 60 days before departure, so reservations cannot be confirmed before bookings open - although obviously, you can contact the agency and arrange the booking beforehand.  Some agencies appear to operate a waiting list system for key Trans-Siberian trains.

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What are the trains like?

The three types of train...

There are three main categories of long-distance train in Russia:

• Firmeny:  These are high-quality trains, often with a name such as Krasnaya Strela (Red Arrow) or Rossiya.  They have the most modern carriages, often painted in that train's own special colour scheme, usually air-conditioned and with good on-board service.  These are easily the best trains to go for, although the fare is a little higher than for other trains.  They usually have low-numbered train numbers such as '1', '8' or '10', and they usually have a restaurant car serving drinks, snacks and affordable complete meals.  They generally have spalny vagon 2-bed sleepers, kupé 4-bed sleepers and sometimes but not always platskartny open-plan dormitory sleepers.  See below for a description of classes.

• Skory:  Express train.  These usually have spalny vagon 2-berth sleepers, kupé 4-berth sleepers and platskartny sleepers, and many have a restaurant car.  They normally have one or two-digit train numbers, for example '11' or '26'.  Cheaper than travelling on a Firmeny train.

• Passazhirsky:  Ordinary passenger train, often relatively slow and usually using older carriages.  They typically have 3-digit train numbers, for example '904'.  They usually have kupé 4-berth sleepers and platskartny, but not usually spalny vagon 2-berth sleepers.  The cheapest option, but not recommended!

The three classes of accommodation...

Long-distance trains within Russia and the former Soviet republics have three main classes, all designed for both daytime and overnight travel given the distances covered by many trains:

Spalny Vagon.  A comfortable 2-berth spalny wagon compartment on a quality firmeny train, in this case the Moscow-Vladivostok Rossiya.  Photo courtesy of Daniel Brewster.		Kupé.  Lockable 4-berth compartments.  This is an older train - newer coaches have more modern compartments.  Courtesy David Smith		Platskartny.  54 bunks per coach, arranged open-plan in bays of 4 (left of photo) & longitudinal bays of 2 above & below the window (right of photo).

Life on board Russian trains...

Whichever class of travel you choose, each coach is looked after by a pair of attendants called a 'provodnik' (male) or 'provodnitsa' (female).  The provodnik will check your ticket at the door to the sleeper when you board.  Shortly after departure, the provodnik will come round to take your ticket and the small bedding fee (less than £1).  You may be asked if you would like a glass of black Russian tea ('chai') - this costs about 15p.  Bedding (two sheets, pillowcase and towel) is then handed out in sealed packs - blankets and mattresses will already be stacked in your compartment.  After a few journeys, you will become quite proficient at making up your bed!

A samovar with unlimited free hot water is available at the end of the corridor - pack some tea or coffee, sugar, cuppa soups or water-based drinking chocolate and bring your own mug.   Most long distance trains have a restaurant car serving drinks, snacks, and inexpensive full meals - reckon on less than £7 for two courses and a couple of bottles of beer.

Security.  Are Russian trains safe for families or single women?

Yes!  There is no need to worry unduly about security on Russian trains, even for families or women travelling alone. How do you think Russian families or solo women travel?  By train, of course, like everyone else!   Just use common sense as you would in a hotel, locking your door at night and not leaving valuables unattended in your compartment.  In addition to the normal lock on the compartment door, 'Spalny Wagon' and 'kupé' compartments have a security latch which stops the door opening more than an inch or two, and which cannot be released from outside.  There's also a safe place for your bags at night - if you have a bottom bunk, there is a metal box underneath the bunk which you can only get to by lifting up the bunk - in other words, for anyone to get to your bags, they will have to shift you off your bunk first..!  Your provodniks will probably also lock the access doors at each end of the corridor at night to prevent unwanted guests.  Men and women share the same compartments in Russia, but it's generally quite safe for women travelling alone.  If you're a woman and find yourself in sharing with three men that make you uncomfortable, just ask the provodniks (carriage attendants) if they can move you.

A typical Russian long-distance sleeper train, in RZD's new standard grey-and-red colour scheme.  Above left, a carriage provodnitsa hoovers the corridor carpet.  Photos courtesy of David Smith.

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European Rail Timetable & maps

The European Rail Timetable (formerly the Thomas Cook European Timetable) has train & ferry times for every country in Europe plus currency & climate information.  It is essential for regular European train travellers and an inspiration for armchair travellers.  Published since 1873, it had just celebrated 140 years of publication when Thomas Cook decided to pull the plug on their entire publishing department, but the dedicated ex-Thomas Cook team set up a private venture and resumed publication of the famous European Rail Timetable in March 2014.  You can buy it online at www.amazon.co.uk (UK addresses) or www.europeanrailtimetable.eu (shipping worldwide).  More information on what the European Rail Timetable contains.

Rail Map Europe is the map I recommend, covering all of Europe from Portugal in the west to Moscow & Istanbul in the east, Finland in the north to Sicily & Athens in the south.  Scenic routes & high-speed lines are highlighted.  See an extract from the map.  Buy online at www.europeanrailtimetable.eu (shipping worldwide) or for £9.67 at www.amazon.co.uk (UK addresses).

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You should take a good guidebook, and a phrasebook can help too.  I think the Lonely Planets and Rough Guides are about the best there are for the independent traveller, and you will not regret buying one of these!

Click the images to buy the book from Amazon.co.uk...

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Hotels in Moscow & Russia

Other hotel sites worth trying...

• www.tripadvisor.com is the place to find independent travellers' reviews of all the main hotels.

• www.booking.com is my own preferred hotel booking system (Hotels Combined being a search/comparison system).  It has a simple interface, a good selection in most countries worldwide, useful online customer reviews of each hotel, and decent prices, usually shown inclusive of unavoidable extras such as taxes (a pet hate of mine is systems that show one price, then charge you another!).

Backpacker hostels...

• www.hostelworld.com:  If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about backpacker hostels.  Hostelworld offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in most cities at rock-bottom prices.

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Travel insurance & VPN

Always take out travel insurance...

Never travel without travel insurance with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover from a reliable insurer.  It should also cover trip cancellation and loss of cash & belongings up to a reasonable limit.  An annual multi-trip policy is usually cheapest even for just 2 or 3 trips a year, I have an annual policy myself.  However, don't expect travel insurance to bail you out of every missed connection, see the advice on missed connections here.  Here are some suggested insurers, Seat61 gets a little commission if you buy through these links, feedback is always welcome.

In the UK, reliable insurers include Columbus Direct.

If you have a pre-existing medical condition or are over 65, see www.JustTravelCover.com - 10% discount with code seat61.

You can use www.confused.com to compare prices & policy features across major insurance companies.

        If you live in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the EU, try Columbus Direct's other websites.

  If you live in the USA try Travel Guard USA.

Get a Curve card to save on foreign transaction fees...

Banks often give a poor exchange rate, then charge a currency conversion fee as well.  A Curve MasterCard means no foreign transaction fees and gives you the mid-market exchange rate, at least up to a certain limit, £500 per month as I write this.  The balance goes straight onto one of your existing debit or credit cards.  And you can get a Curve card for free.

How it works:  1. Download the app for iPhone or Android.  2. Enter your details & they'll send you a Curve MasterCard - they send to most European addresses including the UK.  3. Link your existing credit & debit cards to the app.  4. Now use the Curve MasterCard to buy things online or in person or take cash from ATMs, just like a normal MasterCard. Curve does the currency conversion and puts the balance onto whichever of your debit or credit cards you choose.  You can even change your mind about which card it goes onto, within 14 days of the transaction.

I use a Curve Blue card myself - I get a little commission if you sign up to Curve, but I'm recommending it here because I think it's great.  See details, download the app and get a Curve card - they'll give you £5 cashback through that link, too.

Get a VPN for safe browsing.  VPNs & why you need one explained...

When you're travelling you often use free WiFi in public places which may not be secure.  A VPN means your connection to the internet is encrypted & always secure, even using unsecured WiFi.  In countries such as China where access to Twitter & Facebook is restricted, a VPN gets around these restrictions.  And lastly, you can select the geographic location of the IP address you browse with, to get around geographic restrictions which some websites apply - for example one booking site charges a booking fee to non-European visitors but none to European visitors, so if you're not located in Europe you can avoid this fee by browsing with a UK IP address using a VPN.  VPNs & why you need one explained.  ExpressVPN is a best buy and I use it myself - I've signed up as an ExpressVPN affiliate, and if you go with expressvpn.com using the links on this page, you should see a special deal, 3 months free with an annual subscription, and I get a small commission to help support this site.

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