FAQ from the TrainToRussia

“Russian Railways” is a company that manages railway transportation all over Russia. It has several branches that serve different areas of focus. Main carriers are The Federal Passenger Company, Tverskoy Express, ZAO TC Grand Service Express, Central Suburban Passenger Company, High Speed Directorate, TransClassService.

You can keep your luggage in both the upper luggage cell and under the bottom shelf, which is safer. We recommend being careful with carrying of valuables and cash.

Please follow the rules of carrying baggage:

Carrying hand luggage: The current category includes luggage weighing no more than 36 kg or 50 kg in carriages with two-berth compartments (sleeper carriages). The sum of the hand luggage's three dimensions must not exceed 180 cm for carrying it free of charge.

If any of these parameters (the weight or dimensions of the luggage) exceeds current limits, you should pay an additional fee for it. On 1 ticket, a passenger can do a paid transportation of the hand luggage weighing no more than 50 kg, which is more than was mentioned before for free of charge carrying. According to new terms and conditions such luggage should be transported in special compartment. In modern trains the luggage compartments have all the necessary equipment to ensure the safety and security of the transported items.

Items which are necessary for passengers’ mobility (wheelchairs, baby carriages, etc.) are also free of charge.

Train stations in Moscow

Services of the major train stations in Moscow

Of the features of Moscow's train stations:

• Kazansky, Paveletsky, and Kiyevsky railway stations serve the directions on which residents of the CIS countries mainly arrive in Moscow, many of whom spend 3-5 days on the road. Kiyevsky railway station is equipped with the largest separate waiting room for passengers.
• Almost all Moscow railway stations are bright monuments of architecture built in the period of 1850-1920 and have been recently restored.

BUYING A TRAIN TICKET FROM MOSCOW

1. AT THE TRAIN STATION TICKET OFFICE IN MOSCOW

2. IN THE SELF-SERVICE TERMINAL

3. ON THE INTERNET

Below there is a list of the railway stations located in Moscow and the main routes you can leave from them.

Leningradsky Station (northern routes): St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Pskov, Vyborg, Murmansk, Tallinn (Estonia), Helsinki (Finland), Tver.

Kazansky Station: Adler, Barnaul, Izhevsk, Kazan, Novorossiysk, Orenburg, Penza, Rostov, Samara, Tashkent, Togliatti, Ufa, Chelyabinsk, Krasnoyarsk, Ryazan, Tomsk (routes to the south).

Yaroslavlsky Station: Arkhangelsk, Ekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk), Irkutsk, Kostroma, Kirov, Novosibirsk, Perm, Vladimir, Vladivostok, Vologda, Yaroslavl. Trans-Siberian trains, suburban trains to Abramtsevo, to Sergiev Posad.

Kursky Station: Kursk, Krasnodar, Nizhny Novgorod, Orel, Perm, Rostov-on-Don. Local trains to Vladimir, Podolsk.

Belorussky Station: Kaliningrad, Smolensk. Belarus (Minsk), Lithuania, Germany (Berlin), Poland.

Rizhsky Station: Riga (Latvia).

Kievsky Station: Kiev (Ukraine).

Train stations in Saint Petersburg

• Moskovsky Rail Terminal
• Ladozhsky railway station
• Vitebsky railway station
• Finlyandskiy railway station
• Baltiysky railway station

Best railway stations in St. Petersburg Russia

Moskovsky rail terminal, St. Petersburg

Ladozhsky railway station

Vitebsky railway station

• art Nouveau style
• openwork lamps
• beautiful fences

Finlyandskiy railway station

Baltiysky railway station

Below there is a list of the railway stations located in Saint Petersburg and the main routes you can leave from them.

Moscow Station (Moskovsky Vokzal): Moscow, Novgorod, Murmansk.

Vitebsk Station (Vitebsky Vokzal): Minsk (Belarus), Kiev (Ukraine), Riga (Latvia), Vilnius (Lithuania), Warsaw (Poland).

Finland Station (Finlyandskiy Vokzal): Helsinki (Finland).

Ladoga Station (Ladozhskiy Vokzal): Moscow, Murmansk, Ekaterinburg, Arkhangelsk.

Baltic station: trains leave for the Leningrad region.

Trains between Moscow and Saint Petersburg

GRAND EXPRESS - TRAIN FROM MOSCOW TO ST. PETERSBURG OVERNIGHT

• Premium
• Grand
• Imperial
• Grand Deluxe

TWO CAPITALS - TRAIN FROM MOSCOW TO SAINT PETERSBURG RUSSIA

TWO-STOREY - TRAIN FROM MOSCOW TO SAINT PETERSBURG WITH BEST TICKET PRICE

RED ARROW

MEGALOPOLIS

SAPSAN

SMENA – A. BETANCOURT

EXPRESS

Some of the train carriages provide meal that is included in the ticket price. These ones are marked with a special icon – an icon of the carriage.

Also, branded and high-speed trains often have a dining carriage or a cafe-buffet.

The restaurant serves Russian and European cuisine, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, snacks, cigarettes. You can always buy tea or coffee from the porter. You can also bring your own food. Please, keep in mind that there are no refrigerators on the train.

Smoking is forbidden in the long-distance trains and on suburban platforms since June 1, 2014.

There are two WCs located either on one side or one on each side of the carriage.

There are shower cabins in long-distance trains that are on the road for more than 24 hours, only in second-class or first-class carriages. If your carriage doesn’t have a shower, then you can contact the porter, in some cases you may be allowed to use the shower of the next car for a small fee.

Bed linen is provided in the train, it can be included in the ticket price or it can be purchased from the porter, it depends on the class of the carriage.

Our service provides the ticket sale for any date. For some trains the sale can be opened for 90, 60, 30 days before. On trains with an icon , you can order an electronic ticket.

Russian train types

• Russian train second class
• Russian train first class
• Russian train economy class

• High-speed trains
• Regular overnight trains
• Special luxury trains

The pros and cons of High-Speed Trains

• Sapsan - a high-speed train of a new generation, which was built by Siemens in 2009. The train can have in its composition from 10 to 20 carriages offering various types of services.
• Allegro - a train that provides the easiest way to travel between Helsinki and St. Petersburg. The journey time is basically 3.5 hours. During the trip, you will be offered a wide range of services.
• Strizh - a modern international train of high quality that corresponds to all European standards.
• Lastochka – a high-speed train that connects biggest Russian cities including Moscow with Nizhny Novgorod, Saint Petersburg with Petrozavodsk, and Sochi.

Advantages and disadvantages of regular overnight trains

• Comfortable berths
• Improved thermal and acoustic insulation
• Modern onboard restaurants where you can buy food and drinks
• Availability of VIP cabins with showers
• Availability of air-conditioning, heating systems, TV sets, and Internet access
• High-quality service in general

Regular overnight trains

• overnight routes
• beds for seating instead of the individual seats
• modern equipment of their cars
• unique design and a wide range of high-quality service
• availability of dining cars, food can also be ordered and delivered to the compartment
• low ticket price

In conclusion

Long-distance trains are divided to expresses and regular trains.

On our web-site you can notice that there are special words added to the number of the train. There are “Express”, “Speed”, ”High-speed” and “Branded”. That’s the way they are classified. Basically, they differ speed of travel and comfort.

Express trains stop less on the rout than regular trains (there are no notes for it). The level of comfort of regular and express trains does not differ.

If Express has an identity (unique design) or brand-name, it would be classified as “Branded”. Branded trains have high quality service and more convenient in comparison with the rest types of trains. Also, they excel by special icon on our web site - branded.

Special type of the train is high-speed train. “Sapsan” is a new high-speed Russian train that connect Moscow and Saint Petersburg. This train can reach speed up to 250 km/h. The number of seats is 554. The train is equipped with 2 business class carriage, 7 economy class carriages and dining and luncheon carriage.

The different carriages classes in Russian trains

Sedentary wagon

Second-class carriage

Common carriage

• Seats are not suitable for prolonged sitting - due to the lack of a soft back and headrest.
• There is a feeling of uncomfortable tightness because there are no armrests separating passengers from each other.
• In most cases, in the common railcar all tickets are being sold without a pointed place, as a result – the one, who'd already time before, takes the best seats.

Compartment car

Luxury car

Pullman car

While choosing the seats please keep an attention with a class of the carriage and its type. On our web site you can see that in common trains have the carriages up to 4 classes: 1st class, 2nd class, 3rd class and seats.

1st class includes categories of carriages such as "SV", "Luxury" with two-seater compartments. 2nd class includes "Coupe" type carriages which consist of compartments with two lower and two upper berths. 3rd class – “Platzkart” carriages of open type. Seats carriages are a car with seats. There are trains with include General Class carriages, such carriages are either “coupe” or “platzkart” by structure, where places are intended only for seating, the upper shelves are stacked.

In some trains the carriages are only seats type, where they are also divided into classes: Business class, Economy class, etc. The seats differ in comfort, free space and provided with additional services that are included in the ticket price, in such cases, pay attention to the icons that the carriages are equipped with.

Location of seats near the toilet:

Luxury carriage – seats 17,18;
Coupe carriages – 33, 34, 35, 36 seats;
Platzkart carriages – 33, 34, 35, 36 seats, also 37, 38 side beds;
General Class carriage – 49-57 seats, also 55-57 side beds;

The ticket can be paid by card (VISA, MasterCard, AmericanExpress), and also by Paypal.

We ensure the security of the payment procedure by using the encryption of SSL traffic, 3D Secure / SecureCode.

When returning e-tickets, refunds are credited to passengers' bank cards. Term for refunding is from 7 to 30 calendar days from the time the passenger requests a refund.

We charge a refund fee of 10 USD per 1 ticket. The commission of Russian Railway’s and the Issue Bank is also taken. Keep an eye on the fact, that you can’t return ticket after the departure data. You should apply to the ticket office of the station to do it.

Headline:

1234567890 – the number of your order, which should be mentioned at the actions connected with cancellation or refund of the ticket.

Table data:

The table shows all the necessary information for boarding the train: the time and date of departure of the train, as well as the time and date of arrival (keep an attention on time zone of departure and arrival indicated for the train, this information is located below the table). The Route (departure station and arrival station). The class of service is the class you have chosen before. By the class of the carriage you can find information about the amenities in the carriage and the additional services in it.

There is shown the number of the selected train, number of the carriage, seat number in one line. The letter next to number of the carriage is indicated the corresponding the type of the carriage.

The information about the train, the ticket price and additional information about the fees charged are indicated under the line.

Additional Information:

The table below shows the status of your ticket. Information about the time of departure and arrival. Be careful: the time of departure and arrival depends on the train, it can be both Moscow and local time zone. The carrier, the form of payment, other official information is marked below.

We recommend to print your e-ticket when you board the train!

Example of an electronic ticket:

For each route you can found information about time zone for arrival and departure time at the top of the page. This information is available at each stage of ordering. Be careful!

To be sure that you will be without strangers in the compartment, you should redeem all the seats. To do this, when you are ordering tickets, duplicate passenger information in free forms. These tickets should be issued for a person who reached the age of 18.

You can buy a train ticket to a women's or men's compartment on our website.

After choosing a train, in the list of carriages you can find their basic parameters (pay attention to the icons). When choosing a seat, and if the seat is in carriage with a gender separation, then you must additionally choose which type of compartment you need:

• male
• female
• mixed

Mixed compartment is intended for families, or for people who are indifferent to the sex of companions.

We don’t recommend to specify the wrong gender to take the place, the porter has the right to not let you on the train.

If you travel abroad by train or your train crosses the border of one or several states by transit, then you need to make sure that your documents allow you to cross these states, you have a visa for each state or if the rules for citizens of your state allow you to cross borders without visa.

Please find out for yourself:

Customs regulations concerning foreigners and luggage. You can find out this information in the customs services, border services and migration services of the states.

The main identity documents for citizens of Russia for which citizens can enter and leave the Russian Federation are: a passport, a diplomatic passport, a service passport, a certificate of return to the Russian Federation (only for return to the Russian Federation) issued by the relevant diplomatic mission or consular institution.

Foreign citizens can enter the Russian Federation and leave it if they have a Russian visa on valid identity documents. When entering Russia, a foreign citizen fills out the migration card, which must be returned when leaving the country, it is presented along with an identity document when carrying out border controls.

Children crossing the border, which travels with at least one of the parents, can leave Russia on their foreign passport. If the parent and the child have different surnames, it is recommended that they have a birth certificate for the child.

If an underage citizen crosses the border with Russia without parents, adoptive parents or guardians, then he must have with him, in addition to the passport, the agreement of the named persons with an indication of the departure time from the state he intends to visit. Enough agreement of one of the parents.

When entering Russia, all persons other than citizens of the Russian Federation, CIS citizens (except Georgia and Turkmenistan), citizens of states with whom the Russian Federation signed an agreement on visa-free travel of citizens are required to have a visa.

Depending on the type of carriage, it can be banned - or allowed - transportation of animals, the suitable carriages have an icon. Be sure to read the description to the carriage, the rules for carrying animals can be vary.

General rules for carrying animals:

Animals can only be transported on the designated seats, only in carriages marked by resolving icons.

You can pay for the transportation of an animal on the train at the railway station before the train leaves. Veterinary certificate is not needed.

Allowed to carry only pets in passenger carriages. Wild animals, bees, etc. carried in a baggage carriage, on this train must be accompanied by an attendant.

Animals should not spoil the sanitary and hygienic situation in the carriage, monitor it and feed the animals yourself.

When traveling internationally, find out the conditions for the importation of animals into the country. Documents, types of animals allowed for importation, the required vaccinations depending on the country may differ significantly.

For blind passengers, guide dogs are free of charge, in carriages of any categories, you do not need to make out anything. When traveling abroad, the conditions should be specified separately.

To begin, try to clear the cache and delete the browser cookies and reload the page or open the page in incognito mode, if the problem is not solved, then try to open the site using another browser.

If the problem persists, please report your problem to us.

Basically, the processing of your order does not exceed 1 hour and, if there are no problems, then you will receive an email with the result of the order and your e-ticket.

Sometimes the time may be different from the 1st hour, but we guarantee that no more than 12 hours, you will receive the result of the order. If you have entered wrong e-mail, write us about your problem to the following e-mail: traintorussia@gmail.com to restore the order.

Contact us by e mail: traintorussia@gmail.com. We’ll answer as soon as possible.

There are the types of documents you can use for purchasing the tickets:

• Russian passport.
• Russian Birth Certificate.
• Foreign document issued to citizens of the CIS, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and foreign countries.
• Russian foreign travel passport.
• Military ticket(only for servicemen who are currently in military service).
• Seaman's passport.

You should enter the number according to original document by following next rules:

• Russian passport – 4001-200002.
• Russian Birth Certificate – II-МЮ-222233.
• Foreign document issued to citizens of the CIS, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and foreign countries – ВМ0335544.
• Russian foreign travel passport – 60-7744331.
• Military ticket (only for servicemen who are currently in military service) – AC1332211.
• Seaman's passport – 122123324

If the child does not occupy a separate place in the car, you can issue a free ticket under the age of 4 years – in communication with Poland, China, North Korea, Mongolia, up to 5 years – in communication in Russia, CIS Countries, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Abkhazia, up to 6 years – in communication with Finland.

For children aged from 4 to 12 years can be issued a children's ticket at a discount of 50% (Russia, Poland, China, North Korea, Mongolia), from 6 to 17 years-Finland.

When traveling with the CIS countries, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Abkhazia, for children from 5 to 10 years, the discount is up to 65% depending on the length of the route and the country.

If the child should be without a seat, it is necessary to issue a non-monetary travel document on the trains in communication with the CIS and Baltic countries, Abkhazia, France and Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Italy, Slovakia and Hungary.

Also, on request, it is possible to issue a children's ticket with a seat for a child up to 4 years/5 years/6 years.

Please note that unaccompanied minors cannot travel without an adult. The child's age is determined on the day of the trip, not the day of purchase!

Outside of Russia, the issuance of non-monetary travel documents to travel for children without taking them a separate seat is not made.

Accompanied by an adult passenger, only one child under 5 years of age can travel free of charge (not occupying a separate seat), if there are more than one children, they will have to purchase a children's ticket separately, while the child to whom the ticket was purchased has the right to occupy a separate, purchased seat.

Children under 10 years old are not allowed to travel by rail unless accompanied by an adult.

The main document for a child — citizen of the Russian Federation up to 14 years inclusive is it birth certificate, which must be specified at the time of ticket issuance. It is also possible to specify the foreign travel passport of the child.

Please note that if you are presenting a birth certificate of children, not citizens of Russia, it belongs to the category of foreign passport.

If children are not taken by their parents on long-distance trains, such a passenger must have a letter of attorney notarized by the child's parents.

If you purchased an e-ticket here, then take it with you when boarding the train, to avoid unexpected situations. In addition to the electronic ticket, you must take the documents you have specified when you had made the order (passport or other identity document).