Overnight Train from St. Petersburg to Moscow
Replies: 12 - Last Post: Oct 7, 2012 11:35 PM Last Post By: everbrite
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Overnight Train from St. Petersburg to Moscow
I was originally planning to fly from St. Petersburg to Moscow during my upcoming trip to Russia. However, after reading the comments on this post, I have decided it is not worth it and I have decided to take an overnight train. A couple of questions regarding the train from St. Petersburg to Moscow:1.I think I have finally figured out how to navigate the RZD website. However, in looking at the timetable, it looks as though there are 15-20 trains a day from St. Petersburg to Moscow. In terms of overnight service, there appears to be 2-3 trains an hour! Given the high frequency of trains, is it really necessary to book in advance or is it possible to get same day tickets? What is the norm for the train from St. Petersburg to Moscow? Do most people purchase tickets in advance or is it okay to purchase either on the day of or a day prior to travel?
2. I was looking at the timetable and the station in St. Petersburg is listed as S-PETER-GL; the station in Moscow is listed as MOSKVA OKT. Are these the main train stations in these two cities?
3. What is the price (1st class and 2nd class) on the train from St. Petersburg to Moscow? The online timetable does not list prices.
Thanks.
1
1. There are days of high demand when the trains may be sold out (on weekends and especially public holidays, and especially in cheaper classes). Demand in winter is generally lower than in summer, with the important exception of the New Year/Christmas vacation period (first 9 or 10 days of January).There is also a 10% discount if you buy tickets at least 10 days prior to traveling, so it may be nicer for your wallet to buy in advance.
2. There is no main train station in Moscow. Long-distance trains depart from 8 rail terminals (vokzal in Russian), depending on the direction. Long-distance trains don't stop anywhere else in Moscow and satellite cities. Moskva-Oktyabrskaya is the 'technological' name of the station which is known as Leningradskiy vokzal. This is a dead-end station for most trains to the North-West, including St. Petersburg. There are also several trains for which Moscow is an intermediate stop; these trains stop at Moskva-Kurskaya (Kurskiy vokzal).
In St. Petersburg, the situation is technically the same. There are 4 rail terminals for long-distance trains. But one of them, Sankt-Peterburg-Glavnyy (literally, 'Main', a. k. a. Moskovskiy vokzal) serves more than 3/4 of all long-distance trains, including almost all trains from Moscow, though a few trains continuing farther use Sankt-Peterburg-Ladozhskiy (Ladozhskiy vokzal).
3. The prices depend on the train itself and the date of traveling. You may get quotes for your dates of interest from http://ticket.rzd.ru (which unfortunately in Russian only). To take next Saturday, October 6 as an example, there are 1st class tickets at 3582 to 5854 RUB and 2nd class tickets at 1908 to 3005 RUB. There are also deluxe options at 9426 RUB+.
Edited by: homelyboy
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1.I think I have finally figured out how to navigate the RZD website. However, in looking at the timetable, it looks as though there are 15-20 trains a day from St. Petersburg to Moscow. In terms of overnight service, there appears to be 2-3 trains an hour! Given the high frequency of trains, is it really necessary to book in advance or is it possible to get same day tickets? What is the norm for the train from St. Petersburg to Moscow? Do most people purchase tickets in advance or is it okay to purchase either on the day of or a day prior to travel?
The reason that there are so many trains is that there are so many people traveling between these two cities. If you want a specific class of service on a specific train, then you need to book in advance. You can begin checking the schedule 45 days prior to the date of travel. You can see what is available and the cost. 2. I was looking at the timetable and the station in St. Petersburg is listed as S-PETER-GL; the station in Moscow is listed as MOSKVA OKT. Are these the main train stations in these two cities?
Seems to me that there are 8 or 9 train stations in Moscow but trains depart from each station in a specific direction with some overlap but not much. So trains from the Kievsky train station head to Kyiv, Belarussky to Minsk, etc. 3. What is the price (1st class and 2nd class) on the train from St. Petersburg to Moscow? The online timetable does not list prices.
Prices are shown on the rzd.ru website but only on the Russian pages and only within 45 days of travel. The English language pages cannot be used to purchase tickets.
Ruth
3
If you need a nice price - yes, you have to book in advance. Especially if you want to depart on Friday/Sunday. You can buy your ticket online, if you are lucky and your credit card is accepted.Moskwa Okt is in the very city center, next to the circle metro line, as almost all the other stations.
Actually, as I have travelled in platskartas enough and dont feel I need to suffer it anymore, I'd rather take Sapsan than an overnight train. Sapsan is usually cheaper than 2nd class overnight and it takes only 4 hrs of comfortable journey. But you will not get your tea in a beautiful glass and see provodnitsa...
6
Sapsan is a high speed train that operates during the day and it can be booked online on the rzd.ru website.While the sapsan may be a cheaper ride, it does not include the night's accommodation cost so if you are paying for accommodations then overall it may not be cheaper. Also there is no view to see so it isn't worth it for that purpose.
Ruth
7
In most countries, high speed trains are usually at a premium. Just out of curiosity, why is the high speed rail cheaper than a slow train in Russia?8
It is cheaper because overnight trains are considered to be more convenient to their passengers. With overnight trains passengers lose no daylight time.Actually, overnight trains running for approximately 8 hours are more expensive than those running quicker because 8 hours is the optimal time for sleeping.
9
A hostel that I have been in communication with in St. Petersburg told me that they can book train tickets for their guests at prices ranging from RUB 1,000 to 3,000. Is that reasonable or does it sound too cheap to be true?
