General information about trains.

The lower bunks in the 1st and 2nd class compartments can be raised and there is room to safely store luggage underneath provided it's not a gigantic suitcase or pack. There is also space above the doorway, but it's harder to get things up there and to safely secure them. The compartment doors can be locked from within and the attendant can lock them as well. If you are uncomfortable with your fellow travelers, make that known to the attendant and s/he will try to accommodate a change of bunk. Offering to share you food and drink will increase the likelihood that your fellow travelers will look out for your belongings. While there are dining cars, the food in the Russian dining cars is generally poor (at least in my personal experience), often not available and overall not worth the price. Some of the stops are quite long and most anything you might want will be available either from the groceries in the station or on the train platforms from vendors. Some things can be purchased from vendors who ride the trains: chips, drinks, snacks. Generally passengers tend to share their foodstuffs. You can get a glass, tea holder, tea bags or instant coffee, sugar and hot water from the train attendant for minimal cost. Bring along a mug, dried soups, coffee and cocoa for variety. I usually carry nuts, dried fruit, cheese (and for my meat-eating fellow travelers, salami as well). Bread can usually be bought on the platforms, sometimes fruits as well. Don't forget to bring a sharp knife with bottle opener.. A seat is like 4th class, a platzcart is 3rd, a couch in a 4-bed coupe is 2nd and a couch in a 2-bed coupe is the 1st class.

Notes about Russian train travel

It is cheaper to book your ticket at the train station, but that assumes that you speak the language, have the time and can be flexible if the day you want is booked. During the height of the tourist travel in July and August, travelers have reported difficulty getting train tickets for intermediate trains. If you intend to stop, you cannot take the direct trans-siberian, transmongolian or transmanchurian trains and hop off and on again. You can do this on other Russian trains. Also if you don't plan to go straight through, but rather plan to stop in one or two places, you don't need to buy separate tickets for each stop unless you want to be assured of a berth. For example, you could purchase a ticket from Moscow to Ulan-Ude and make stops in several places. But again, there is no guarantee of a berth on the train you want to take later. If you decide to get off the train and reuse the ticket to continue your travels, you will need to speak with someone in the station. You need to make arrangements to depart again within 10 days, but note that your continuation will be on a space-available basis. To repeat: you cannot get off and on the through trains to Beijing or Vladivostok. You cannot get on the through trains unless you are headed to the final terminus. However, you can buy a ticket Moscow to Ulan-Ude for example and get off in Yekatrinburg, then again in Krasnoyarsk, and Irkutsk. Plus at the same time, you can purchase a through ticket from UU to UB and then get another ticket from UB to Beijing. If you depart from Moscow or Vladivostok, you can buy all the tickets there. If you leave from Beijing, in Beijing you can buy a through ticket, but not separate tickets for stop overs. So you can buy the Beijing - Ulan Bator leg and will have to purchase the UB to Moscow section or sections in Mongolia. You can, however, order tickets from a travel agency like RussianRails.Com.

Are there showers, toilets, bed sheets in the trains?

There are two bathrooms, one at each end of each car. While the attendants try hard to keep them clean, the number of people sharing these two bathrooms in platskartny is pretty high and thus this is sisyphean task. Bring your own soap, your own toilet paper and understand that the power outlet in the bathroom doesn't operate when the train is stopped and sometimes even when it is moving. The bathrooms are locked for 45-60 minutes while in the station, after leaving and before arriving in Moscow and Petersburg, plus for shorter periods when entering and departing other large cities. This is due to the sanitary districts since the bathrooms open directly onto the tracks..You do not need to bring a sleeping bag or a sleep sack. Bedding and pillows are there for each berth. A package with clean sheets, a pillow case and a towel are provided. You pay the attendant a few dollars for these items. On some of the lower number trains you may be offered a sanitary packet that also includes toothbrush and tooth paste, soap, tissues and some other odds and ends.

Is it safe to travel in Russian trains?

Russian trains are very safe. Every train has it's own police team. In every wagon there are buttons for an emergency assistance. No other person can get on board of the train because all tickets are checked on the entrance and all of the passengers must provide their passports when they board the train.

Common Places to Stop

It would be a shame to travel that far and not stop along the way. Buying separate tickets and making stops will add about $20-25 per stop to the total cost of the tickets. Common places to stop are Yekatrinburg, Novosibirsk (although I must admit that I haven't heard anyone say that this was really worth it for a visit), Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk (for a side trip to Lake Baikal), Ulan Ude, and Ulan Bator (in Mongolia) or Chita and Khabarovsk in eastern Siberia. Please search both the Eastern Europe and the NorthEast Asia branch for more information about these stopover places.

Where can I buy train tickets?

It is cheaper to book your ticket at the train station, but that assumes that you speak the language, have the time and can be flexible if the day you want is booked. During the height of the tourist travel in July and August, travelers have reported difficulty getting train tickets for intermediate trains.
The best way to purchase train tickets is online and we are here to help you.

Where do the trains depart in Moscow?

Here is information about all 9 railway stations in Moscow:

Belorussky Station. Serves Kalliningrad, Lithuania, Belarus, Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic and some trains to Latvia. Address : 7 Tverskaya Zastava Ploshchad Phone : 251-6093, 973-8191 Metro: Belorusskaya

Kazansky Station. Serves Central Asia, Ryzan, Ufa, Samara and Novorossiisk. Address: 2 Komsomolskaya Ploshchad Phone: 264-6556 Metro: Komsomolskaya

Kievsky Station. Serves Western Ukraine and Southeastern Europe. Address: Ploshchad Kievskogo Vokzala Phone: 240-1115/0415 Metro: Kievskaya

Kursky Station. Serves Southern Russia, Caucasus nations, Eastern Ukraine, and Crimea. Address: 29 Ul. Zemlyanoi Val Phone: 916-2003, 917-3152

Leningradsky Station. Serves Estonia, Finland, St. Petersburg and northwestern Russia. Address: 3 Komsomolskaya Ploshchad Phone: 262-9143 Metro: Komsomolskaya

Paveletsky Station. Serves Voronezh, Tambov, Volgograd and Astrakhan. Address: 1 Paveletskaya Ploshchad Phone: 235-0522/6807/1920/4109 Metro: Paveletskaya

Rizhsky Station. Serves some trains to Latvia. Address: 79/3 Rizhskaya Ploshchad Phone: 971-1588 Metro: Rizhskaya

Savyolovsky Station. Serves Kostroma, Cherepovets and some trains to Vologda. Address: Ploshchad Savyolovskogo Vokzala Phone: 285-9005 Metro: Savyolovskaya

Yaroslavlsky Station. Serves Siberia, the Russian Far East, Mongolia and China. Address: 5 Komsomolskaya Ploshchad Phone: 921-5914/0817, 262-9271 Metro: Komsomolskaya

Where do the trains depart in St. Petersburg?

Moskovski railway station: Moscow, Murmansk, Novgorod

Vitebski railway station: Latvia (Riga), Lithuania (Vilnius), Ukraine (Kiev), Belarus (Minsk).

Finlandski railway station: Finland (Helsinki)

Varshavski railway station: Poland (Warsaw)

Baltiiski railway station: cities around St. Petersburg