Train Tickets in Moscow

Buying train tickets at the station

For the full blooded Russian experience, line up to buy a train ticket at one of the kassi (Ticket offices) at any train station. You can buy tickets for any train out of Moscow at any train station. If you are buying tickets to a destination outside of Russia, you need to look for the mezhdunarodnaya kassa (international desk).

If you don’t speak Russian, it is a good idea to find out the number and time of the train you want to catch beforehand and write it down to help you along, as most assistants do not speak English. Look for a big LCD board in the station showing the timetable.

Don’t forget they also require your passport to sell you a ticket, this is so that your passport details can be printed on your ticket. If you lose your ticket, it is possible to get a new one printed for a small fee by taking your passport to the special lost tickets desk. You will be required to show your passport when you enter the train (to prove the ticket and reservation belongs to you).

Buying train tickets online

Using the website of the Russian railways www.rzd.ru comes in very handy. It is in Russian and you need to register to be able to view the timetables and the left-over tickets but if you can read Russian or get a friend to help, you can even buy tickets on line with a credit card and then just pick it up from the station! If you are really clever and have a lot of patience, you can even book a whole series of trans-siberian tickets through rzd.ru for a fraction of the price which tour agencies offer and with stop-offs etc. There is an English version eng.rzd.ru where you can look at timetables.

Other options are to buy through a ticket agency or travel agency in Moscow or try and make a booking through online retailers such as www.poezda.net, www.tutu.ru, www.trainsrussia.com and www.megapolis-te.ru but you might need a login and a password.