Buying Tickets

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 don't speak Russian, it is a good idea to find out the number of the train you want to catch before hand. Look for a big LCD board showing the timetable. 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 creditcard and then just pick it up from the station! Look for the e-internet symbol at the ticket desks or the E-Ticket Registration booth. Show your booking number and id to pick up your ticket. There is an English version of rzd.ru where you can look at timetables (except strangely the site doesn't recognise the station St. Petersburg) and you can't buy tickets through it yet. Other options are to buy through a ticket agency or travel agency in Moscow. Another site is www.poezda.net, www.tutu.ru and www.waytorussia.net and www.trainsrussia.com. Trainsrussia.com can organise delivery throughout Moscow for around 350Rbl.