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Railway Stations |
International and inter-city railway travel |
Buying tickets. St.Petersburg Railway Agency |
Local commuter train services |
Safety tips
ST. PETERSBURG'S RAILWAY STATIONS
Moscow Station
(Moscow, the far north, Crimea, the Caucasus,
Georgia, Central Asia; suburban lines South-East)
Finland Station
(Helsinki, Vyborg and suburban lines North)
Vitebsk Station
(Smolensk, Belarus, Kiev, Odessa and Moldova;
Pushkin, Pavlovsk and suburban lines South)
Warsaw Station
(Baltic states, Pskov, Lviv (Lvov) and Eastern
Europe)
Baltic Station
(Peterhof, Lomonosov and suburban lines West)
MOSCOW RAILWAY STATION
(Moskovsky Vokzal)
Address: Ploschad Vosstania 2, just off Nevsky Prospekt
Metro: Ploschad Vosstania
Intourist ticket office: it is the first door on the right if you enter the main
hall via the main lobby.
(You can use the St.
Petersburg Railway Agency at Naberezhnaya Kanala
Griboyedova, for buying tickets in advance)
Service Center: offers reliable telephone and fax service, photocopying,
typing.
Currency Exchange is in the Main Hall. (A better exchange rate can be found
elsewhere.)
Restaurant, Bar
Telegraph office is in the Main Lobby
Newsagent's and Souvenir kiosks are in the Main Lobby
The Ultimate Meeting Point - at the statue of Peter the Great in the Main Hall
FINLAND RAILWAY STATION
(Finlyandsky Vokzal)
Address: Ploschad Lenina 6
Metro: Ploschad Lenina
Intourist Ticket Office is located in the wing flanking the tracks. You can enter
it from both the street and the platforms. This office (counters # 9 and # 10)
willsell you tickets for the St.Petersburg
- Helsinki line. Counter # 16 provides
fax and photocopying services and sells phonecards.
Currency Exchange is in the Main Hall of the station. Open: 10 am to 8 pm.
Lunchbreak: 2 pm to 3 pm.
To access metro: walk out of the main doors and turn right - the entrance to the
metro station is at the corner.
VITEBSK RAILWAY STATION
(Vitebsky Vokzal)
Address: Zagorodny Prospect 52
Metro: Pushkinskaya
You might need this beautiful station if you plan to go to South-West Russia,
Belarus,Ukraine and Moldova, as well as some local destinations.
To find the tickets for local trains, walk along the facade of the station (away from
the metro) and turn left around the corner. If you plan to go to Pushkin you
shouldbuy tickets to Detskoye Selo.
If you are going to Pavlovsk note that the station bears the same
name(surprisingly enough).
WARSAW RAILWAY STATION
(Varshavsky Vokzal)
Address: Naberezhnaya Obvodnovo Kanala 118
Metro: Baltiyskaya, 400 yards walk to the station
This seriously worn out station leaves much to be desired. It serves the lines to
theBaltic states, Pskov, Western Ukraine and Eastern Europe. Most of the facilities
offeredby the station are sub-standard and the neighborhood is featureless. Maybe one day someone
will give this station a total overhaul.
To find the ticket office: walk past the left wing of the station's facade, turn right
and walk towards the tracks.
BALTIC RAILWAY STATION
(Baltiysky Vokzal)
Address: Naberezhnaya Obvodnovo Kanala 120
Metro: Baltiyskaya
This railway station serves only local lines, but you might need it if you plan to pay
a visit to Peterhof or Lomonosov. You can enter the station directly from the metro.
Ticket offices will be to your left. If you plan to go to Peterhof/Petrodvorets you
shouldbuy a ticket to Stary Petergof. If you go to Lomonosov you need a ticket to Oranienbaum.
See the Local trains section for further details.
t o p o f p a g e
INTERNATIONAL AND INTER-CITY RAILWAY TRAVEL
Russia has an extensive railway network and you can get virtually anywhere by train.
They say that the most exciting railway trip in Russia is the one over the
Trans-Siberianline from Moscow to Vladivostok (or vice versa). Of the more useful train services
available in St. Petersburg one should mention St. Petersburg - Moscow overnight
sleepertrains and the St.Petersburg - Helsinki service.
The St. Petersburg - Helsinki railway line is served by two trains: the Russian-managed
# 33/34 "Repin" and the Finnish-managed # 35/36 "Sibelius".
In St.Petersburg you can buy tickets for St. Petersburg - Helsinki railway line at the Finland Railway Station's Intourist Ticket
Office.
Counter # 9 sells tickets for train # 33/34 "Repin". Open: 6 am to 7 am
and 8 am to 7 pm. Sunday: 6 am to 7 am and 8 am to 4 pm. Lunch break: noon to 1 pm.
Counter # 10 sells tickets for train # 35/36 "Sibelius". Open: 8 am to 7
pm. Sunday: 8 am to 4 pm. Lunch break: noon to 1 pm.
Tickets are put on sale 30 days prior to departure. In the hour before a departure
theoffice sells only one-way tickets to individual travelers (only for the next train;
nogroup tickets). Tickets are sold on a regular basis at other times.
SCHEDULES
| # 33/34 "Repin" |
New
times! |
Journey time: 6 h 16 min /6 h 30
min |
| Departs from Helsinki: |
3.34 pm |
Arrives in St.Petersburg: |
10.50 pm |
| Departs from St.Petersburg: |
7.00 am |
Arrives in Helsinki: |
12.30 pm |
| # 35/36 "Sibelius" |
New
times! |
Journey time: 6 h 00 min /6 h
19min |
| Departs from Helsinki: |
6:30 am |
Arrives in St.Petersburg: |
1:30 pm |
| Departs from St.Petersburg: |
4.15 pm |
Arrives in Helsinki: |
9:34 pm |
| * All times are local |
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t o p o f p a g
e
LOCAL COMMUTER TRAIN SERVICES IN ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA
Trains and Stations
Which Station do I need if I plan to visit:
Gatchina[moscow], Lomonosov
(Oraniyenbaumstation)[baltic],
Pavlovsk[vitebsk], Peterhof (Stary
Petergof station) [baltic], Pushkin (Detskoye
Selostation)[vitebsk],
Sestroretsk[finland], Zelenogorsk[finland],
Vyborg[finland] ?
Note that some station names are different from the town names.
Local commuter trains are an option for your suburban travel only if you have some
command of Russian language or if you travel with a Russian. The neatness of trains
variesgreatly and all trains feature hard seats and, sorry, have no toilets. (You can live with
it since most tourist destinations are only 30-40 minutes away).
All major Railway Stations in the city are located conveniently for metro and other public
transportation. You can also catch a train at smaller stations within the city limits.
Schedules.
Every station has schedules on display. If a station serves several lines, it will
haveseparate schedules for every line, and in most cases a suburban lines map. Some
stationshave separate schedules for each direction: from St. Petersburg and to St.Petersburg.
Schedule information is normally displayed in the following sequence (good knowledge
ofRussian is a huge advantage):
Time in chronological order of arriving/departing trains,
A one or two-letter index, if it's a Friday or a weekend train (weekend trains are marked
in red)
Destination, and finally
Additional information (in small print). Sometimes trains do not stop at smaller stations;
this is always marked accordingly on all schedules.
In summer some trains can get crowded, so it is wise to take a train at the first
station of the line. Repair works may affect schedules at short notice, especially in
summer. Look carefully for (often handwritten) "Changes"
-"Izmeneniya".
Tickets.
Every station has a booking office "kassa" which can sell you either one-way
or return ticket to your chosen destination. The clerks DO NOT speak English.
t o p o f p a g e
Safety tips
1. Make sure that you keep
your wallet and valuables in your inside pockets.
2. Be aware of the small gap between the platform and the train.
3. Don't stand at the edge of the platform when a train is arriving.
It is particularly dangerous if you have very long hair, wear a long raincoat or have an
open umbrella in your hands. Take great care when traveling with small children.
4. Do not try to enter or exit the train after the announcement
"Ostorozhno, dveri zakryvayutsa" - "Caution, the doors are now
closing". The doors are pneumatically-fired and you have to be Houdini to escape
being trapped between them.
5. Make sure that you know which station you need and get prepared
for exiting the train in advance.
6. Try to make sure you don't leave anything on a train - it will be
hard, if not impossible, to find it.
7. At smaller stations do not try to cross the railway track in
front of an approaching train.
Have a nice trip
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