Russia - Need RZD Russian State Railways help

I am trying to book a trip on the Trans-Mongolian Railways from Moscow to Ulaan Baator, but the RZD website won't let me register an account. It says in Russian that I need to make an account with an alphanumeric password. I have tried making an alphanumeric password using Cyrillic and English characters, but it still won't let me create an account. What am I doing wrong?

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Well, it is hard to tell what's wrong with the registration page - most probably it is some temporary problem - but AFAIK tickets to Ulaanbaatar cannot be bought online :-(

Well, it is hard to tell what's wrong with the registration page - most probably it is some temporary problem - but AFAIK tickets to Ulaanbaatar cannot be bought online :-(
I wish there were a way to buy it now w/o having to pay the sucker's tax. I've asked my hotel for assistance. They want at least $50,- in fees, which is not as bad as the $300,- markup that is being charged online.

I am trying to book a trip on the Trans-Mongolian Railways from Moscow to Ulaan Baator, but the RZD website won't let me register an account. It says in Russian that I need to make an account with an alphanumeric password. I have tried making an alphanumeric password using Cyrillic and English characters, but it still won't let me create an account. What am I doing wrong?

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Are you using Google Chrome to automatically translate? I've noticed that when I use that, it has been messing things up. Somehow the value fields aren't the same when you do that. Try opening RZD in a different browser and then again in another chrome. Use chrome to get the translations for the fields and the other for actually entering the data.

Are you using Google Chrome to automatically translate? I've noticed that when I use that, it has been messing things up. Somehow the value fields aren't the same when you do that. Try opening RZD in a different browser and then again in another chrome. Use chrome to get the translations for the fields and the other for actually entering the data.
No. Was using my normal brower. Anyway, homelyboy was right. You cannot book tickets to Mongolia over the internet. Must be done in person or via third party. I'll see what the hotel charges I guess. Thanks to all for your help.

The RZD website is nearly impossible to use if Russian is not your native language.

Before you purchase through your hotel concierge, comparison shop prices at these online ticket "mediators."

http://www.trainsrussia.com/ (I used this company and was completely satisfied)

Others for comparison:

http://www.russianrailways.com/

http://www.russiantrains.com/

The RZD website is nearly impossible to use if Russian is not your native language.

Before you purchase through your hotel concierge, comparison shop prices at these online ticket "mediators."

http://www.trainsrussia.com/ (I used this company and was completely satisfied)

Others for comparison:

http://www.russianrailways.com/

http://www.russiantrains.com/
Thanks for the info. Been to all, but they are charging an outrageous premium of ~$300,-. My ticket shouldn't cost more than $500,-. In re: usability, it is easier if you have a background in Russian, which I do. Still doesn't change the upsell cost on third-party sites.

On a side note, for all those interested: It may be better to contact your hotel instead of rely on English-language, third-party vendors to buy Russian train tickets. I'm staying at the Hotel National, and they quoted me a price that was a bit closer to the commission-free price for travel on the Trans-Mongolian. Saved over $100,- as a result. YMMV.

Thanks for the info. Been to all, but they are charging an outrageous premium of ~$300,-. My ticket shouldn't cost more than $500,-. In re: usability, it is easier if you have a background in Russian, which I do. Still doesn't change the upsell cost on third-party sites.

Yikes, that's excessive. For my Red Arrow journey between St. Petersburg and Moscow, I paid a $38 premium for their services.

Yikes, that's excessive. For my Red Arrow journey between St. Petersburg and Moscow, I paid a $38 premium for their services.
Well, I'd imagine the train from ST. P to MOW is significantly cheaper than the train from MOW to Mongolia. :p At any rate, your $38 premium sounds about right. I'm paying a $41 premium over the quoted price which was $577,-. $518 is the RZD price w/o commissions, so both the hotel and the tour company charged me a "small" surcharge. Still way cheaper than the sites previously mentioned. :)

That website is totally useless in my experience, and I've had a lot of it with the RZhD. It's quite difficult to even get a schedule out of it, much less actually book a ticket.

That website is totally useless in my experience, and I've had a lot of it with the RZhD. It's quite difficult to even get a schedule out of it, much less actually book a ticket.Are you speaking of ticket.rzd.ru? Too bad for you, every year I buy dozens of rail tickets with that site and find it perfectly adequate for all my needs. And most travelers I know do.

Are you speaking of ticket.rzd.ru? Too bad for you, every year I buy dozens of rail tickets with that site and find it perfectly adequate for all my needs. And most travelers I know do.

I have a question which you might have an answer to:-)
On http://www.valigiapronta.altervista.org/scheda.php?lang=eng&page=Register_in_RZD.html
they say: "To obtain the tickets present this receipt with your passport and the credit card you used (for booking) at a train station window with an @ sign."
Is the credit card really neccessary for obtaining the tickets and why?
Thanks in advance,
s.

That website is totally useless in my experience, and I've had a lot of it with the RZhD. It's quite difficult to even get a schedule out of it, much less actually book a ticket.

I think that it could be simplified a bit, but overall it works. Just start at tickets.rzd.ru and go from there. The first page after you submit your destinations has a list of available trains. The only thing that I'm not sure if it does is destinations that require stops and transfers. I don't recall seeing that as a feature.

Is the credit card really neccessary for obtaining the tickets and why?From my experience, the credit card has never been necessary to pick up the tickets. All you need is the 14-digit number (you don't even need the printout - though the barcode saves you 10 seconds of time) and the identification document. Moreover, when you pick up the ticket from a ticket machine, the machine cannot verify the identification document itself - so you only need the number (when you print the receipt, the document number will be shuffled so it's secure).

But on the other hand, my CC has 3-D Secure enabled. That may make difference if yours does not.

From my experience, the credit card has never been necessary to pick up the tickets. All you need is the 14-digit number (you don't even need the printout - though the barcode saves you 10 seconds of time) and the identification document. Moreover, when you pick up the ticket from a ticket machine, the machine cannot verify the identification document itself - so you only need the number (when you print the receipt, the document number will be shuffled so it's secure).

But on the other hand, my CC has 3-D Secure enabled. That may make difference if yours does not.

O.K., I'm glad it is as you say. I think my CC does have some kind of additional security but I'll be sure if it works when I use it, that is next week.
Now, if I can grab your hand:-) - do you have any experiance with buying train tickets for the Ulan Bator - Beijing part of the Trans Mongolian route? rzd site doesn't allow to buy them on-line. Any Mongolian agency maybe?

do you have any experiance with buying train tickets for the Ulan Bator - Beijing part of the Trans Mongolian route? rzd site doesn't allow to buy them on-line. Any Mongolian agency maybe?No, unfortunately I don'n.

No, unfortunately I don'n.

Thanks anyway:-)

One more question (probably a stupid one:-) for homeboy; it's about the form of the identification document's (passport) number. In my passport it begins with a letter P, followed with numbers. Do I write just numbers or the whole series including "P"?

Do I write just numbers or the whole series including "P"?Well, I don't think there is a formal policy on this.

I'll have to decide then. Thanks, homelyboy.