Two major improvements for train travel between Helsinki, St.Petersburg and Moscow coming this year.

The Helsinki - St.Petersburg route will be upgraded to higher speeds (220km/h on the Finnish side and 200km/h on the Russian side) by end of 2010 and travel times cut from the current 5,5 hours to 3,5 hours. The target time once all the improvements and streamlined border controls are in place is 3 hours. The new trains are called Allegro and manufactured by Alstom.

And second, the new HS train, and I mean serious high speed, the Sapsan, will start operating between St.Pete and Moscow on December 18th 2010. Travel time will be 3 hours 45 minutes. Tickets for this train can also be bought from Helsinki before entering Russia. The Sapsan is based on the Siemens Velaro highspeed carriage.