pred02

Hi,
I need to take a train from St. Petersburg to Moscow at the end of November. I will either take a night train (9 hours) or an express train (4.5 hours). I am travelling alone and will have one regular piece of luggage plus one carryon style piece of luggage.

I am wondering what the recommendations are between the night and the express train. The drawback of the express train is that it leaves early in the morning so I might have to taxi it to the station, however the plus is that I presume its faster and safer than a night train.

How safe are the night trains? When travelling in company I usually get a sleeper car but now sharing a sleeper car (3 sleepers) with people I don't know is kind of weird. Also I don't know for documents, cameras, etc I easily doze off.

Not that this is a phobia that has to do with anything in Russia - I am just making assumptions knowing what the trains are like in Serbia.

Thanks!

apoivre

Night trains are absolutely fine. I shared a compartment with 3 strangers many, many times and never felt threatened.

If you can sleep on the train and/or have to pay exorbitant sums for hotels at either end of the line - absolutely go for the night train. Even the cheapest ones - i.e. those that originate or end elsewhere and only pass through Moscow or StPete en route - would be perfectly acceptable.

Oh, and by the way - the fast express train leaves in the afternoon. I can't think of any departing in the morning... Which one do you mean?

luitje

Both options are fine and equally safe (though I would have gone for the first class ticket on a night train and standard class on the express). If you opt for a night train, I'd recommend the Red Arrow service (trains number 001 and 002). THey are quite cozy and pretty historic - I reckon there's a story on this service in Wikipedia.
Shame you are travelling in November. I reckon they'll be launching a new express train to St. Pete in mid December (under 4 hours) with departures at 7 am, 2 pm and 7 pm.
G'luck with your travel!

apoivre

If the OP is wary of having to put up with 3 strangers, they probably wouldn't want to lock themselves up for the night with one. (All the 1st class compartments are 2-bed and how can one be sure of having one to himself short of paying for both seats or booking within 1 hour of departure when you get seats out of the last-minute/VIP quota?)

dcmike

I like the daytime express trains (especially the Alexandr Nevsky). I've done the night trains gobs and gobs of times and here are my issues:

1) In the winter, the compartments are kept boiling hot and there is no way for you to adjust the temperature.

2) While I sleep great while the train is moving, the overnight trains all have stops in the middle of nowhere where they sit for 20-30 minutes. This always causes me to wake with a start, then sit there unable to get back to sleep as you can hear the coughing a wheezing of everyone in your wagon (not just your compartment).

If a morning express starts in December this would be awesome. My only beef with the expresses right now is their times.

pred02

You are right it seems that this one does not depart on Sunday. I will be taking the 12:40 or the 1:40 but according to my friend it is sold out on the Nov 29th (can't believe Russians book that much in advance).

The real question is should I do 2nd class or platzkart. Platzkart seems temping but I am afraid I am going to regret it.

magiciansampras

Don't be cheap, go with the good cabin.

Xyzzy

I've not experienced this (or perhaps I just slept through it) ...except once when we stopped in Tver due to signal issues and the AC stopped working (it only works when the train is moving).

If you choose an overnight train, I'd suggest the Red Arrow -- make sure to listen to the music they play on the platform as the train pulls out of the station!

NG1Fan

Our firm has offices in Moscow and St Petersburg, so for the regular trip, we've done just about every variation including:
-driving. Not recommended.
-flying: from VKO to LED in a Yak-40 (slooooooow), flying from SVO-LED (hassle)
-overnight train (Red Arrow, my supplier and I scored a disabled cabin for two) since we were both foreigners
-that super luxury overnight train (business partner and I) in the biggest cabin with own bathroom with shower and roomservice. Bit steep at USD1,100 for two.
-Express train (left at 18.00, arrived at 22.30).

The Express Train is the way to go. Fast enough, arrives at a reasonable time to make it to the hotel etc.

As for safety, well, I personally never had any problems. But we had five staffers on that infamous train that derailed at 200km/h (due to suspected bomb). Luckily, nobody was injured.

NG1Fan

pred02

I read rave things about this train but it's a bit over my budget as I am unemployed and traveling for leisure. My friend booked me a KUPE on the overnight train for $48 I think it's going to be ok, it's nice that it spares a night of lodging as well I will get into Moscow early in the morning and make my way slowly to the hotel.

kahuna613

I also have taken the Red Arrow (Krasnaya Strela)...I think it may be the nicest regular sleeper train but its nothing super special. I would take it again. I don't recall it being significantly more expensive than the others though. You have to pay for sheets though...beware.

Romelle

I'd suggest planning your wait time at the Saint Petersburg train depot. It is huge and interesting and even has a small grocery store and lockers.

HOWEVER, the ladies' room is a pay-per-use, and was the only floor level facility I encountered in Russia. Not the high point in my trip. That visit would be best done elsewhere before you get to the depot. Don't know about the men's facilities.

Romelle

I did love the train trip though. Slept well, had polite, considerate and helpful roommates, and a really lovely cabin. The Red Arrow was booked, but it was the other low number one - #3 I think.

KathyWdrf

"Floor level facility?"

Do you perhaps mean hole-in-the-ground toilets?

KathyWdrf

Here are a couple of other (recent) threads on the Moscow - St. Petersburg train route:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/russi...ght-train.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/russi...w-st-pete.html

KathyWdrf

That's terrible! Your staffers may not have been physically injured (much), but watch out for possible psychological trauma. An occurrence like that can really haunt someone for a long time.

(I'm assuming you mean the train bombing that occurred just 2 - 3 days ago.)

In browsing through past threads on this forum, I found there was another such incident on that line just a little over two years ago (August 2007). Rather scary.