SPBanker

First Class on Allegro Train from Helsinki to St. Petersburg and back plus a night at Kempinski Hotel Moika 22

I had to be in St. Petersburg for a function spanning some hours from late afternoon to late night, so I started to explore my travel options. I pretty soon realized that the most convenient way to get from Helsinki to St. Petersburg (at least the center, where I was going) was the new Allegro Train. Previously the 300-kilometer distance took some six hours by train, involving a change of engines at the border etc. The new train is able to operate on both Finnish and Russian rails (which have the same gauge, thanks to Finland being a Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire between 1809 and 1917) AND the electrical systems, which are not similar. Now even the immigration and customs are done on moving train, cutting the travel time to three hours and twenty-five minutes.

Usually in St. Petersburg I stay at one of the Radissons, which offer good service and reasonable rates (especially in comparison with Moscow!). For some reason this time their rates were quite high for the night I was looking for, but I found a pretty good deal for Kempinski Hotel Moika 22, €204 (pre-tax) for Superior Room with breakfast. Usually I wouldn’t look at Kempinski, as their pricing is pretty steep vis-á-vis my travel budget…

35 Allegro Helsinki - St. Petersburg
August 29, 2012, departure 10:00, arrival 14:36 (local time)
First Class, Car 1, Seat 21

I like traveling by train. Why, you may ask? Well, compared to planes there’s much more room, ability to move around, (sometimes much) less time needed for traveling to the station versus airport, and NO SECURITY CHECKS AND LINES. This time I boarded the train at Pasila station, which is five minutes from the Helsinki Central Station. I called taxi to my home at 9:25, and was at the station at 9:50. Pasila Station is a fairly depressing place, looking like someone threw together lots of concrete slabs over the rails. No matter, I took the escalator down to the platform, and pretty soon my train arrived. Car 1 was at the end of the train, consisting of six passenger cars and one for the restaurant.



Here's my train.



There were only a handful of people in the First Class car (2+1 configuration) this morning, the other cars were perhaps 75% full. Comfortable if somewhat dull-looking chairs, nice-sized tray tables. First Class passengers get a small snack and there is a station for coffee, tea and water. You can buy sodas and alcoholic drinks, and the restaurant car offers more substantial nourishment. (I didn’t try it this time, but based on the look of the stuff and some previous experiences, I hesitate to call it “food”.) The snack was actually enough for me until the dinner time.

The all-important leg room shot.



Plenty of room.



Snack.



My ITE.



Travel was quite uneventful, I was able to work (unfortunately there is no wifi). Finnish border guards did their thing very quickly, after the Russian border I had the pleasure to meet the first Russian border guard ever to tell me “Good Day” (I travel to Russia 5-6 times a year). I had to point my carry-on to the Russian customs official, and that was it. Ah yes, also had to fill the immigration card. At the airports they don’t ask you to do this anymore, I don’t what was up with that.

Hotel Druzhba ("Friendship") in Vyborg (used to be Viipuri when this was part of Finland); I actually stayed in this hotel in 1989 when it was in the Soviet Union.



We arrived exactly on time, and I took a taxi to the hotel. It was less than ten minutes’ drive, without the carry-on I would have probably walked.

Kempinski Hotel Moika 22

The hotel is very centrally located, convenient for both business and leisure travelers. When I arrived, the bellhop immediately took my carry-on and showed me to the check-in desk. Check-in was quick and friendly, and then Olga (with a badge saying TRAINEE) showed me to my room and explained about the hotel's services. Very nice! In the end I didn't use any of them, except breakfast and the lobby bar (more of that later)...

The room was of reasonable size, queen-size bed plus a sofa, chair and a low table between them. Writing desk and chair, plus a small (20"?) television mounted to the wall. I had some chocolate, fruits and two bottles of water waiting for me, a nice gesture. Bathroom had both bath and a walk-in shower. Fast and reliable wifi, for free. Some of the furniture showed a little wear and tear, plus the wall had a dent where the door handle had hit it. Since the it was actually kinda hard to pull the door all the way open, let alone so that it touched the wall, somebody had had to really lean on the door to make that mark. OK, these were all minor complaints.



Later in the evening I discovered that the hotel had turndown service.



View from the window. This is how I always imagine St. Petersburg. The real St. Petersburg.



Chocolate and fruits.



Unfortunately I had zero time for touristic stuff this time around, as I had to rush to my meetings and dinner. After the dinner I returned to the hotel around midnight and decided to smoke a cigar at the lobby bar. They had a large, although not very well stocked, humidor next to the bar. As I was puffing my stogie (Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure), nursing my G&T (Bombay Sapphire) and reading my iPad, I noticed that most other patrons had already left, as the bar closed at one. Pretty soon after this I realized that the only other people there were two ladies who were clearly checking me out. As the closing time approached, they stood up and walked to my table.
"Hey! Do you want company?"
"Uhh, well, uhh, no thank you, not this time, no thanks."
"OK, if you change your mind, we will now go to the restaurant." (Hotel's restaurant in the eight floor is open until 3 am.)
"OK..."
Heh, I can't remember when I was last time approached by a prostitute in a hotel! Must have been mid-90s and the infamous Intourist Hotel in Moscow... They were quite discrete about it all, though.

Pretty soon after this I went to bed (alone!) and slept very well.

Kempinski's breakfast was really excellent, lots of variety. The only minus was that it took a while to get my first cup of coffee. Then it was time to write some e-mails, check out and head back to the Finland Station. My train left at 11:25, so at 11:05 I took a taxi from the hotel to the station. I was in train at 11:15.

153 Allegro St. Petersburg - Helsinki
August 30, 2012, departure 11:25, arrival 14:01 (local time)
First Class, Car 1, Seat 24

Completely uneventful train ride. Which is good! Oh, this time Car 1 was at the start of the train, of course. Got the exact same snack, worked quite a bit etc. This time no "Good day" from the Russian border guard. Before I knew it, train was close to Pasila Station, again exactly in time. I was home 14:22 (says the taxi receipt).

Vyborg Castle on the way back. First parts of it were built in 1293.



Concluding thoughts: Unless I really have something to do at or around Pulkovo Airport, Allegro is such a convenient way to visit St. Petersburg that I really can't see myself flying there any time soon. No fuss, no muss. Kempinski is a nice hotel in a very good location, so if the price is right, go for it!

mallodi

Nice report! As much as I love planes, trains are really an awesome way to travel between cities.

hoyateach

FT needs more train reports. Well done.

SPBanker

Thanks! (And mallodi too!) It is almost shame that Allegro is so .. efficient. Not much mystique left. Back in the day I sometimes took Russian trains to St. Pete, they were much better in that regard. Ah, proper dining cars with white tablecloths and waiters..

blackmamba

wonderful. I love the old Russian feel to this report. I should do one for China.

CMK10

Always love to see me a good train report! Thanks for sharing.

saltytheseagull

Agreed. I enjoyed the report.

Polomarc

Nice TR, what's the average speed on the route, around 100 miles per hour or?

Palal

The top speed is 220 km/h, the average (commercial) speed from Helsinki to St. Petersburg is about 120 km/h.

SPBanker

Yes, 116 km/h to be exact. On the Russian side the top speed is currently 200 km/h.

Thanks for the compliments, everyone! Who knows, I might catch a sleeper car to Moscow some day...

Boraxo

Nice report. What's the price differential between First and ahem - the lower classes? Is the legroom intolerable in the latter?

SPBanker

Price difference depends on the day and the time of the day. Can be between €35 and €55 one way. Second class is perfectly OK, but obviously I had to try the First once.

camsean

nice TR. Thanks for posting.