Public transport in Russia

You do not need to know the Russian language to travel around Russia. Moreover, you do not even need a car to travel here.

Public transport in Russia

Even if you want to drive in Russia we do really recommend you to use public transport because there are a lot of difficult driving rules and traffic jams.

Public transport in Russia is really widespread, so big cities like Moscow and Saint Petersburg are full with bus routes, metro stations, and tram ways. In fact, Moscow has 19 million trips on public transport on an average weekday. The second one is the railway there.

Public transport apps in Russia

If we are talking about the route maps and road planning Russia offers a lot of apps loke this:

Citymapper includes the underground, bus, tram, trains and minibuses in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. This app is available for Android phones and on iOS.

Google maps is the second one road planning app and it works everywhere in Russia. This app is available for Android phones and on iOS.

Yandex is the biggest Russian-language search engine, Yandex Maps is the biggest app to find public transport in Russia, and Yandex Taxi is the greatest app to find a taxi in over 300 Russian cities.

RZD for Passengers is the fourth app for train travelers. This app is available for Android phones and on iOS.

Trains in Russia

The world’s largest country boasts 85,555 kilometers of track, carrying millions of passengers annually from everywhere between Moscow and Vladivostok.

Russian Railways or RZD, RZHD is the national railway company in Russia. It is owned by the government. It controls over passenger services, freight, and infrastructure. It offers high-speed and intercity trains and has many commuter rail networks across Russia.

It is considered to be a good experience to take a train in Russia. It is also a well-known that 98% of Russian trains normally arrive within five minutes of the scheduled time in 2019. RZD has renewed its rolling stock across the country in recent years. Thus, only the suburban services run with old trains.

Train routes in Russia

A city-center for Russian Railways is Moscow. So, Moscow contains nine railway terminals:

Belorusskaya (Белорусский вокзал): west and southwest services towards Smolensk (Смоленск) and Kaliningrad (Калининград). International routes to Belarus;

Kazansky (Казанский вокзал): southeastern services towards Ryazan (Рязань) and Kazan (Казань). International routes to Abkhazia and Crimea;

Kiyevsky (Киевский вокзал): southwestern services towards Bryansk (Брянск);

Kursky (Курский вокзал): southwestern services towards Kursk (Курск) and eastern services towards Nizhny Novgorod;

Leningradsky (Ленинградский вокзал): northwestern services towards Saint Petersburg;

Paveletsky (Павелецкий вокзал): southern services towards Volgograd (Волгогра́д) and Voronezh (Воронеж);

Rizhsky (Рижский вокзал): western services towards Velikiye Luki (Вели́кие Лу́ки). International routes to Latvia;

Savyolovsky (Савёловский вокзал): suburban services;

Yaroslavsky (Ярославский вокзал): eastern services, including the famous Trans-Siberian Railway.

Types of trains in Russia

There are some types of trains in Russia like high-speed routes, branded trains, and suburban rails.

When it comes to the high-speed routes RZD offers the following ones:

allegro: Saint Petersburg – Helsinki;

lastochka: Saint Petersburg – Nizhny Novgorod (Нижний Новгород);

sapsan: Moscow – Saint Petersburg (Санкт-Петербург);

strizh: Moscow – Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow – Berlin, Saint Petersburg – Samara (Самара).

In addition to high-speed trains, Russian long-distance railway routes also have a number and sometimes an official name, which makes the booking process a little easier.

There are over 82 branded trains in Russia. Each of them has a name inspired from classic literature to birds. Normally these trains run for the long-distances meaning 12 hours and more. So, they offer everything for a good sleep. Moreover, they are very comfortable and should be not older than 12 years.

These trains are split into some sections onboard:

VIP suites (Люкс);

first-class sleeper carriages (СВ);

Picture of first-class sleeper carriages

second-class compartment carriages (Купейные);

Picture of second-class compartment carriages

third-class open-plan carriages (Плацкартные);

Picture of third-class open-plan carriages

seated carriages (С местами для сидения).

Unbranded trains use the same routes like branded trains but at a lower cost. But they are older, have fewer services and do not have English-speaking staff.

Suburban trains in Russia

Fortunately, there are a lot of suburban trains in Russia that go deep into the suburbs and beyond. The periphery of Russia’s largest cities offers an elektrichka like a train that serves suburban or commuter routes.

In common, there are 25 railway companies operating suburban train routes. These companies totally include the following:

East Siberian Railway (Восточно-Сибирская железная дорога);

Far Eastern Railway (Дальневосточная железная дорога);

Gorky Railway (Горьковская железная дорога);

Kaliningrad Railway (Калининградская железная дорога);

Krasnoyarsk Railway (Красноярская железная дорога);

Kuybyshev Railway (Куйбышевская железная дорога);

Moscow Railway (Московская железная дорога);

North Caucasus Railway (Северо-Кавказская железная дорога);

Northern Railway (Северная железная дорога);

October Railway (Октябрьская железная дорога);

Privolzhskaya Railway (Приволжская железная дорога);

Southeastern Railway (Юго-Восточная железная дорога);

South Urals Railway (Южно-Уральская железная дорога);

Sverdlovsk Railway (Свердловская железная дорога);

Trans-Baikal Railway (Забайкальская железная дорога);

West Siberian Railway (Западно-Сибирская железная дорога).

They provide all of the relevant information relating to routes, timetables, and fares.

Underground in Russia

In Russia 7 cities have a metro network:

Kazan Metro (Казанский метрополитен);

Moscow Metro (Московский метрополитен);

Nizhny Novgorod Metro (Нижегородское метро);

Novosibirsk Metro (Новосибирский метрополитен);

Saint Petersburg Metro (Петербургский метрополитен);

Samara Metro (Самарское Метро);

Yekaterinburg Metro (Екатеринбургский Метрополитен).

Metro stations can be huge, sprawling complexes with multiple interchanges and dozens of exits. So, a lot of tourists over the past decade have led to greatest improvements to wayfinding for people who can’t read Russian. Station names, bus connections, or exits are often in both Cyrillic and Latin scripts. Ticket machines also have multilingual interfaces.

Russia’s old metro networks were built deep underground, primarily for geological reasons and to minimize disruption at street level. The stations are designed lavishly, earning them the nickname of palaces for the people. As a result, many of Russia’s metro networks are not just convenient ways to get around the city; they are also accessible tourist attractions.

Train tickets in Russia

Most of all, RZD release tickets for sale before the departure in 45 days, 60 days, and 90 days. You can get the tickets on the Russian Railway website, at ticket window at the train station, or through the RZD for passengers mobile app.

Train tickets in Russia may be several types like paper tickets, e-tickets, or e-registration. Paper tickets contain the information about your departure, arrival, and travel group. E-tickets are more like vouchers because they are sent to your email address after completing payment and can be used to collect your tickets at the train stain.

E-registration contains digital tickets, so you will need your phone and passport to board the train.

If we are talking about the urban trains in Russia, a few cities have contactless smart cards for ticket purchases. These things include the Troika card in Moscow and Podorozhnik in Saint Petersburg.

Russia has one of the most extensive railway networks in the world. Therefore, Russian Railways has a searchable online timetable in English, so you can find itineraries with the English-language names of cities in the Latin alphabet.

International trains in Russia

Russia has border with 14 various countries, so you can always catch a train across the border.

Russian Railways have connections with the following countries:

Belarus;

Kazakhstan;

Kyrgyzstan;

Mongolia;

Tajikistan;

Uzbekistan.

A list of countries that are no longer accessible by rail from Russia:

Austria;

China;

Czechia;

Estonia;

Finland;

France;

Germany;

Italy;

Latvia;

Lithuania;

Mongolia;

North Korea;
Poland.

When it comes to the international journeys, tickets are no longer available online from the English-language website of Russian Railways and they require to be bought in person. Please check your ticket office in Russia for more details.

Buses in Russia

Public transport in Russia has no public authority and buses are run by a public transportation at the municipal or federal level. In Russia public bus transport is owned by the government locally or regionally. Here is a list of bus companies in Russia:

Chelyabinsk (Челябинск): Obshchestvennyy Gorodskoy Transport;

Kazan (Казань): Transportnyy Goroda Kazani (Транспортный города Казани);

Moscow: Mosgortrans (Мосгортранс);

Nizhny Novgorod: Nizhegorodpassazhiravtotrans;

Novosibirsk (Новосибирск): GorElektroTransport and Novosibirsk Avtobus;

Omsk (Омск): Omskiy Avtobus;

Rostov-on-Don (Ростов-на-Дону): various companies with no central authority or service provider;

Saint Petersburg: Gorelektrotrans and Passazhiravtotrans;

Samara: SamaraAvtoGAZ;

Yekaterinburg (Екатеринбург): Gortrans.

There is no set system of fares for bus transportation in Russia. Some cities have a single fare regardless of the mode of transport; others have bus-specific or even route-specific prices.

Payment methods also vary. For example, Moscow encourages contactless payment with a bank card or smartphone, while other cities strictly require cash.

Taking a marshrutka or taxi in Russia

It is commonly accepted that countries in the Soviet Union have a lot of marshrutka. It is normally a large van or minibus that is similar to the other forms of public transport. Marshrutki have the special routes and run by private companies. Sometimes marshrutki stop only at bus stops and there is a difference between a public bus and marshrutka. In smaller cities far away from the capital, marshrutki stop whenever someone flags them down or if a passenger requests it. Taking marshrutka in the small towns may be a bad experience if you do not speak Russian very well.

If you are interested in conventional taxis there are a lot of options like this in Russia. It is so simple to flag down a taxi from the street. If you want to be alone in a cab without the additional passengers just tell it to the taxidriver and your request will be fulfilled.

If you speak Russian not so good then you can order a taxi from the apps like these:

Yandex Taxi (in Russian);
Gett (in Russian);

Taxovichkof.

Long-distance coaches in Russia

Every city in Russia not always has a good transport connection to others by train. But each city and town in Russia has a bus station. A Russian word autovokzal means a bus station in the central part of the city and town. They offer journeys up to 6 hours in length.

Although a bus is not always a good option as the train. Its network is totally efficient and even covers distances of over 2000 kilometers. We do really advise you to take train more because there you may get access to a bed, bathroom and a place to make a cup of tea.

To get to know about your ticket price please check with your local operator or with a third-party website such as Busradar.

Airports in Russia

Russia is the biggest country in the world, so it offers many domestic flights . The longest routes in Russia include the eight-hour journey from Moscow to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

The busiest airports in Russia are:

Sheremetyevo International Airport (Международный аэропорт Шереметьево) in Moscow;

Domodedovo International Airport (Московский аэропорт Домодедово) in Moscow;

Vnukovo International Airport (Международный аэропорт Внуково) in Moscow;

Pulkovo Airport (Аэропорт Пулково) in Saint Petersburg;

Sochi International Airport (Международный Аэропорт Сочи) in Sochi.

Aeroflot and Rossiya are owned by the government and the biggest domestic airlines where the most well-known private airlines like S7 Airlines and Utair.

For now, there is a plenty of flights going through Russia. When it comes to the famous international airlines are Turkish Airlines, Uzbekistan Airways, and Belavia.

Please remember that if you want to travel from a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States, you do not need a visa to travel to Russia. But if you want to travel from elsewhere you need a Russian visa to enter the country.

Public transportation discounts in Russia

It was invented from the Russian railway that you may get bonus points called RZD Bonus. You may collect points with the card by entering the card details when buying train tickets and change them later for discounts on tickets.

When it comes to the international journeys RZD offers a plenty of discounts. You can find them for kids, groups, and those booking in advance.

Urban public transport providers in Russia offer discounts that are available for groups and different depending on the city. For example, Moscow gives passes for students or those receiving social benefits and Saint Petersburg gives passes for commuters. Please check your information on discounts with your municipality or local public transportation authority in Russia.

How disability-accessible is public transportation in Russia?

For those taking the train, Russian Railways has a Mobility Assistance Center that you can reach by phone 24 hours a day. Despite the longer opening hours, assistance requests must be in advance and the schedule depends on the nature of your request:

at least one day before departure: for support at the station (e.g., between the platform and a vehicle outside of the station);
at least three days before departure: for reservations on long-distance or high-speed trains;
more than 14 days before departure: for reservations for services that are not usually accompanied by available carriages. Such requests require more time, as Russian Railways employees ensure that an available carriage is added to the train.

Russian Railways are careful to note that their mobility support staff are not medical professionals.

Other ways of public transport in Russia are generally less developed when it comes to accessibility. For instance, Moscow’s famous metro network is largely inaccessible to those with mobility issues. Buses and trolleybuses, on the other hand, usually have either step-free access or a ramp to ensure everyone can board.

How environmentally friendly is public transportation in Russia?

Public transportation in Russia is quite poor when it comes to the environment. A national Russian economy strongly depends on heavy industry, water pollution in Russia is so high and drivers do not want to switch to electric vehicles. There are still a lot of drivers in the big cities like Moscow and Saint Petersburg despite the massive improvements to bus timetables and local infrastructure.

Electric vehicles are quite common among Russia’s public transportation fleets, especially in larger urban centers. Moscow alone has over 1,000 electric buses, one of the largest electric bus fleets in Europe. The capital is aiming to have a completely electric bus fleet by 2030.

Many Russian cities have tram networks or trolleybuses that draw electricity from overhead power lines. Local trains are also low-emission; Elektrichka trains are almost always electrical multiple-unit trains and have been for over a century.

Useful links: