High speed train to berlin. International routes. Border crossing. Customs and passport control
Many do not understand why buy train tickets to Berlin and spend 20 hours on the road, when you can fly to the German capital in about 2.5-3 hours by plane for the same money. I'll try to explain.
1. This Saturday, December 17, Russian Railways launched the Strizh fast train on the Moscow-Berlin route. The translation of the name was done simply - in Russia it is "Strizh", abroad - Strizh. The composition looks the same as the one that now goes to Nizhny Novgorod. But this is only at first glance.
2. Alas, one cannot be happy for the Russian manufacturer and say that Strizh is the brainchild of the Tver Carriage Works or the Ural locomotives. The train is a project of the Spanish Talgo 250 adapted to Russian climatic conditions, which is successfully used on the railways of Europe, and even in Kazakhstan. The more I studied the train, the more I realized how different it was from our classic long-distance trains.
3. The first thing that catches your eye is that the cars are much shorter and lower. The length of one carriage is only 13 meters: two times less than our native Russian one.
4. All equipment for the operation of the train is not hidden under the floor, as is usually the case, but in two technical wagons. They are at the beginning and at the end of the train. Short, lightweight wagon bodies, made primarily from aluminum alloys, lower the center of gravity. There are no familiar wheeled carts here either. For the entire train of 20 cars, there are 21 wheeled bogies, with independent rotation of the wheels on their own axle shafts. That is, each car has only 1 (one, Karl!) wheelset.
5. Actually, here is the picture. Wheeled bogies are located under the wagon articulations. It turns out that on the one hand the car rests on its wheelset, and on the other hand, on the wheelset of the next car. Due to all this, the cars can go through difficult sections and curves faster, and the impact on the track is much less than with conventional bogies.
6. An ingenious linkage system turns the bogie around in corners. This minimizes side loads on the wheels and reduces wear on the flange against the rails.
7. To avoid ice in the Russian climate, the wheels are blown with warm air (about 38 degrees).
8. During the reconstruction of the Moscow-Kyiv depot, three separate tracks were equipped specifically for servicing the Swifts. In the photo - a turning device that allows you to repair wheels without dismantling the bogies.
This is the first train in Russia equipped with a system for automatically changing the width of wheelsets. A transfer device was created especially for this train in Brest. Thus, Strizh will switch from the Russian standard gauge of 1520 millimeters to the European 1435 millimeters in just 20 minutes. Previously, this procedure took about two hours.
By the way, there is a widespread opinion that when choosing the gauge in Russia, the military aspect also played a role - a gauge different from the European one would make it difficult for a hypothetical enemy to supply troops in the event of an invasion of Russia.
In fact, most likely they didn’t seriously think about anything like that from the very beginning, but simply chose one of the models that existed in those years, which was then popular in the USA. The military significance of the gauge difference today is not very large - already in the middle of the 20th century, railway troops could easily change from 10 to 30 kilometers of road per day. The gauge was not of particular importance, and because the retreating troops since the First World War often destroyed the tracks behind them. To supply the advancing troops on enemy territory, special temporary narrow-gauge railways were often built.
In Brest, border guards did not let anyone out of the train and carried out a document check right on the move. Therefore, I did not manage to remove the process of changing the gauge of the composition. For those who are interested, I recommend watching Sasha's report on this topic. russo http://russos.livejournal.com/1355962.html
9. The photo shows that the Strizh cars are almost a third lower than our two-system electric locomotive EP20. The height of the platform for the Swift is two times less than the standard ones. The first and last carriages of the train are technical - there are no passengers in them, only equipment.
10. In the technical wagons there are all the systems that provide life support, safety and fire fighting, communication of this train, and so on. A diesel generator, an air compressor, air purification and heating systems are installed here. Two generators operate regularly, but in the event of a breakdown, even one will be able to supply the entire train with electricity. The stock of diesel fuel is enough for up to 15 hours of operation in winter and up to 30 in summer. It all depends on the outside temperature. It looks very neat and even somewhat futuristic.
11. Passenger cars look no less cosmic.
12. The entire train has a through passage, while the euro size imposes its own restrictions - all the corridors are narrower than those of "us", and it will be difficult for two full people to disperse. In the photo at the end of the corridor there is a folding chair and a table. Yes, this is the conductor's seat. He no longer has his compartment, where he could always buy a chocolate bar "Alenka" and order tea.
13. Every second car has a cooler with hot and cold water.
14. Options for the layout of train cars.
15. Standard coupe. Recumbent shelves are hidden in the niches of the walls. To the right in the background is a ladder to climb up. On the shelf above - folding tables for each chair. Tickets in such a compartment cost from 10,000 rubles.
16. View from the other side.
17. If in the unfolded state of the shelves such a compartment resembles our Russian trains, then the similarity ends there.
18. Instead of the usual table - a sink with a tap!
19. Sit-down car, the cheapest travel option - from 9,000 rubles per seat. Pull-out tables from the armrest, individual sockets, normal distance between the seats, footrests, coat hooks - the equipment is excellent.
20. The seats are comfortable, like business class on a plane, but sitting for 20 hours is cool. In fact, these places are intended primarily for those who will travel between Belarus, Warsaw and Berlin for distances covered in 3-6 hours.
21. Double SV. It was in this "number" that I rode all the way to Berlin. The ticket cost 17,000 rubles - both places are redeemed for this money at once, and you travel alone. Traveling with a neighbor costs about 13,000 rubles per seat.
22. Plane or space shuttle, but not a train)
23. The NE also has its own sink.
24. Option with unfolded beds. An interesting feature: if everyone can lay out the bed, then only an athlete can slam the shelf back into the wall. It takes a lot of effort to crumple the pillow with the blanket, and the shelf went into place.
But it's a perfect bed. Wide and long, moderately hard, just the way I like it. With my height of 178, my legs and arms did not rest on anything.
But it turned out to be cramped to ride sitting with the beds unfolded - the head rests on the top shelf. Therefore, either lie on the beds, or fold the shelves and ride while sitting in chairs. I used a folding ladder as a table for a laptop.
25. And this is a family coupe, with a rather strange layout solution. These are two standard SVs, with an additional common door (on the right in the photo).
26. For all the listed classes, there is one bathroom in each carriage. It is quite enough, because the cars are small, there are not many people. Especially since everyone has their own shells.
27. But that's not all. There are even cooler places - these are luxury cars, where each "room" has its own toilet and shower!
28. Voila. No wonder a ticket in a suite costs the same as a business class flight to Berlin: 30,000 per person or 50,000 for the entire compartment.
29. In addition to a separate cabin with a shower, the suite differs from the SV in the presence of a TV and a safe. There is also a small table here. Just a table, not a sink.
30. Let's look at the details a little. Stopcock, glass breaker, loudspeaker and air conditioning regulator. It is worth noting that on this train I completely forgot about the word "stuffy". The air exchange system worked perfectly, so I slept well at night.
31. The sink, although small, is enough to wash, wash fruits / vegetables.
32. Hidden under the sink was a microtrash bin the size of three volumes of War and Peace.
33. Side niche with 4 hangers for outerwear and a spacious luggage rack, in the corner of which there are folding tables.
34. The decision is controversial, since with the table installed, it will not work to get up or sit in a chair. Personally, I took it out only to take a photo.
35. It looks like a spacious compartment for passengers with disabilities.
36. Behind the door - a giant bathroom with a shower, sink and toilet.
37. And finally, the main party places of the train: the dining car and the bar car)
38. In one car there are seats with tables, in the other there is a kitchen and a bar counter.
39. The train will run twice a week, departing from the Kursk station in Moscow on Saturdays and Sundays at 13:05 and arriving at the Berlin Ostbahnhof station at 07:19 the next day local time.
I listened for a long time to the speech of the reporter, but he kept getting lost and talking some kind of nonsense. Then it turned out that he spoke Polish)
40. Now a few words about the trip itself and its rationality. Why take a train to Berlin for 20 hours, when for the same money you can fly by plane many times faster? The question is good, but in fact, a situation can easily arise when such a trip is justified. Imagine that I am once again going to shoot the Innotrans railway exhibition in Germany. Getting up at 3 am, going to the airport, flying somewhere and then filming all day - thanks, no need, I've been through this more than once. In order to be ready for work in the morning and come to Messe Berlin with full strength, you need to arrive on an evening flight, check into a hotel, and sleep.
I usually get to the airport about two hours and try to arrive two hours before departure. The flight itself lasts 2.5 hours. All together, with the passage of customs control, the receipt of luggage from home to the hotel leaves at 7-8 o'clock stably. That is, in order to sleep in Berlin at midnight and go to work in the morning, you need to leave the house at 5-6 pm.
Personally, my journey from home to my compartment took 29 minutes. I left at 12:30. At the same time, there were no procedures for baggage check-in, screening, a sterile zone, waiting for boarding, and so on. I got into the car, sat down and drove off. It turns out that the loss in time is not so big, only five hours. But what goodies! And you don't have to pay for an extra night in a hotel in Berlin)
41. And in terms of comfort, a modern train is much better than an airplane, there’s nothing to say here. And there are no endless airport queues. Those who flew from Berlin or Frankfurt to Moscow will understand me.
42. Even a small flight cannot be compared in terms of the amount of running around and fuss for a minute.
44. On the train, you can chat with interesting people, hang out in a restaurant, drink tea and have a leisurely conversation. On this trip, I met a wonderful couple: Yulia and Igor. They regularly fly to Berlin to visit relatives and traveled to Germany for the first time by train. Julia said that she had been waiting for this train for three years. Launch dates have been pushed back all the time. She called and wrote letters to Russian Railways asking when the train would be launched. Official answers came that the train was being tested, that every effort was being made to launch the new train as soon as possible. And so Julia waited for the first flight)
45. We talked: “We are always in a hurry somewhere, running. We don’t allow ourselves pauses. We don’t have time to be alone with ourselves, with our loved one. Sit in silence, think about something. Look out the window. the plane is more like teleportation, and often the flight itself takes less time than the pre-flight procedures, and the train ride is a real journey.We also ordered a kitchen service in Germany, in Moscow it costs 6 times more. home service is safe, if not by train?"
46. I thought about it. In the meantime, Russian pastorals flashed past the window.
47. The restaurant car was not empty the whole trip. At the same time, the audience was completely different. From businessmen with expensive watches to guys in flip flops and sleeping pajamas. I asked several visitors why they chose the train. Someone wanted to relax on the road, getting to Berlin without the fuss of airports. Someone had to carry a lot of luggage. Two said they always traveled by train and saw no reason to change their habits. The first flight was full to capacity - all tickets were bought out a couple of weeks before departure.
48. I managed to taste the local cuisine several times, and was completely delighted. The only nuance of the first train was that the restaurant did not have time to debug the card payment system. I had only 500 rubles, which I exchanged for borscht. And then I had to look for kind people who changed 50 euros for me for rubles. Otherwise, I would have to starve to Berlin, or look for homeless packages in stalls at short stops in Orsha or Brest)
49. If you are interested in seeing the menu and prices, click on the photo.
50. During the inspection of the train, lunch and conversations, the time flew by quickly. In the evening we were already at the Minsk railway station.
51. The declared Wi-Fi worked, but did not let me on the Internet. There was another reason to take a break from work and the network. I watched movies and talked with Igor and Yulia.
52. Among the shortcomings of the trip, I would like to note the slow passage of the Polish border. The Byelorussians let us through quickly, while the Poles stumbled and delayed the train for an hour. As a result, we managed to go to bed only after passport control at 2 am. Due to a delay in Berlin, we arrived 30 minutes late. It is clear that with the running of the train, these processes will be debugged, optimized and improved. And I didn’t even notice the process of changing the gauge.
At 7:40 on Sunday I was standing on the platform of the Ostbahnhov station. A reagent with marble chips was scattered underfoot. The police escorted away the foul-smelling and staggering bum. Some gopniks with broken and drunken faces tried to talk to me. As if he never left Moscow)
Well, would you like to ride on this?
Dmitry Chistoprudov, Vostok photo agency. For filming inquiries please email
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From other cities: The price of a train ticket in a compartment car is about 11,747 rubles.
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The branded train Strizh / Swift offers passengers an increased level of comfort and service.
Many do not understand why buy train tickets to Berlin and spend 20 hours on the road, when you can fly to the German capital in about 2.5-3 hours by plane for the same money. I'll try to explain.
1. On December 17, Russian Railways launched the Strizh fast train on the Moscow-Berlin route. The translation of the name was done simply - in Russia it is "Strizh", abroad - Strizh. The composition looks the same as the one that now goes to Nizhny Novgorod. But this is only at first glance.
2. Alas, one cannot be happy for the Russian manufacturer and say that Strizh is the brainchild of the Tver Carriage Works or the Ural locomotives. The train is a project of the Spanish Talgo 250 adapted to Russian climatic conditions, which is successfully used on the railways of Europe, and even in Kazakhstan. The more I studied the train, the more I realized how different it was from our classic long-distance trains.
3. The first thing that catches your eye is that the cars are much shorter and lower. The length of one carriage is only 13 meters: two times less than our native Russian one.
4. All equipment for the operation of the train is not hidden under the floor, as is usually the case, but in two technical wagons. They are at the beginning and at the end of the train. Short, lightweight wagon bodies, made primarily from aluminum alloys, lower the center of gravity. There are no familiar wheeled carts here either. For the entire train of 20 cars, there are 21 wheeled bogies, with independent rotation of the wheels on their own axle shafts. That is, each car has only 1 (one, Karl!) wheelset.
5. Wheeled bogies are located under the car articulations. It turns out that on the one hand the car rests on its wheelset, and on the other hand, on the wheelset of the next car. Due to all this, the cars can go through difficult sections and curves faster, and the impact on the track is much less than with conventional bogies.
An ingenious linkage system turns the bogie around in corners. This minimizes side loads on the wheels and reduces wear on the flange against the rails.
6. To avoid ice in the conditions of the Russian climate, the wheels are blown with warm air (about 38 degrees).
7. During the reconstruction of the Moscow-Kyiv depot, three separate tracks were equipped specifically for servicing the Swifts. In the photo - a turning device that allows you to repair wheels without dismantling the bogies.
This is the first train in Russia equipped with a system for automatically changing the width of wheelsets. A transfer device was created especially for this train in Brest. Thus, Strizh will switch from the Russian standard gauge of 1520 millimeters to the European 1435 millimeters in just 20 minutes. Previously, this procedure took about two hours.
8. By the way, there is a widespread opinion that when choosing the gauge in Russia, the military aspect also played a role - a gauge different from the European one would make it difficult for a hypothetical enemy to supply troops in the event of an invasion of Russia.
In fact, most likely they didn’t seriously think about anything like that from the very beginning, but simply chose one of the models that existed in those years, which was then popular in the USA. The military significance of the gauge difference today is not very large - already in the middle of the 20th century, railway troops could easily change from 10 to 30 kilometers of road per day. The gauge was not of particular importance, and because the retreating troops since the First World War often destroyed the tracks behind them. To supply the advancing troops on enemy territory, special temporary narrow-gauge railways were often built.
The photo shows that the Strizh cars are almost a third lower than our two-system electric locomotive EP20. The height of the platform for the Swift is two times less than the standard ones. The first and last carriages of the train are technical - there are no passengers in them, only equipment.
9. In technical wagons there are all systems that provide life support, safety and fire fighting, communication of this train, and so on. A diesel generator, an air compressor, air purification and heating systems are installed here. Two generators operate regularly, but in the event of a breakdown, even one will be able to supply the entire train with electricity. The stock of diesel fuel is enough for up to 15 hours of operation in winter and up to 30 in summer. It all depends on the outside temperature. It looks very neat and even somewhat futuristic.
10. Passenger cars look no less cosmic.
11. The entire train has a through passage, while the euro size imposes its own restrictions - all the corridors are narrower than those of “us”, and it will be difficult for two full people to disperse. In the photo at the end of the corridor there is a folding chair and a table. Yes, this is the conductor's seat. He no longer has his compartment, where he could always buy a chocolate bar "Alenka" and order tea.
12. Standard coupe. Recumbent shelves are hidden in the niches of the walls. To the right in the background is a ladder to climb up. On the shelf above - folding tables for each chair. Tickets in such a compartment cost from 10,000 rubles.
13. View from the other side.
14. If in the unfolded state of the shelves such a compartment resembles our Russian trains, then the similarity ends there.
15. Instead of the usual table - a sink with a tap!
16. Sit-down car, the cheapest travel option - from 9,000 rubles per seat. Pull-out tables from the armrest, individual sockets, normal distance between the seats, footrests, coat hooks - the equipment is excellent.
17. The seats are comfortable, like business class on a plane, but sitting for 20 hours is cool. In fact, these places are intended primarily for those who will travel between Belarus, Warsaw and Berlin for distances covered in 3-6 hours.
18. Double SV. It was in this "number" that I rode all the way to Berlin. The ticket cost 17,000 rubles - both places are redeemed for this money at once, and you travel alone. Traveling with a neighbor costs about 13,000 rubles per seat.
19. NE also has its own sink.
20. Option with unfolded beds. An interesting feature: if everyone can lay out the bed, then only an athlete can slam the shelf back into the wall. It takes a lot of effort to crumple the pillow with the blanket, and the shelf went into place. But it's a perfect bed. Wide and long, moderately hard, just the way I like it. With my height of 178, my legs and arms did not rest on anything.
But it turned out to be cramped to ride sitting with the beds unfolded - the head rests on the top shelf. Therefore, either lie on the beds, or fold the shelves and ride while sitting in chairs. I used a folding ladder as a table for a laptop.
21. And this is a family coupe, with a rather strange layout solution. These are two standard SVs, with an additional common door (on the right in the photo).
22. For all the listed classes, there is one bathroom in each carriage. It is quite enough, because the cars are small, there are not many people. Especially since everyone has their own shells. But that is not all. There are even cooler places - these are luxury cars, where each "room" has its own toilet and shower!
23. Voila. No wonder a ticket in a suite costs the same as a business class flight to Berlin: 30,000 per person or 50,000 for the entire compartment.
24. In addition to a separate cabin with a shower, the suite differs from the SV in the presence of a TV and a safe. There is also a small table here. Just a table, not a sink.
25. Let's look at the details a little. Stopcock, glass breaker, loudspeaker and air conditioning regulator. It is worth noting that on this train I completely forgot about the word “stuffy”. The air exchange system worked perfectly, so I slept well at night.
26. The sink, although small, is enough to wash, wash fruits / vegetables.
27. Hidden under the sink was a microtrash bin the size of three volumes of War and Peace.
28. Side niche with 4 hangers for outerwear and a spacious luggage rack, in the corner of which there are folding tables.
29. The decision is controversial, since with the table installed, it will not work to get up or sit in a chair. Personally, I took it out only to take a photo.
30. It looks like a spacious compartment for passengers with disabilities.
31. Behind the door is a giant bathroom with a shower, sink and toilet.
32. And finally, the main party places of the train are the dining car and the bar car)
33. In one car there are seats with tables, in the other there is a kitchen and a bar counter.
34. The train will run twice a week, departing from the Kursk station in Moscow on Saturdays and Sundays at 13:05 and arriving at the Berlin Ostbahnhof station at 07:19 the next day local time.
I listened for a long time to the speech of the reporter, but he kept getting lost and talking some kind of nonsense. Then it turned out that he spoke Polish)
35. Now a few words about the trip itself and its rationality. Why take a train to Berlin for 20 hours, when for the same money you can fly by plane many times faster? The question is good, but in fact, a situation can easily arise when such a trip is justified. Imagine that I am once again going to shoot the Innotrans railway exhibition in Germany. Getting up at 3 am, going to the airport, flying somewhere and then filming all day - thanks, no need, I've been through this more than once. In order to be ready for work in the morning and come to Messe Berlin with full strength, you need to arrive on an evening flight, check into a hotel, and sleep.
I usually get to the airport about two hours and try to arrive two hours before departure. The flight itself lasts 2.5 hours. All together, with the passage of customs control, the receipt of luggage from home to the hotel leaves at 7-8 o'clock stably. That is, in order to sleep in Berlin at midnight and go to work in the morning, you need to leave the house at 5-6 pm.
Personally, my journey from home to my compartment took 29 minutes. I left at 12:30. At the same time, there were no procedures for baggage check-in, screening, a sterile zone, waiting for boarding, and so on. I got into the car, sat down and drove off. It turns out that the loss in time is not so big, only five hours. But what goodies! And you don't have to pay for an extra night in a hotel in Berlin)
36. And in terms of comfort, a modern train is much better than an airplane, there’s nothing to say here. And there are no endless airport queues. Those who flew from Berlin or Frankfurt to Moscow will understand me.
37. Even a short flight cannot be compared in terms of the amount of running around and fuss for a minute.
39. We talked: “We are always in a hurry somewhere, we are running. We do not allow ourselves pauses. We do not have time to be alone with ourselves, with our loved one. Sit in silence, think about something. Look out the window. Flying on an airplane is more like teleportation, and often the flight itself takes less time than pre-flight procedures, and a train ride is a real journey. And we also ordered a kitchen service in Germany, in Moscow it costs 6 times more. Here's how you can bring home the service safely, if not by train?
40. The restaurant car was not empty the whole trip. At the same time, the audience was completely different. From businessmen with expensive watches to guys in flip flops and sleeping pajamas. I asked several visitors why they chose the train. Someone wanted to relax on the road, getting to Berlin without the fuss of airports. Someone had to carry a lot of luggage. Two said they always traveled by train and saw no reason to change their habits. The first flight was full to capacity - all tickets were bought out a couple of weeks before departure.
I managed to taste the local cuisine several times and was completely delighted. The only nuance of the first train was that the restaurant did not have time to debug the card payment system. I had only 500 rubles, which I exchanged for borscht. And then I had to look for kind people who changed 50 euros for me for rubles. Otherwise, I would have to starve to Berlin, or look for homeless packages in stalls at short stops in Orsha or Brest)
41. During the inspection of the train, dinner and conversations, the time flew by quickly. In the evening we were already at the Minsk railway station. The claimed Wi-Fi worked, but did not let the Internet. There was another reason to take a break from work and the network.
42. Among the shortcomings of the trip, I would like to note the slow passage of the Polish border. The Byelorussians let us through quickly, while the Poles stumbled and delayed the train for an hour. As a result, we managed to go to bed only after passport control at 2 am. Due to a delay in Berlin, we arrived 30 minutes late. It is clear that with the running of the train, these processes will be debugged, optimized and improved. And I didn’t even notice the process of changing the gauge.
At 7:40 on Sunday I was standing on the platform of the Ostbahnhov station. A reagent with marble chips was scattered underfoot. The police escorted away the foul-smelling and staggering bum. Some gopniks with broken and drunken faces tried to talk to me. As if he never left Moscow)
Online purchase in 4 minutes
Online return
skip-the-line tickets
to the cashier
Choice of favorite seats on carriage schemes
SMS support before boarding the train
Detailed answers to questions about a trip or purchase
Registration without registration on the site
FAQ
How to buy a railway ticket?
- Specify the itinerary and date. In response, we will find information from Russian Railways about the availability of tickets and their cost.
- Choose the appropriate train and place.
- Pay for the ticket using one of the suggested methods.
- Payment information will be instantly transferred to Russian Railways and your ticket will be issued.
How to return a purchased train ticket?
Can I pay for a ticket with a card? And is it safe?
Yes, sure. Payment is made through the payment gateway of the processing center Gateline.net. All data is transmitted over a secure channel.
The Gateline.net gateway was developed in accordance with the requirements of the international PCI DSS security standard. The gateway software has successfully passed the version 3.1 audit.
The Gateline.net system allows you to accept payments with Visa and MasterCard, including using 3D-Secure: Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode.
The Gateline.net payment form is optimized for various browsers and platforms, including mobile devices.
Almost all railway agencies on the Internet work through this gateway.
What is an electronic ticket and electronic registration?
Buying an electronic ticket to the site is a modern and fast way to issue a travel document without the participation of a cashier or operator.
When buying an electronic railway ticket, seats are redeemed immediately, at the time of payment.
Moscow. December 17th. site - "Russian Railways" (RZD) launched on Saturday a fast train No. 13/14 "Strizh" (Strizh) on the Moscow - Berlin route, an Interfax correspondent reports.
“The new modern train will improve comfort for passengers, increase speed and safety along the entire route,” Russian Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov said at the launch ceremony of the train. “The train has a lot of modern technologies, but the main thing is, of course, the Russian to European".
Russian Railways President Oleg Belozerov stressed that for many years the problem of a quick transition from the Russian to the European gauge could not be solved, but now with the help of new technologies it has become possible. He added that this year the international traffic of Russian Railways has grown by more than 9%.
For the first time in the history of Russia, a train is formed from cars equipped with a system for automatically changing the width of wheel sets. A transfer device was created especially for this train in Brest. Thus, from the Russian standard gauge of 1520 millimeters to the European 1435 millimeters at the Brest station "Strizh" will switch in just 20 minutes. Previously, this procedure took about two hours.
Thanks to the new train, travel time between Moscow and Berlin will be reduced by four hours. The train will cover the distance from Moscow to Berlin in 20 hours 14 minutes (until today it took 24 hours 49 minutes), and from Berlin to Moscow - 20 hours 35 minutes (before the launch of the Swift - 25 hours 56 minutes).
The train will run twice a week, departing from the Kursk station in Moscow on Saturdays and Sundays at 13:05 and arriving at the Berlin Ostbahnhof station at 07:19 the next day (local time). From Berlin (Berlin Ostbahnhof) the train will depart on Sundays and Mondays at 18:50 (local time) and arrive at Moscow's Kursk Station at 17:25.
The train will leave for the first flight from Berlin to Moscow on Sunday.
The length of the route is 1898 km. The train goes through the stations of Smolensk, Orsha, Minsk, Brest, Terespol, Warsaw, Poznan, Rzepin, Frankfurt-on-Oder. Border and customs control stations - Brest and Terespol.
The train consists of 20 cars manufactured by the Spanish company Patentes Talgo S.L. with a capacity of 216 seats, including first class carriages, compartments, SV carriages and luxury carriages. The train also includes a dining car and a buffet car. The train is capable of speeds up to 200 km/h.
For passengers of the train, there are a number of tariff offers similar to those offered on other trains in communication with European countries. So, when purchasing a ticket for all types of carriages from 60 to 45 days before the train departure, a discount of 10% is provided, and if the ticket is issued for travel on the top shelf - 5%. Special fares are provided for passengers of different age groups: from 12 to 26 years old and over 60 years old. The passenger has the right to take one child under the age of four with him free of charge, for a child under the age of 12 the ticket is issued at the children's fare.
The cost of tickets for trains from December 18 to January 13 ranges from 169.5 to 667.5 euros one way, depending on the class.
