High-speed electric trains "Lastochka" are a success: passengers appreciate the opportunity to quickly reach their destination with a record price-quality ratio of transportation for Russian Railways. After all, the prices for the Lastochka train are comparable to the cost of travel on a regular train, and the level of comfort is much higher. However, the question of how to buy a ticket for "Swallow" often arises: after all, tickets for this train are not produced at the suburban ticket offices.
How to buy a ticket for the Lastochka train at railway ticket offices
Despite the fact that "Lastochka" formally refers not to trains, but to electric trains, tickets for it are sold according to the same rules as for trains. Therefore, in order to issue tickets for the Lastochka, one has to contact the railway ticket offices, where tickets for long-distance trains are sold.
Ticket sales for Lastochka open 45 days before the date of travel, and a passport or child's birth certificate is required to issue travel documents.
When buying tickets, you will have the opportunity to choose a carriage and seats. The seats in the Lastochka train are located on one side of the aisle, two in a row, on the other, three. At the same time, there are seats in the carriage facing each other, therefore, if you are traveling in a company of 4-6 people and plan to communicate on the road, you can ask the cashier to find suitable seats for you.
Tickets for Lastochka purchased at railway ticket offices look the same as tickets for long-distance trains.
How to buy a ticket to "Swallow" online
You can buy electronic tickets for Lastochka on the official website of the Russian Railways. Online purchase of train tickets is made at Ticket.rzd.ru. In order to buy a ticket, you need to register on the website by filling in the fields with personal and contact information. If you are already registered, enter the site using your username and password.
In the "Purchase tickets" section, enter in the form the start and end point of your route and the date of the train. Just like at the box office, tickets for the Lastochka are on sale here 45 days before the train leaves. After the data is entered, click the "buy" button. You will be presented with a list of all trains on this day on this route, including the high-speed electric trains "Lastochka".
Select the train you need and go to the railway ticket issuance page. First, you will need to select a carriage. When choosing a carriage in Lastochka, one can take into account that toilets are located in carriages 1 and 5 (in twin trains - also in cars 6 and 10), in the same carriages there are places for wheelchair users. The level of travel comfort in such cars is somewhat lower, but if the closeness of the toilet is of fundamental importance to you, choose them. It is also necessary to take into account that at intermediate stations "Lastochka" does not open all doors - entry and exit is made only from even cars.
After the carriage is selected, you will have the opportunity to independently choose the seats, guided by the carriage diagram, where free and occupied seats will be indicated.
After the seats are selected, you will proceed to entering information about passengers: personal and passport data, checking and confirming the entered data. After you have confirmed the entered data, you can no longer enter any changes to the order.
You can pay for a ticket to "Swallow" online using bank cards Visa, Visa Electron, Maestro, MasterCard.
When ordering tickets for "Swallow" through the website, passengers are registered electronically. After making the payment, you can download the itinerary receipt with a barcode. To board a high-speed electric train, you will have to show the conductor a receipt, printed on a printer, or saved on a mobile device.
How to buy a ticket for "Swallow" cheaper
In the carriages of the Lastochka trains, besides the standard seats, there are also folding seats. There are four of them in cars without toilets, they are located next to the entrances. There are nine carriages with "conveniences", seven of which are located in a row directly opposite the entrance to the toilet. These places are marked in a paler color on the carriage diagram.
The prices for such seats are about 40% lower than ordinary tickets for "Swallow", however, it is much less comfortable to sit on them, and in places with a view of the entrance to the toilet and the queue to it - it is also unpleasant.
Nevertheless, many people prefer to save on the cost of travel and choose these very places - tickets for the "Swallow" at the lowest prices (especially for the seats at the aisle) are sold out rather quickly.
