High-speed trains "Sapsan" connect Moscow with St. Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod. Tickets for them cannot be classified as the cheapest, but knowing a few nuances of their sale will allow you to significantly save money.
It is necessary
- - passport;
- - cash or credit card.
Instructions
Step 1
Try not to take a ticket for the Sapsan's day flight, for example, one departing from Moscow to St. Petersburg at 13:00. Tickets for it are more expensive than other similar trains. You can count on the cheapest tickets possible by choosing the first Sapsan, departing from the starting point of your route early in the morning, for example, from Moscow to the northern capital - at 6:45. Tickets for the last evening "Sapsan" can also be cheaper than on daytime flights. When buying a ticket on the Russian Railways website, you will have the opportunity to choose a train that is suitable for the price, since in the list of available travel options, among the information about each train, there is the price of the cheapest ticket. Do not hesitate and ask the cashier to sell you a ticket for that "Sapsan", on which you can leave at a cheaper price, if the departure time is not important.
Step 2
Use the Russian Railways ticket offices where there is no additional service charge. These are cash desks at train stations, with the exception of the service center, and in some cities also at trans-agencies. For example, in Moscow there is no need to pay extra at the box office of the Moscow Railway Agency between the Leningradsky and Yaroslavsky railway stations, opposite the exit from the Komsomolskaya metro station. When buying a ticket on the Internet, do not use the websites of intermediaries who take additional money for their services, but the official website of Russian Railways.
Step 3
Buy tickets for "Sapsan" immediately there and back. For this you will receive a discount of ten percent, but on condition that the round trip is carried out on the Sapsan.
Step 4
Get your tickets as early as possible. The more time until the day of your departure, the more chances you will have of a seat in Economy Class. Sapsan trains have two classes of service: economy and business. Business class differs from economy class by more comfortable coaches and a wide range of services included in the ticket price. However, it costs twice as much.
Step 5
Study carefully the information on the tariff policy of Russian Railways and take it into account when planning your trip. The railroad has its own periods of high and low prices. In summer, tickets are more expensive than in spring and autumn, prices also increase for the period of New Year's holidays and on the eve of public holidays. Although if you board the train on December 31 or May 9, the ticket will be sold to you at the cheapest fare possible. You can find information on the periods of discounts and surcharges at railway stations, in long-distance train carriages, on the Russian Railways website, and you can consult on this issue in any railway information desk.
Step 6
Find out about the discounts that are relevant at the time of departure of your train - it is possible that during this period there may be additional promotions or special offers that allow you to save money on the Sapsan trip. The sources of this information are the same as in the previous step.
Step 7
Buy a ticket via the Internet if you are not doing it in the same city from where you are planning to take the Sapsan. In such a situation, at the box office, you will have to pay an additional commission for purchasing a ticket from another station. When using the Russian Railways website, it is not charged: wherever you are, pay the same.
