The Moscow-Kazan route is one of the most popular on Russian railways. Therefore, it is not surprising that it is often a very big problem to buy a ticket to Kazan, especially if you are leaving on a weekend or a holiday.
Instructions
Step 1
However, there are ways to buy an inexpensive ticket for a good seat, and one of them is to queue up at the ticket office at the station on the first day of ticket sales for the date you need (ticket sales start 45 calendar days in advance). Nowadays, at any ticket office of any station, you can buy a ticket for any direction, in addition, ticket offices work around the clock, which greatly simplifies the life of passengers. Before contacting the cashier, however, it makes sense to resort to the services of an information desk or terminal to find out which trains follow to Kazan on the date you have chosen and how much tickets they cost, because when you clarify this issue directly with the cashier, you will delay the queue besides, cashiers often cannot tell you the price until they issue a ticket.
Step 2
It is a little easier to turn to self-service terminals, which are now available at almost every station. In order to purchase a ticket at the terminal, you need a bank card. At the terminal, select the service "Purchase a ticket" (do not confuse with "Get a previously paid ticket" - this is for those passengers who bought a ticket via the Internet and now only need to receive them) and then follow the instructions of the terminal.
Step 3
Tickets can be purchased without leaving your home - you can order them through a transport agency. There are many such agencies in Moscow, they all have websites on the Internet, so finding them through a search engine is not difficult. One of the most popular is DAVS (www.davs.ru). All agencies can book tickets both online and by phone. However, keep in mind that agencies usually charge a commission for their work, and if you order tickets delivered to your door, you will need to pay for the delivery as well.
Step 4
If you have an international bank card that can be used to pay for purchases via the Internet (Visa Classic, Visa Gold, Mastercard, etc.), a much more convenient option would be to buy a ticket via the Internet. The most suitable site for this is the official site of Russian Railways www.rzd.ru. You need to register on the site: on the main page of the site in the top menu, find the "Registration" link, follow it, then fill out the form and follow the instructions of the site to complete the registration.
Step 5
After you have registered and entered the site, follow the link "Passenger transportation" and then: "Buy a ticket". On the page that opens, in the "From" window, enter "Moscow", in the "Where" window - "Kazan". Indicate the number of passengers, the date of departure from Moscow and the time period in which you want to leave. In the displayed list of trains, select the one that suits you in terms of time and number of seats (the last column indicates how many seats of which class are available on this train) and click "Next". On the page that opens, select the carriage that suits you (it is best to choose the one with the most options for seats you need). Next, select the types of seats that you want to purchase (bottom, top, etc.) and the range in which these seats should be located. You can also select seats from the carriage diagram, which is located on the same page. Enter the details of the departing passengers below and click "Next". The next page will display the passenger details you entered and the seats selected for them. If you agree, click "Next", if not - "Back". After you have placed your order, you have to pay for it - for this, the Russian Railways website will automatically redirect you to the payment system website. Indicate in the appropriate fields the card number, the date until which it is valid, the name and surname of the holder (in Latin letters) and the CVV code.
Step 6
If electronic registration is possible for the train of your choice, after paying for the order, you can go through it there, on the Russian Railways website. Then you do not need to get a ticket at the ticket office or in the self-service terminal, but it is enough to present your passport to the conductor when boarding the train. In this case, however, it makes sense for you to print out the data on the number of your train, carriage and seats, or rewrite it so as not to make a mistake when boarding the train (you can always see this data in the "My Orders" section). If electronic registration for the train is not provided, then you will need to get a ticket at the box office or in the terminal, presenting your passport and giving or entering (in the terminal) the order number.
