Tickets for reserved seats have become much more expensive

Travel in the cheapest reserved seat carriages has increased in price by almost a quarter in the first half of the year, Vedomosti calculated based on Rosstat data. In January-June 2023, tickets for reserved seat carriages on so-called non-branded trains cost 23% less.

Tickets for branded reserved seat trains cost 17% more by July 2024 than a year ago, 401 rubles per hundred kilometers. A seat in a compartment on a non-branded train has risen in price, according to Rosstat, to 438 rubles (by 15% over the year), and on a branded train to 595 rubles (by 16%). Branded trains are considered to be those with carriages no older than 12 years.

The non-branded reserved seat remains the cheapest way to travel long distances in Russia (287 rubles per hundred kilometers). The ticket seller company "Railway Ticket Offices" reported on its website that 25% of all Russian tourists prefer reserved seats.

The transportation monopoly, the state corporation Russian Railways, reported a 9.2% increase in passenger turnover on long-distance trains in the first half of the year compared to January-June 2023. In June, long-distance trains carried about 15 million passengers, 2% more than a year ago. 95% of such transportation is carried out by the Russian Railways subsidiary Federal Passenger Company.

Tariff rates for regulated tariffs, in particular the cost of transportation on non-branded trains, are set annually by the Federal Antimonopoly Service. The FAS last indexed rates in December 2023, by 10.75%.

The growing popularity of train travel is due to the growing popularity of domestic tourism and expensive air tickets. Economy class flights have risen in price by 31% since the beginning of the year, according to Rosstat. In July, the owner of Vnukovo Airport, Vitaly Vantsev, suggested that by the end of the year, domestic air travel would become more expensive by 15-20% per passenger, and international air travel by 40%. A working group has appeared in the State Duma, which is going to start regulating ticket prices.

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