• Trains and Stations
• Schedules
• Tickets
• Which Station do I need if I plan to visit:
  

Gatchina, Lomonosov (Oraniyenbaum station), Pavlovsk, Peterhof (Stary Petergof station), Pushkin (Detskoye Selo station), Sestroretsk, Zelenogorsk, Vyborg?

Note that some station names are different from the town names.

• Safety tips

Local commuter trains are an option for your suburban travel only if you have some command of Russian language or if you travel with a Russian. The neatness of trains varies greatly and all trains feature hard seats and, sorry, have no toilets. (You can live with it since most tourist destinations are only 30-40 minutes away).

All major Railway Stations in the city are located conveniently for metro and other public transportation. You can also catch a train at smaller stations within the city limits.

Schedules. Every station has schedules on display. If a station serves several lines, it will have separate schedules for every line, and in most cases a suburban lines map. Some stations have separate schedules for each direction: from St. Petersburg and to St Petersburg.

Schedule information is normally displayed in the following sequence (good knowledge of Russian is a huge advantage):

• Time in chronological order of arriving/departing trains,
• A one or two-letter index, if it's a Friday or a weekend train (weekend trains are marked in red)
• Destination, and finally
• Additional information (in small print). Sometimes trains do not stop at smaller stations; this is always marked accordingly on all schedules.

In summer some trains can get crowded, so it is wise to take a train at the first station of the line. Repair works may affect schedules at short notice, especially in summer. Look carefully for (often handwritten) "Changes" - "Izmeneniya".

Tickets. Every station has a booking office "kassa" which can sell you either one-way or return ticket to your chosen destination. The clerks DO NOT speak English.

Quick vocabulary:

1. Booking-office - "Kassa"
2. Local commuter trains - "Prigorodniye poyezda "
3. Can I have a one way ticket to Stary Petergof, please - [Pozhaluysta], Stary Petergof - tudah.
4. Can I have a return ticket to Vyborg, please - [Pozhaluysta], Vyborg - tudah i obratnoh.

Safety tips.

1. Make sure that you keep your wallet and valuables in your inside pockets.
2. Be aware of the small gap between the platform and the train.
3. Don't stand at the edge of the platform when a train is arriving. It is particularly dangerous if you have very long hair, wear a long raincoat or have an open umbrella in your hands. Take great care when traveling with small children.
4. Do not try to enter or exit the train after the announcement "Ostorozhno, dveri zakryvayutsa" - "Caution, the doors are now closing". The doors are pneumatically-fired and you have to be Houdini to escape being trapped between them.
5. Make sure that you know which station you need and get prepared for exiting the train in advance.
6. Try to make sure you don't leave anything on a train - it will be hard, if not impossible, to find it.
7. At smaller stations do not try to cross the railway track in front of an approaching train.

Have a nice trip!

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