How to read a Sapsan train ticket

After you book a Sapsan train ticket and make the payment, you receive an E-ticket.

​​It is highly recommended to print out this E-ticket as it is your boarding coupon that you will need to show together with your passport as you get on the train.

Unfortunately, this E-ticket can be tricky to read as the information is partially written in Russian.

This video gives a detailed explanation of how to read a Sapsan train ticket correctly.

Sample Sapsan train ticket

Below you can find an example of how a Sapsan train ticket looks like. Such Russian train tickets may be hard to understand, that's why in the guide below there's everything you need to know about what is written on such an E-ticket.

On the very top of the E-ticket you can find the ticket number in red in the center, and on the right the order number which is usually the same as your ticket number.

A little below on the right you can see your last name, first name initials. Then two letters "ЗЗ" that stand for your travel document code after which you see your passport number info (partially) and date of birth.

In the first column of the table, below the calendar image, you can see the departure date (first the day, then the month). The fourth column with the other calendar image shows the arrival date.

The second column, under the clock image, displays departure time. The fifth column under the other clock - the arrival time. Note that the time is indicated in the 24-hour clock, instead of a.m. / p.m.

! Importantly, keep in mind that the departure and arrival time is always indicated in local time and is duplicated in Moscow time below the table.

​The third middle column gives route information and the arrival and departure stations (Leningradsky Station in Moscow - МОСКВА ОКТЯБРЬСКАЯ ЛЕНИНГРАДСКИЙ ВОКЗАЛ; Moskovsky Station in St. Petersburg - САНКТ-ПЕТЕРБУРГ-ГЛАВН. МОСКОВСКИЙ ВОКЗАЛ).

Sample Sapsan train ticket

​The last 6th column has information about your travel class. Such codes are used by the official carrier. "1" stands for First / Premium Conference Cabin and Business class; "2" stands for Economy Class / Economy Plus and Restaurant Car / Dining Class.

​The middle line of the table, from left to right,  contains information about your train number, then the coach number and your seat number. If this is written by your seat number "НЕ У СТОЛА", it means that you don't have a table seat, "У СТОЛА" means table seat.​

The last line of the table shows information about the ticket price. If it is stated "У1" - it means that one meal is included per your trip. If there is no such sign, then no food is included in the ticket price.