Primer on FSU Train Travel

[mendeleyev]

Ticket Control Officers
On long trains you don't run into these guys as often because the conductors and car attendants check tickets.  However on electric train (regional city to city) travel it is very common to run into Ticket Control Officers whose job is to make sure you have a ticket.  Usually they just look at the ticket and move on.  If they suspect you are a foreigner however they're more apt to check your passport, visa/migration, and ticket.  Ticket control officers on a train are allowed to do this extensive check.

Ticket Control Officers on the city bus system however do not have such extensive authority.  They simply are there to check to see if you have a paid and punched ticket.  They tend to board busses in a random manner, stay on a bus for a few blocks while checking all tickets, then they hop off and board another bus.  On busy routes the bus has an on-board cashier who also has authority to ask to see your ticket and make certain it's been punched.  Slower routes tend to be on the honour system with more random checks by Ticket Control Officers.  Fines range from $50 to $200 for failing to have a bus ticket.

I bring this up in the train thread because both bus and the short-route electric trains have a problem with "fake" Ticket Control Officers.  These are bands of guys with fake documents who will demand a fine at the slightest perceived infraction.  Most TCO travel in pairs and if they seem suspicious, like one keeping a lookout while the other demands a fine, ask to speak to the bus cashier or the train attendant.  The fake officers will go running at the slightest resistance on your part.

If you have a ticket and your papers/registration are in order then you have nothing to fear.


In regards to the previous post, here is a sample migration card: http://www.russiavisa.com/migrationcard.pdf

[Donhollio]

A final note.  In planning my first FSU train trip I was looking forward to seeing the idyllic countryside from my window seat.  Impossible - a narrow strip of forest bordered the entire length. 

Gator you need to ride the train from Slovakia into Livi UA, it was very scenic. This is just one of the many sights.


  I'd like to share my first ever train ride in July 2003, I have since taken the train from Brussels to Sevastopol.
 So with that here's my first ride, I copied it from a TR I have posted elswhere,and reading it over I still shake my head .
Let me just say this. The ride from Munich to Odessa is about 40 hours. It was my first time ever on a  train,and I assumed it would be as I precieved a train ride I'd seen here. WRONG ! WRONG!! WRONG!!! Oh  man was I on acid ?
 I got to Vienna and was told to go to the international ticket window. It was at this  point I became aware that all the tourists that were riding with me were going to stay in Vienna ,and I was  now on my own. When I was buying my ticket in Munich ,a guy behind me heard where I was going and said  "Good luck" . Before I could turn and ask him some questions he was gone . Ohh how I wished I would have  spoke to him !
I later found out why.

 I was told in Munich that when I got to Vienna that I was to tell the ticket seller I need a ticket for the sleeper car. I looked at my ticket printed in Munich,and it said reservation in German,so I thought I was ok. That and the fact the ticket seller in Vienna knew no English. So what did I learn up to this point ? Western tourists don't travel to Vienna's international train station for trains connecting to eastern Europe.

 So I purchased my ticket to Odessa and than I realised I didn't know where to go to catch the other train. He pointed to the front doors so off I went. As I walked out   through the doors it was clear to me that there was no tracks or station in front of me. Puzzled I went back and tried to get an understanding as to where I was to go. " Tram ! Tram ! he says and points to those doors again, I never heard of tram, and thought he was trying to say train in English. "Ok ok ! " I say and walk out ,finally seeing some streetcars and thinking if this is what he's refering to.

  I see some guys in their 20's hanging out,and ask if they speak English, one guy did ,and told me I had to go buy a ticket.  I tell him I am suppose to go to Ukraine ,and don't know where to catch the train. He offers one of his tickets for me to ride the tram, and even shows me what tram to get on enroute to the east bound trains. So now I'm on a tram /streetcar for the first time, riding to what hopefully is the other train station.
 I arrived shortly after seeing some of Vienna, via the tram. I boarded the second train and off I was zooming across Austria !  I thought this train isn't bad at all, maybe later when it get's dark  I'll wonder up front and get my sleeper.

 So at about midnight the train stops in what is still forever burned in my head. It was a poorly lit rail station full of drunk guys signing songs and walking about with bottles of beer,on a train that looked way past it's prime. Looking out the window all I was saying to myself was ," Shit ,glad I'm not on that train."

 A few seconds later the cabin steward taps me on the shoulder pointing to that very train ! I was stunned and pointed in a manner of,"there ? you want me to go there ?"  I get up, grap my gym bag,and show him my ticket. Where's the sleeper car I ask?"  He points to the rear of the other train ,and I walk over and get on the midnight Slovakian ride into hell !

 I grap a seat in a cabin with 6 seats,of course no one speaks English, and I'm afraid to open my mouth.  The Canadian embassy has a travel advisory section that states
" Don't ride on the trains at night alone". Ok well how bad could it get I wishfully thought .
 I sit down and this man and woman are looking at me with the look of this guy ain't from these parts. The packed train pulls away and Im starting to wonder what I'm in for. All I can say is that it has been to this day the worst train ride I have ever been on. I thought it was derailing a hundred times ,with brakes squeeling every five minutes. It was brutal !

 After about 3-4 hours of this I decided I should try to see if I had a sleeper, I knew I didn't and that's why I was suppose to confirm in Vienna. Live and learn.
 So I stumbled my way up front and found the sleepers, but there were no open beds. The one cabin steward spoke enough English to tell me there were no beds,and I couldn't get one even if I had the money. So I decided to sneek into second class, where the seats recline enough to get  some sleep. After maybe an hour the other cabin steward comes in motioning me to get to the back in the cattle car ! I showed my ticket and pretended to pack up, but as soon as he was gone I sat back down and slept.

 I was exhausted after flying from Canada and having maybe 4 hours sleep in 2 days,so I really zonked out ! So much so that when the train began rolling back to Vienna, I jumped up ! Packed all my stuff back in my bag, and headed for the open door ! You see the train was empty as was the station, and with the sun rising I thought it was going to be back to Vienna !  So as the train is rolling back I start yelling for someone, anyone , to stop the dam train so I can get off !  A brakeman hails the the engineer and I hop out. Now I'm in the middle of a train yard, with a guy speaking words I've never heard before.

 He takes me over to the platform , and for what it's worth I show him my useless ticket. "Odessa Odessa"  I say pointing to the ticket, and he walks me to this antique train. Now people I'm in  culture shock, they ask me if I speak Deutch, and I'm wondering why they would be speaking Dutch ?  A happy go lucky guy takes me aboard and walks away. Great I'm thinking another ride from hell. But he motions me to come up to the "nice" private cabins, 2 beds and a sink with some horrible tacky decor.

  I'm guessing it's about 6am ( I travel without any time peice) as the sun was coming up, I still had no confimation on where I was. I thought I was in Romania, as there were about 100 highrise apartments end on end.   I though well at least it's sunny out,and when I get some food from the train all will be better.
Good thing it was +30c the entire way and I "stocked up" on a pack of juicy fruit gum, and 1L of water in Munich.

  I assumed that there would be food and drink on the train, but nooooo  there was nothing... NOTHING AT ALL !  I found myself sucking that gum flavor like a starving Magellan shipmate rounding the Horn !   And to think I still had a day to go ! The ride from Kosice Slovakia ,as I found out later to Livi UA was very beautiful, except for the fact I had no food. I did eventually need the WC ,and when I asked the UA conductor guy pointed me to piss out between the moving cars !   Uhhh,I'll hold it thanks. Instead I opted to piss in my sink that came with the room I had. Great ,no water to flush it down, and I wasn't about to use my good water, after all I had no idea where I was, or how long till I get there. I didn't know I was in Slovakia until I saw the Slovak train symbol I was familar with.

Another wild  event was the changing of the wheels. They have different gauge rails so to ride in UA they need to raise the car up and slide a new set of wheels on ! It was really cool to see this happen. Took about 30 minutes, and we were off again! The ride through the Carpathia mountains was very beautiful, someday I'd like to return there.

[Ronnie]

Wow Don,
That same month in 2003 I rode from Warsaw to Vienna.  Nice sleeper car all night arrived in the morning, no problem.  Sounds like you found a scenic shortcut!

[dispozo]

Hi!

I was in Rivne last February to visit my lady. We took a Electric train from Rivne to Lviv. It was a modern train, but very small only two cabins. It had cloth padded seats with two seats on each side with the seats in front of you, facing you. It played Western,Ukrainian and Russian music. It was about a 4 hour train ride with only a few stops between Rivne and Lviv. I enjoy this train very much, it had very very big windows and saw much on the country side.

We bought tickets at the station and I didn't have to show my passport. But that was Electric train and I think you don't need to show your passport.

When I visit in July we will take a overnight train from Kiev to Yevpatoriya. I am really looking forward to this train ride, I am the adventures type. She goes to the Crimea every summer and said that the train ride it nothing special. She thinks I am crazy about being excited about this train ride. I have always wanted to take a long train ride. But after a long flight, I might just sleep through the whole trip. :(She will leave her luggage at the rail station at left luggage and then meet me at airport. We will have 4,5 hours from when my plane lands to when the train departs. I think this will be enough time. When I get back I can post about my train experience.

This weekend my lady went to the train station and from what I understand. A copy of my passport will be good enough for her to buy my train ticket. I know she can't but tickets until 45 days before the train departures. Has anybody recently bought train tickets??

[Ooooops]

I have a couple of train stories!     First one was I think in year 1997, we took a train from Moscow to St Petesrburg in SV (1st class it is).   Train attendant gave a big padlock with chain to put around the door handle for the night.   You can imagine the sense of security it gave us...   

Another one, 5 years later - we took a train from Moscow to Tallinn.  At Estonian border in godforsaken hour custom officers come in with dogs and guns and check every compartment.   To our astonishment they crawl up to the upper bank and open a small trap flop in the ceiling that we didn't even see.   Good for us it was empty and if it wasn't   

Third one was even funnier - we took a train from Moscow to Kiev, spent few days there and took another train from Kiev to Prague in 2005.   It turned out that it wasn't a direct train but an attached car to few other trains, that been redirected at different train stations.   Oh, and at the border crossing from Ukrain the whole train had to by lifted on hydrolics and changed to different wheels because the width of USSR and Europe rail tracks are different.  In Krakow we had 8 (!!!) hour layover (which was quite nice, actually - we just dropped our backpacks at the lockers and went to explore the city) and then we got hooked to Polish train.   I wanted to get a drink, but our car was out of everything, so attendant told to go check at the Polish side.   And what do you know?   There was a huge rusty chains and locks, that locked Polish luxury train from our Gypsy wagon...   

But I love trains and always would prefer them to air plains. 

[Donhollio]

   Oh, and at the border crossing from Ukrain the whole train had to by lifted on hydrolics and changed to different wheels because the width of USSR and Europe rail tracks are different. 

My change over was just a crawl past the city of Kosice Slovakia.  Did the switch over look like this ?

[Ooooops]

Did the switch over look like this ?

Yep, very much like that