The
Elektrichka (electric suburban trains) are powered using overhead electric lines. These trains can run up to two hours distance from a large city like Moscow and usually shorter distances from medium size cities. Most small cities don't have Elektrichka service.
Who uses the Elektrichka trains? Primarily commuters who work in the city and also passengers traveling to a nearby city or village.
Commuters during the week can make these trains very crowded Monday-Friday.
They're a great way to get out of town for the weekend too. In the summer millions of dacha owners use Electric trains to travel from the city to small stops in the countryside.
Mrs. Mendeleyeva and I frequently visit close friends in the smaller city of Kaluga and we take the Elektrichka from Moscow for those trips. The train to Kaluga has two classes of service: economy and first class. Economy consists of simple bench seats with limited space overhead while the first class service is a little nicer usually featuring a small table with tablecloth and plastic flowers on the table. In first class the windows have curtains with designs and there is an attendant who can serve hot tea and a very limited selection of snacks for purchase. There are two television monitors at the end of each first class car.
It is not uncommon (although against Ржд rules) to have some lively entertainment on these trains.
Sometimes the entertainment just seems spontaneous but at other times it is a little more organized and most of these individuals/groups are hoping to earn a little extra
dingy (деньги = cash/money).
How to ride the electric trains:- Find a timetable on the Internet and then show up at the appropriate station ready to ride!
- You'll need a ticket which is purchased at most stations. Without a ticket you can't get past the turnstile at the platforms.
- A ticket attendant at some point may walk through the wagons to make certain that every rider has a valid ticket.
- At the end of your journey some platforms have turnstiles and you'll need that same ticket in order to exit. Don't throw it away!
- In economy class it is open seating. For Americans, think of Southwest Airlines with hardwood or laminate benches.
- Like long distance trains the toilets are at the end of each wagon just outside the doors separating wagons. Lots of smokers will be standing out there, often blocking the toilet doors so if your goal is to reach the toilet you'll have to make known that you're part of the toilet Que.
- Some platforms outside the city don't always have cashier booths open. Go ahead and board the next train but remember the name of your departure station because when the cashier passes through your wagon you'll purchase a ticket from the cashier and knowing where you got on the train will be necessary to purchase a ticket.
- On the chance that no cashier was on the train and no cashier booth was open where you boarded, it will be necessary to purchase a ticket at your destination in order to exit most platforms.
Fun and interesting train trivia:- Commuter trains transported nearly 860,000 passengers around Sochi region during the Paralympic Games for free, as no tickets were required during that time period.
- The number of local passengers, also free, during the main 2014 Olympics was over 3.9 million passengers.
- In just the month of March 2014, the Russian Railway system carried 84,600,000 passengers.