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- Railway, dear: train tickets have increased in price by an average of 20 over the year%
Railway, dear: train tickets have increased in price by an average of 20 over the year%
Railway ticket prices have increased by an average of 20% over the year, Izvestia found out. According to Rosstat, the most expensive fare (by 27%) was in the unregulated segment — in the compartments of branded trains. At the same time, the FAS-regulated reserved seat in branded trains increased in price by 20.7%. Experts attribute this dynamic to a shortage of transportation capacity and negative macroeconomic factors.
Why are train tickets becoming more expensive in Russia
Ticket prices on long-distance trains across Russia increased by an average of 20% year-on-year in July 2025. This follows from Rosstat data on average prices for railway tickets in July per 100 km of travel, which were analyzed by Izvestia. The growth rate for some tickets is almost twice as high as in the summer of 2023 and 2024.
For example, travel in a compartment of a branded long—distance train in July 2023 cost 543.3 rubles per 100 km of travel, in July 2024 - 623.7 rubles, and in July 2025 — 794.8 rubles. Thus, the increase in the cost of travel in a compartment this year compared to last year was 27.4%. For comparison, last year the branded coupon ticket increased in price by 14.8%.
A ticket to a compartment car of a fast non-company train has become more expensive by 23.8% over the past year, despite the fact that from July 2023 to July 2024, the price has increased by 20.6%.
The indexation also affected the most popular segment of railway tickets, namely reserved cars, which are regulated by the state. So, in July of this year, travel in a branded reserved seat increased in price by 20.7% year—on-year to 523 rubles per 100 km of travel, while last summer tickets in this segment increased in price by only 9.7%.
The least effect of the price increase was on tickets to non—company reserved seats — they rose in price by 9.8%, and last season - by 16.9%
Passenger transportation on long-distance trains is carried out in regulated and unregulated segments. In reserved and shared carriages, they are regulated by the Federal Antimonopoly Service.
As the Antimonopoly service informed Izvestia, in accordance with a government decree, from December 1, 2024, the maximum fares for travel in reserved and shared cars have been indexed by 11.6%.
The cost of services in the regulated segment is determined in accordance with the tariffs established by the state and is changed by the carrier according to the calendar periods of the year within the maximum index of 1.2 to the tariff rates.
Semyon Suteev, chief expert of the FAS press service, added that the antimonopoly authority is monitoring the cost of tickets for railway passenger transportation. In addition, according to the order of the antimonopoly authority, there is a year-round discount for passengers from 10 to 18 years old when buying tickets in reserved and shared carriages. It is provided to passengers regardless of the form of education, without presenting a certificate from an educational institution.
According to Mikhail Burmistrov, CEO of INFOLine-Analyst, there is a higher indexation of prices compared to core inflation.
"We see the traditional persistence of demand from June to August, which is compounded by difficulties with airport operations," he said.
However, the price increase is ahead of expectations, even despite the work of the regulator, the expert notes.
The Federal Passenger Company (FPC) told Izvestia that currently the share of transportation in the regulated segment is 56%, and in the unregulated — 44%.
According to the FPC, in more comfortable carriages (coupes, SV and lux), as well as in high-speed trains, fares are determined by carriers independently.
— There is a dynamic pricing system in this segment. It implies that the ticket price depends on a number of factors: the train category, the time of year, the day of the week, the time of departure and arrival, the number of available seats, the period of ticket purchase, etc., the company's press service noted.
The most profitable travel option would be to purchase tickets in advance, they stressed.
According to the FPC, during the high travel season, that is, in summer or December, the cost will always be higher, and during the less active period — in February or November — it decreases.
— Dynamic pricing in the summer season influences the dynamics of ticket prices, — says Mikhail Burmistrov. — The closer to the date of the trip, the higher the demand and more expensive the tickets.
In cases where the 11.6% increase in ticket prices is exceeded, additional verification of the carrier by the Federal Antimonopoly Service is required, Ilya Zotov, chairman of the All-Russian Association of Passengers (OOP), told Izvestia.
How to reduce ticket prices
— The problem is that railway workers do not have a large booking depth, as in civil aviation, and you can buy railway tickets only 45 days before departure in the CIS and 90 days in Russia, — Natalia Osipova, executive director of the Alliance of Travel Agencies (ATA) association, told Izvestia. People purchase tours for six months or more. Therefore, many people take a trip without tickets and then look for ways to get to their vacation destination.
70% of tours are sold in such a way, which generates high demand just before departure, the expert notes.
The situation for passengers is very uncomfortable, Mikhail Burmistrov believes. It is aggravated by problems with the operation of the airports of the Moscow air hub. And Russian Railways cannot radically increase the volume of passenger traffic, the expert believes.
—The shortage of Russian Railways' transportation capacity is most noticeable in the southern directions, which is not always due to a shortage of rolling stock," Ilya Zotov believes.
A more significant factor is the high intensity of railway usage for logistics processes. This means that there are no free windows in the schedule due to heavy freight traffic, the expert clarifies.
According to Natalia Osipova, long-distance train tickets are in high demand among passengers, especially to Crimea and other southern regions, but not everyone is able to buy them at an affordable price.
— We hope that it will be possible to sell tours together with railway tickets in advance and in one package. But at the moment there are few such package offers — only 30%," she notes.
According to Ilya Zotov, it is possible to increase the capacity of railways by switching to a model of enlarged hubs that will be interconnected by high-speed daytime trains. This will reduce the load on existing rolling stock and give passengers new alternative routes, the expert believes.
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