Wagon of advantages: airport restrictions have affected business tourism

The share of rail trips in the structure of business trips in the second quarter of 2026 increased for the first time in several years and reached 45-55%, Izvestia learned. Businesses are increasingly transferring from airplanes amid regular airport restrictions and increasing uncertainty in air traffic. Companies choose the railway because of a more predictable schedule, as well as the desire to reduce travel costs, experts say. As a result, the long-term trend of decreasing the popularity of trains among corporate customers was replaced by growth for the first time. About how the demand for business travelers is being redistributed, see the Izvestia article.

How has the demand for railways among business tourists changed?

According to the results of the second quarter, the share of business trips by rail reached 48%, which is 5 percentage points more than in the same period of 2025, according to the materials of the Aero Club. In the Island of Business Trips service, the indicator increased by 3 percentage points over the same period, to 45%. In OneTwoTrip for Business — by almost 1 percentage point, to 55.5%. At the same time, in July, the indicator in the service increased year-on-year by another 3.5 percentage points, reaching 55.6%, said its head Stepan Mastryukov.

The trend is also confirmed by the Union of Business Tourism Agencies (SAD). The growing demand for rail transportation among business tourists has become an atypical situation. Since 2019, the share of this type of transport, on the contrary, has consistently decreased and by the end of 2024 reached a minimum of 24%, according to the materials of the union. The organization did not disclose data for 2025. At the same time, in terms of transactions, the share of railway tickets also decreased by 1.97 percentage points last year, to 17.77%.

However, not all services record a recovery in demand. Trivio, on the contrary, noted a decrease in the share of railway trips among business tourists. According to the company, in the second quarter, the share of tickets in the total volume of transport bookings decreased from 40.9% to 38.7%. At the same time, it increased slightly in monetary terms, from 12.5% to 13.2%, said a representative of the platform.

Moscow has become the most sought-after railway destination for business trips. The demand for travel to the capital increased by 15% year-on-year, and the share of this destination reached 32% (+4 percentage points), according to the Aero Club. St. Petersburg is in second place: the number of trips there increased by 20%, and the share of destinations was 15% (+2 percentage points). According to the Ostrovok Business Trip service, the share of tickets to St. Petersburg increased most noticeably - by 4 percentage points, to 48%, as well as to Moscow — by 4 percentage points, up to 38%. Nizhny Novgorod rounded out the top three, where business representatives purchased 14% more train tickets than in the same period last year, according to data from the Aero Club.

Among other regional centers, according to OneTwoTrip for Business, the demand for tickets to Kirov increased by 85% year—on—year, to Cherepovets — by 77%, to Cheboksary — an increase of 1.5 times, as well as to Sevastopol and Ivanovo - by 15 and 12%, respectively, said the head of the site Stepan Mastryukov.

The growing interest in railway travel is confirmed by Russian Railways. Although the company does not single out business tourists separately in the statistics, the increase in ticket sales in traditionally "business" destinations - Moscow — St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara – indirectly indicates an increase in this trend, a representative of the state-owned company told Izvestia. According to him, the demand for high-speed daytime trains, which are most in demand among business travelers, steadily increased in the first half of the year.

Beyond the possible: passenger traffic on foreign air routes falls for the second month in a row

What is the reason for this and what is happening with domestic transportation

Why trains are becoming in demand among businesses

Today, trains have become more predictable than other modes of transport, says Ekaterina Kosareva, Managing Partner of VMT Consult. In terms of reduced travel time on high-speed trains, according to her, companies are increasingly giving priority to this type of transport on business trips. Business trips around the country by rail have become a convenient alternative to an airplane, the representative of Ostrovok Business Trip agrees. According to him, express trains help save time: passengers do not need to arrive at the airport in advance and go through pre-flight procedures.

The increase in the share of business tourists on the railway is caused by increased restrictions on airport operations, said Dmitry Gorin, Chairman of the SAD Board. At the beginning of 2026, they began to occur regularly against the background of UAV attacks. In May, June and July, the Federal Air Transport Agency repeatedly introduced them in several regions at once, and on some days the number of affected airports exceeded 20. For example, restrictions were in effect at 24 air hubs on May 5, and at 25 on May 8, Izvestia calculated based on data from the Federal Air Transport Agency. Against this background, passenger traffic on flights between Moscow and St. Petersburg has noticeably decreased - in the first half of the year it fell by 18% year—on-year, to 1.6 million people, Kommersant reported.

Another factor in favor of choosing rail transport was the optimization of travel expenses for companies, said the representative of Ostrovok Business Trips. According to him, in many domestic destinations, the cost of train tickets is lower than air tickets. And this is despite the fact that the prices of travel documents by rail are also increasing, Ekaterina Kosareva added.

According to Trivio, in April – June, the average train ticket was 5.9 thousand rubles, which is 16.5% more than in the same period last year. According to the Aero Club, the average ticket price increased by 19% over the same period, to 6.1 thousand rubles. On average, the booking of a train ticket reached 9.9 thousand rubles, which is 12% higher than in the second quarter a year earlier, according to the data from the "Business Trip Island". In OneTwoTrip for Business, a ticket cost an average of 8.4% thousand rubles in January – June (+13% year-on-year), said Stepan Mastryukov.

Experts believe that the demand for rail transport among business tourists will continue to increase. The situation with unstable flights continues, so there is a growing demand for trains as an alternative, Ekaterina Kosareva said. The expert expects a significant influx in 2028 with the opening of the Two Capitals high-speed railway between Moscow and St. Petersburg. It is expected that the travel time will be reduced from four to two hours.