Kaliningrad-Berlin train to start running on December 14

A one-way second class ticket on the Kaliningrad-Berlin train will cost EUR 61.2 while a return ticket will cost EUR 86.2. The train will start running on December 14. As the press office of Russian Railways has announced, the journey from Kaliningrad to Berlin will take 15 hours, 16 minutes while the return journey will take 15 hours and 52 minutes.

A meeting was held in Moscow last week between representatives of the Russian and German railways which was devoted to organizing passenger trains between Russia and Germany. They agreed to open a direct Yekaterinburg-Berlin line in the summer of 2004. Once the Polish and Belarussian railways have confirmed the plan, the Yekaterinburg-Berlin sleeper carriage will be attached to the Saratov-Berlin train. The journey from Yekaterinburg to Berlin will take 67 hours, 30 minutes while the return journey will take 69 hours and 27 minutes. A one-way ticket will cost EUR 169.4 while a return ticket will cost EUR 250. A direct daily rail service between Moscow and Brussels was also agreed upon and will start operating from April 29 2004. A second-class return ticket is expected to cost EUR 214.6 while a first-class ticket will cost EUR 271.2.

The two sides also discussed the possibility of organizing a tourist rail service between Berlin and Saint Petersburg by using a TALGO train which belongs to the German railways. The TALGO tourist train will be expected to transport passengers from Berlin to Saint Petersburg in 30 hours.

10 sleeper carriages are currently being refurbished for operating the Kaliningrad-Berlin line on the orders of Russian Railways. The carriages will meet contemporary standards of passenger comfort and safety standards.