International passenger numbers from January to May 2017 up 20%

International long-distance passenger numbers to non-CIS countries, or Russia’s far abroad, increased by 19.6% in January-May 2017 compared to the same period last year and amounted to almost 264,200.

The largest increase was in services between Russia – Germany, with passenger numbers up by 32.5%, Russia – Finland, up by 30.8%, Russia – Italy (+20%), Russia – Austria (+17%) and Russia – China (+14.1%).

According to the 2016/2017 train timetable, 20 international routes offer direct and transit international passenger services to Europe and Asia: Germany, France, Finland, Poland, Austria, Czech Republic, Monaco, Italy, China, Mongolia, etc.

In order to meet the ever-increasing demand for passenger rail transportation between Russia and Europe, and in particular services between Russia and Germany, Russian Railways has been operating train No. 13/14 Strizh Moscow-Berlin since December 2016.

During January-May 2017, about 10,00 passengers used the Strizh service. A total of about 11,000 passengers have travelled on Strizh trains since the service was launched on 17 December 2016.