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• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Updated - 11 August 2023

Please use this page to find the answers to your most frequently asked questions.

The following questions and answers are provided to give the most likely generic response only and cannot cover every eventuality.  Where there is a difference between the answer on this page and the source documentation, then the source documentation will always take precedence.  Further information may be found on our other pages or by contacting us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Please select the FAQ Topic that you wish to view:

Employees of Train Operating Companies (TOCs)

Employees of other employers, retired/redundant employees, change of employment, change of details, acting on behalf of the employee or widow(er), adding a spouse/partner, adding a child dependant.

• Change in Family Circumstances

Staff Travel Card

Rail staff leisure card, rst online leisure card, status pass, season tickets, residential pass, international reduced rate card - fip card, international travel.

• Booking International Travel using your issued Facilities

TOC Specific Travel

Photo id cards, lost/stolen cards and replacements, reservations, transport for london, rst online refunds.

Once we have received your joiner information from your HR department, we will create a Rail Staff Travel record for you. Before we can issue any cards/passes to you will need to upload a photo of yourself to our website www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/photo-upload. Select Rail Staff Leisure Card as the card you are applying for.

If you uploaded a photo within a few weeks of joining and have yet to receive any cards/passes, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Once you have received your Rail Staff Leisure Card you can apply for facilities for your eligible family members.

The forms are available on our website at www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/forms.

If you are applying for a spouse, partner or child for the first time, you need to supply a photo of them when applying. The forms you need are below:

• Add Spouse or Partner (online) (XX02a)
• Partner Declaration (XX03)
• Add Child Dependant (online) (XX02b)
• Child Declaration (online) (XX05)

You are not eligible to retain your national and international travel facilities in retirement. However, your TOC may allow you to keep your TOC specific card/pass. You should contact your HR department before you leave to discuss this with them.

You will need to return any outstanding cards/passes to RST. Please cut them into 4 and send us a picture of these by email with the name and number visible so these can be cancelled from your record.

If you are joining another TOC and have less than a month between leaving and re-joining you will need to send your TOC and Group passes back to RST by cutting them into 4 and sending a picture of these This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. You can keep your Rail Staff Leisure Card.

You will not be able to retain any of your staff travel facilities when leaving your current TOC employer.

You will need to return any outstanding cards, including those issued to your family members, to RST. When returning to RST please cut them into 4 and send us a picture of these by email with the name and number visible so these can be cancelled from your record.

We will be notified of the change to your grade by your employer. At this point we will contact you if we need to make any changes to your current facilities.

As a Safeguarded Employee you may be able to retain your national staff travel facilities if your employer confirms to us you have retired by age and you are eligible to receive your pension. This information has to come from them, and we cannot make any changes to your record without them advising us. If you are eligible we will be in contact with you regarding any travel facilities you may be eligible to receive and any that need to be returned for cancellation or exchanging.

You should complete our Retired Data Check form (XX12) on www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/forms to ensure we have your most up to date contact details.

As a Safeguarded Employee you may be able to retain your national staff travel facilities if your employer confirms to us, you have been made redundant. This information must come from them, and we cannot make any changes to your record without them advising us.

If you are eligible we will be in contact with you regarding any travel facilities you may be eligible to receive and any that need to be returned for cancellation or exchanging.

You should complete our Retired Data Check form (XX12) on www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/forms. to ensure we have your most up to date contact details.

If you are joining another TOC and have less than a month between leaving and re-joining you will need to send your TOC and Group passes back to RST by cutting them into 4 and sending a picture of these This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. You can keep your Staff Travel Card.

RST will need your new employer to complete the required forms to apply for travel for you. If there is a gap in service of a month or more you will need to provide proof of unemployment in the form of a current OCA41 letter from HMRC from the date you left your previous employer to the day you joined your new employer. This is needed so continuous service can be granted and enable you to continue to be a Safeguarded employee.

Please note that Transport for London (London Underground), Open-access operators such as Grand Central, Heathrow Express, Lumo and Hull Trains are not considered TOCs so cannot offer Safeguarded travel facilities.

It is best to check with RST in the first instance that the company you are joining will be able to offer you rail staff travel facilities. Just because a company in the rail industry has employees with rail staff travel facilities does not mean that safeguarded employees who join voluntarily are also eligible.

If they are not eligible to give you rail staff travel facilities, you will lose your eligibility to Safeguarded staff travel facilities. You will not be able to re-obtain these later, e.g. you will not get the travel facilities back when you reach your minimum pension age, retire or are made redundant.

As you are leaving the rail industry, unless you are eligible to retain your leisure travel facilities due to redundancy or retirement, you will lose your eligibility to Safeguarded staff travel. You will not be able to re-obtain these at a later date, e.g. when you reach your minimum pension age, retire or are made redundant.

It is best to check with RST in the first instance that the company you are joining will be able to offer you rail staff travel.

In terms of the level of travel, this all depends which company you are moving to, whether you meet the eligibility for a Status Pass there and whether your new employer has sufficient Status Pass quota to allocate one to you. You should discuss the level of travel they are willing to give you with them.

Holders of Blue Status Passes do not retain these when leaving one eligible employer to join another.

If you are eligible to retain your staff travel facilities in retirement or redundancy then you will be able to retain your Status Pass as well.

Once you have left, Status Passes will need to be cut into 4 and pictures sent to RST for these to be issued as the retired version.

If you have an Oyster Status Pass, a retired version will be ordered and once an image of the cut up active pass is received, we will post the retired version to you. Please note if you are aged under 50 the Oyster Status Pass will not be reissued until you reach 50 as per TfL’s rules. You should contact RST in this instance.

You should complete our Retired Data Check form (XX12) on our www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/forms. page. This will allow us to keep in touch with you.

As a Safeguarded Employee you may be able to retain your national staff travel facilities if your employer confirms to us you have retired by age, and they are happy to pay any charges that may apply and you are eligible to take your pension. This information has to come from them, and we cannot make any changes to your record without them advising us.

If you are eligible, we will be in contact with you regarding any travel facilities you may be eligible to receive and any that need to be returned for cancellation or exchanging.

As a Safeguarded Employee you may be able to retain your national staff travel facilities if your employer confirms to us you have been made redundant or accepted voluntary severance and they are happy to pay any charges that may apply. This information must come from them, and we cannot make any changes to your record without them advising us.

Further information on this can be found under the section Leaving Railway Employment

If you are eligible to retain your staff travel facilities in retirement or redundancy and your employer is happy to pay any charges that may apply, then you will be able to retain your Status Pass as well.

If you have an Oyster Status Pass, a retired version will be ordered and once an image of the cut up active pass is received, we will post the retired version to you. Please note if you are aged under 50 the Ooyster Status Pass will not be reissued until you reach 50 as per TfL’s rules. You should contact RST in this instance.

If you were eligible to retain your travel facilities when you left the rail industry, then you would have kept them. If you aren’t currently receiving them then it is likely you weren’t eligible when you left. Even if the rules have changed they do not apply retrospectively.   Claiming your pension does not change your eligibility for travel facilities. Rules for pensions and travel facilities are completely different and you can be in receipt of one and not the other.

Resignation and dismissal are not reasons for leaving that entitle you to keep you travel facilities. Regardless of whether you are now claiming your pension this does not change your eligibility for travel facilities.

If you were eligible to retain your travel facilities when you left the rail industry, then you would have kept them. If you aren’t currently receiving them then it is likely you weren’t eligible when you left. Even if the rules have changed, they do not apply retrospectively.   Claiming your pension does not change your eligibility for travel facilities. Rules for pensions and travel facilities are completely different and you can be in receipt of one and not the other.

If you qualify for a Senior Railcard (see www.senior-railcard.co.uk  for eligibility - you do not have to purchase a senior railcard) and you have a Staff Travel Card that states that “Retired” or Widow/er, then you can take up to 4 children aged between 5 and 15 with you for a flat fare of £4.00 (single or return) per child.

In some circumstances, a TOC may choose to only offer single fares on a journey and not offer return fares, in which case the £4.00 flat fare can only be purchased as a single. In these cases the child will need a single £4.00 flat fare for each direction of travel on a return journey.

This is for travel in Standard class only and the children have to travel with you.

Proof of eligibility to purchase a Senior Railcard must be produced with your Retired Staff Travel Card when purchasing tickets.

If you change your hours, this will not impact the national rail staff travel facilities that you receive.

To notify us of your change of name please complete Employee Change of Name form xx25 available at www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/forms.

You will need to supply a scan of evidence of your marriage or civil partnership certificate or copy of the deed poll. If you need one of your passes for residential or duty purposes, please attach a photo of the pass intact to the form and we will replace it without you sending it in to us. Please cut the leisure passes into 4 with the name and numbers showing and attach a photo of these with the form. We will then be able to reissue them.

Once you have the new residential/duty pass, you will then need to email us the obsolete one cut into 4 so it can be cancelled from your record. 

If you have not changed your passport name, then the FIP card should be kept until this is changed.

To notify us of your Dependant's change of name please complete Dependant Change of Name form xx26 available at www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/forms.

With regards to your dependants passes these all need to be cut into 4 and attached to the xx26 form and then they will be reissued.

If your dependant uses a pass for education please attach a photo of the pass intact to the form and we will replace it without you sending it in to us. Once you have the new pass, you will then need to email us the obsolete one cut into 4 so it can be cancelled from your record. 

If your dependant has not changed their passport name, then the FIP card should be kept until this is changed.

RST will do its best to help with this. As individual circumstances vary, please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For addresses in the United Kingdom you can only notify us by completing the Change of Address form xx15 from www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/forms

If you are a widow/er please fill in as much information as possible so it enables us to find your record.

If you live outside of the United Kingdom, please email us confirming your card number and old and new address.

Please complete the Change of Details form xx21 from www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/forms

If you are a widow/er please fill in as much information as possible so it enables us to find your record

In this section

• How To - Avoid Form Rejections
• How To - Submit Online
• How To - Send by Email
• How To - Send by Post
• Conditions of Issue and Use
• Eligibility of Family Members
• Useful Information
• Where Can I Go and Restrictions
• Current Offers and Concessions
• Travel on TfL
• Photo Upload
• Other Contacts
• Privacy Notice

As a widow(er), your eligibility to retain staff travel facilities is through your dependency on your late spouse/partner.

As you have started a new relationship this dependency has ceased and you are no longer eligible, even if that relationship later ends.

A new relationship is classified as a marriage, civil partnership, or simply co-habiting in an arrangement that would consider the other person as your domestic partner.

You must inform RST immediately and cut your current staff travel facilities into 4 and send these to RST by email ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) for cancellation.  Once staff travel facilities have been lost in this way you will not be eligible to regain them in the future

If you qualify for a Senior Railcard (see  www.senior-railcard.co.uk  for eligibility) and you have a Staff Travel Card that states that “Retired” or Widow/er, then you can take up to 4 children aged between 5 and 15 with you for a flat fare of £4.00 (single or return) per child. This is for travel in Standard class only and the children have to travel with you. Proof of eligibility to purchase a Senior Railcard must be produced with your Retired Staff Travel Card when purchasing tickets.

If you receive staff travel facilities as a Spouse/Partner through their record and providing that we have confirmation from them that you can act on their behalf (by phone, letter or email), then we will mark the record accordingly and can accept instructions from you. Any instructions that we receive from the employee should make clear the extent of the authority that has been provided, e.g. whether it is just for a specific period of time or enduring. We only accept this for paying for replacements cards/passes and reporting cards as lost. We cannot make any changes to the record, such as change of address.

If they are not able to give their consent in this way (e.g. owing to incapacity), then we will only be able to accept instructions from you if you can provide us with a copy of:

• a registered Power of Attorney showing you as their attorney, or
• a registered Deputyship showing you as their deputy, or
• a BF57 form issued to you as their appointee by the DWP (in respect of managing their state benefits).

If you receive staff travel facilities as a child dependant through their record, you are over the age of 18 and providing that we have confirmation from them that you can act on their behalf (by, letter or email), then we will mark the record accordingly and can accept instructions from you. Any instructions that we receive from the employee should make clear the extent of the authority that has been provided, e.g. whether it is just for a specific period of time or enduring. . We only accept this for paying for replacements cards/passes and reporting cards as lost. We cannot make any changes to the record, such as change of address.

We will only be able to accept instructions from you if you can provide us with a copy of:

• a registered Power of Attorney showing you as their attorney, or ·

If you receive staff travel facilities as a Spouse/Partner through their record and providing that we have confirmation from them that you can act on their behalf (by letter or email), then we will mark the record accordingly and can accept instructions from you.

Any instructions that we receive from the employee should make clear the extent of the authority that has been provided, e.g. whether it is just for a specific period of time or enduring. We only accept this for paying for replacements cards/passes and reporting cards as lost. We cannot make any changes to the record, such as change of address

We will require a photocopy of the Power of Attorney that has either been stamped by the OPG or signed by the donor, solicitor or notary that it is a true copy (per OPG instructions). o that we can make the necessary changes to the contact elements of our record.

With this we need confirmation of the employee or widow/er’s name and address and Staff Travel Card number

You can scan/take a photo of these documents and email them to us.  Please do not send original documents by post. We cannot accept links to view this online we need the full document online.

Once we have this, we will make the necessary changes so that all future correspondence is sent to you.

You cannot deal with RST if you do not have a registered Power of Attorney or Deputyship .

You can apply by using our Add Partner form which can be found on our forms page. Complete this form online and submit to us with a copy of your marriage or civil partnership certificate in JPEG or PDF format. A passport photo should also be uploaded to our website as we are unable to issue any cards and passes without this.

If you do not have a marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate then you will need to complete the xx03 Partner Declaration. This statutory declaration that you co-habit as a couple in a meaningful relationship must be sworn before, and witnessed by, a Solicitor or other authorised body who should first verify the supplied documentation proving that you are continuously and permanently living together in the same property. The guidance notes on the Partner Declaration list all the proofs of address we can accept. The form must be signed and stamped by the Solicitor or other authorised body.

Please remember that if you have passes already issued to a former Spouse, Civil Partner or Partner and they have not been returned to us or expired you should complete the xx24 form and attach a picture of them cut into four showing the name and number. If you cannot return these passes, you will have to wait until the final pass has expired before you can apply for your new Spouse or Civil Partner.

You will not be able to get staff travel facilities for your Partner as you do not live permanently and continuously at the same, single property.

In Great Britain, children up to the age of 5 can travel free of charge on the National Rail network, so do not need staff travel facilities.

If you intend to travel with them in Europe using FIP cards or Coupons then you may need to apply for them when they are 4 as certain countries begin to charge child fares from then

Once they need staff travel facilities, you can apply for a biological child, and also those who are adopted, step-children, fostered, under a special guardianship order, residence order or a Ward of Court.

Check they are eligible on the Eligibily of Family Members page of the RST website.

You can apply by using our Add Child form (xx02b). Complete this form online and submit with a scan or image of your child's full birth certificate (the one that lists parents names) or official document if they are under a special guardianship, residence order or ward of court and you should also include a current passport style photograph.

Once your child reaches age 18, we will require an annual Child Declaration form xx05 completed by you confirming their circumstances i.e. in full time education or living at home and earning under the current weekly limit. We will require evidence of this and may ask for further details.

The full birth certificate shows parents names to establish a link between yourself and/or your Spouse, Civil Partner or Partner to the child. Full birth certificates can be obtained from the authority that maintains the registrations of births. In England and Wales this is through the HM Gov website, or in Scotland through the National Records Scotland website.

Change of family circumstances

You can change your passes by completing form xx25 online and attaching pictures of your passes cut into four and a copy of the official document.

You can change the name on their passes by completing form xx26 online and attaching pictures of their passes cut into four and a copy of the official document.

RST can usually accommodate this so please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further information. Please attach any relevant documentation.

If you are separated from or no longer living with your spouse or partner, they will not be eligible for any facilities. You will need to complete form xx24 and attach pictures of their passes cut into 4.

If you can’t return these passes, RST will be unable to issue you with any facilities for a future Spouse, Civil Partner or Partner, and any of their children, until the all passes they hold have expired. In addition, you will not be able to replace these passes with us (for the current lost passes fee) so that these may be returned.

Generally, if your partner’s children are no longer living with you they are not eligible for any facilities. You will need to complete form xx24 and attach pictures of their passes cut into 4. However if they are still living with you please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any further documentation to enable us to look into this.

You and your eligible family members can use your card for free and discounted leisure travel on National Rail services.

If you date a box this can be used on the date entered and up until midnight on the following day for free travel unless the second date is beyond the validity of the card.

If you do not have available boxes (or are not eligible for boxes), you can use the Staff Travel Card for staff discounted (priv rate) travel.

Use of the Staff Travel Card is subject to the Endorsement(s) printed on the front of the card and published staff travel restrictions.

On the front of the Staff Travel Card there is a line that specifies the Endorsement the holder is subject to when using their card. 

The endorsement list is as follows:

1 Not valid on Wightlink, Tyne & Wear Metro and Caledonian MacBrayne ships.

2 Not valid on Tyne & Wear Metro and Caledonian MacBrayne ships.

3 Not valid on Caledonian MacBrayne ship

5 Valid on National Rail and London Underground only

6 Not valid on Eurostar services.

8 Available also for First Class privilege tickets between former G.W.R. stations.

11 Valid on National Rail only.

NIL No Endorsements apply.

Before commencing a free journey, you must enter the day and month of the journey in ink in the first (or next available) box. Each box is divided into two sections on the card marked as “DAY” and “MTH”. Boxes must be completed using Arabic numerals, with zero in front of single digits i.e. 7 August should be written in as "07" in the DAY box and "08" in the MTH box immediately beneath it.

If you make a mistake, you should cross out the box and then date a new box beofre you travel.

Staff Travel Cards are valid from 1 April of one year until 30 June of the next year. New cards will be sent out to via employers or directly to home addresses towards the end of March each year. If you wish to use occasions of free travel between 1 April and 30 June, either the old or the new card can be used (assuming there are unused boxes on the old card). Only the new card can be used after 30 June.

You can date a box on the 30th June to use for free travel. You will not be able to use the dated box for free or travel on 1st July.

You can use your Staff Travel Card to purchase unlimited Staff Discounted (Privilege Rate) national rail tickets. The 75% reduction can be applied to day and period walk-up Anytime and off-peak fares. Time restrictions on off-peak tickets apply.

You cannot get Staff Discounted (Privilege Rate) on Advance Purchase tickets.

You can also purchase privilege rate tickets which include cross London travel on London Underground services to allow you to travel between two London terminals.

You must have a valid ticket before you start a journey.

If you wish to travel using a Staff Discounted (Privilege Rate) ticket, you must buy that ticket from RST Online, or a ticket office before you travel. It is not possible to buy them from ticket machines.

If the ticket office is closed and it is therefore not possible to purchase the Staff Discounted (Privilege Rate) ticket before you travel, then you must purchase it at the first available opportunity. This could be on entry to the platform, on the train, or when exiting at your destination.

If you are travelling from a station within a Penalty Fare area then you must obtain a permit to travel at the public rate in accordance with the Penalty Fare instructions displayed at the station.

If you have endorsement 11 then you cannot use your Staff Travel Card for any travel on LUL or DLR services.

If you do not have endorsement 11 you can use your Staff Travel Card for travel on LUL/DLR services as below:

• Limited free leisure travel on Inter available routes only by dating a box
• Unlimited Privilege Rate leisure travel on all LUL/DLR services by using an Oyster card with the Priv All Rail discount on it

If your Staff Travel Card has endorsement 5, 6 or 11 printed on the front if it, then it is not valid for discounted travel on Eurostar.

If your Staff Travel Card does not have endorsement 5, 6 or 11 printed on the front of it, then you may purchase reduced rate tickets for leisure use. These are cheaper than the FIP fares. More information is available at www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/offers.html

Although Eurostar tickets can be purchased at London St Pancras on the day of travel, availability cannot be guaranteed and therefore it is advisable to obtain tickets in advance, either in person from Eurostar at St Pancras or via International Rail Ltd at www.bookmyrst.co.uk

Reservations on Eurostar services are compulsory. Reservations can be made in Standard Premier (1st class) by holders of 1st Class Staff Travel Cards only and Standard Class by all other Staff Travel Card holders.

No, and this would be deemed a travel irregularity. The only exception is if you have a retired Staff Travel Card and are aged 60 or over, in which case you can take up to four children aged 5-15 for £4.00 each.

You and your eligible family members who hold Rail Staff Leisure Cards can use these for discounted National Rail services for leisure travel only.

It cannot be used to buy daily tickets to get to work or a place of education.

The discount available is 75% of the walk-up fare. This discount applies to Anytime, and off-peak  (including Super Off Peak) fares. Time restrictions apply to off-peak tickets.

You can also get a discount on some Rover and Ranger tickets.

You cannot get a 75% discount on Advance Purchase tickets, as these are already heavily discounted. The agreement underwriting this non-contractual arrangement is reviewed annually by TOCs and may be withdrawn at any time.

You can use your Rail Staff Leisure Card to purchase unlimited Privilege Rate Leisure national rail tickets. You must have a valid ticket before you start a journey.

You can buy them in advance online from RST Online.

You can also buy them from any National Rail station ticket office. If the ticket office is closed or there is no ticket office  then you must offer to pay it at the first available opportunity. This could be on entry to the platform, on the train, or when exiting at your destination. By doing so there is no question that you are trying to travel without paying. If you don’t offer to pay, then you could be accused of fare avoidance and risk a Travel Irregularity.

If your journey starts in a Penalty Fare area, and you are not able to buy a ticket, then you must obtain the same authority to travel as a member of the public, following the instructions provided by the TOC at that station.

The Rail Staff Leisure Card is not valid on London Underground or Dockland Light Railway services. 

However, if you have a ticket with (+)  it means you can use the London Underground to connect with another London Terminal. However, if you wish to  continue  your journey by Underground you will have to purchase another ticket or use Pay as you go 

You can buy tickets for your family members who hold a valid Rail Staff Leisure Card.

Network Rail will advise you on how to opt into the scheme. They will notify Rail Staff Travel once you have confirmed you would like to opt in. You must upload a passport-style photo of you before we can issue your RST Online Leisure Card at www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/photo-upload

You must ensure you select ‘Network Rail - RST Online Leisure Card’ as the product.

Once we have your information and photo, your rail staff travel record will be complete.

You should receive your RST Online Leisure Card within 8 weeks of uploading your photo. We will email you once it has been posted, confirming  details of how to register for RST Online so you can buy your reduced rate tickets.

Employees can apply online at www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/forms.html#family to add your family to your record.

• To add a Spouse or Partner use form (XX02a). If you do not have a marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate you will also need to complete a Partner Declaration form (XX03)
• To add a Child Dependant use form (XX02b). For any child who is aged 18 or over you will also need to complete a Child Declaration form (XX05)

As part of applying for a family member you will need to upload a photo along with the form.

You should receive your RST Online Leisure Card within 8 weeks of uploading your photo. We will email you once it has been posted, confirming  details of how to register for RST Online so you can buy your reduced rate tickets.

You and your eligible family members who hold RST Online Leisure Cards can use these for discounted travel on certain National Rail services for Standard class leisure travel only.

Your RST Online Leisure Card is not valid for staff discounted (priv rate) tickets on Caledonian Sleeper, Elizabeth Line, London Overground, Grand Central, Hull Trains or Eurostar services. You must not purchase tickets from RST Online for use on these operators’ services.

It cannot be used to buy daily tickets to get to work, or a place of education or any form of duty travel i.e. to work meetings.

These tickets can only be purchased via your RST online account and not at the station or on the train. These can be purchased on the day or in advance.

You must have a valid ticket before you start a journey. If not, then you could be accused of fare avoidance and risk a Travel Irregularity.

It is not possible to buy discounted (priv rate) tickets at the Ticket Office, or from ticket machines.

The RST Online Leisure Card is not valid on London Underground,  Dockland Light Railway, London Overground or Elizabeth Line services. 

You cannot purchase privilege tickets for to travel on the following operators:

• Arriva Rail London (London Overground)
• Caledonian Sleeper
• Elizabeth Line
• Docklands Light Railway
• Glasgow Subway
• Grand Central 
• Hull Trains
• London Underground
• Tyne and Wear Metro
• All other light rail and tramway systems in Britain

You can only buy tickets for your family members who hold a valid RST Online Leisure Card.

You cannot buy staff discounted (priv rate) tickets for any person who does not hold a valid Rail Staff Leisure Card. This will result in the permanent withdrawal of all travel facilities (including all family members) and risks disciplinary and / or legal action (including prosecution).

To request any replacement card or pass, you must submit either

• Lost or Damaged Cards (XX35)
• Replacement of Faulty or Stolen Cards (XX34) Via the below link www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/forms

You will also need to pay a replacement fee if the card is lost or damaged.

We will charge Network Rail for the cost of providing the RST Online Leisure Card to you and any eligible family members. (there is one charge regardless of the number of family members). This is a taxable benefit so any queries on this you should email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Once you leave (for any reason) you are not eligible to retain the RST Online Leisure Cards. You will need to cut yours and your family members passes into 4 and send a picture of these with the name and number showing to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For any queries regarding the scheme you should email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Active members of staff who hold a Status Pass, can use this for residential and leisure travel.

Gold and Silver Status Pass holders can use the pass:

• on the National Rail Network,
• on the inter-available London Underground/Docklands Light Railway services, and
• on the services of additional carriers which are specified on the pass (determined when you started working and part of the industry you work for).

Blue (Regional) Status Pass holders can only use their passes within the geographical limits that are specified on the pass.

You cannot use any status pass for business/duty travel as part of your employment. This includes travel to meetings and travelling to different work locations.

Your active Status Pass must be returned to be replaced with a retired version after you have left employment. This retired version is valid for leisure travel only.

You will be contacted via email or letter to advise you of this. Once you have left please cut your current status pass into 4 and send us a picture of this to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the name and number showing so the retired pass can be issued.

Retired employees can use their Status Passes for leisure travel only.

You cannot use a retired status pass for residential or duty travel even if you then take up further employment

A Spouse or Partner who holds a Status Pass can use this for leisure travel only.

It cannot be used for getting to and from work or for any business travel as part of their employment.

A dependant child who holds a Status Pass can use this for leisure or educational travel only.

It cannot be used for getting to and from work. 

The photo on your Status Pass should be updated every 10 years for adults and every 5 years for child dependants

The Staff Travel Card provides free travel on some services which do not accept Status Passes (such as London Tramlink and Windermere Lake Cruises).

The Staff Travel Card is also required to obtain the flat fare for accompanied children when the employee is retired and aged 60 and over.

The Staff Travel Card can also be used for discounted travel on Eurostar, P&O Ferries, heritage and leisure railways. None of these organisations recognise the Status Pass for these discounts.

A discounted season ticket is available to Safeguarded and TOC employees:

• For residential travel from their nearest home station to their nearest work station.
• Children of eligible employees to travel to their place of education from their nearest home station (including term time addresses) to the nearest station to the educational establishment.
• Retired Safeguarded Employees and their eligible children for educational travel provided documentation is shown this.
• In exceptional circumstances a spouse/partner may be eligible for a season ticket for educational purposes. Please contact RST for more information.

If you are purchasing your season ticket via RST Online, then you can purchase the following:

• 7-day season ticket
• Flexi Season Ticket (can only be loaded onto an RST Season Smartcard and if your starting station is outside of the Greater London Area)
• Regular Monthly, Annual or a ticket for any duration between these dates

If you are purchasing your season ticket from a station, then you can purchase the following:

• Flexi Season Ticket (can only be loaded onto a TOC-issued smartcard)
• Monthly, Annual or a ticket for any duration between these dates

If your season ticket journey is wholly within London and only a Travelcard fare is available for this journey, then it is not possible to purchase this via RST Online as we are unable to

retail these fares. You will need to purchase this season ticket in person from a station.

Flexi Season Tickets are only available in Standard Class and there are no mileage discounts available for Safeguarded cardholders.

Eligible employees who hold an RST Online Smartcard are eligible for a Continuous Authority Season Ticket (CAST); if it is your first time applying, you will need to submit a season ticket on form xx01 www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/forms at least 7 days in advance at www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/forms . After this, you will then be able to purchase a season ticket via your RST Online account at any time and you would no longer need to continue submitting a form each time.

To fulfil your season ticket to an RST season smartcard and you do not hold one please apply at www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/forms on form xx42 when applying for your season ticket. 

If your journey is on the Elizabeth Line then please see the FAQ below before applying.

Eligible employees can apply for a season ticket on form xx31 at least 7 days in advance at www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/forms

If their journey is on the Elizabeth Line then please see the FAQ below before applying.

For some journeys on the Elizabeth Line priv rate Season Tickets are not available.

Where your residential journey starts or ends at an Elizabeth Line station between Paddington and Abbey Wood only, you have to use an Oyster Card with the priv discount set on it for commuting. The examples of this are below:

• If travelling between an Elizabeth Line station on the west side of London where Oyster is accepted (from West Drayton and then all stations towards London), and your journey is ending at Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel, Canary Wharf, Custom House, Woolwich or Abbey Wood
• If travelling between an Elizabeth Line station on the east side of London where Oyster is accepted (from Brentwood and then all stations towards London), and your journey is ending at Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel, Canary Wharf, Custom House, Woolwich or Abbey Wood

Please note that Priv Oyster is only valid for residential travel on the Elizabeth Line section of your journey as above. If you also travel on other National Rail services as part of your commute, you must hold a valid season ticket, residential pass or TOC specific pass for that element. You cannot use your Oyster card for this journey.

If your residential journey does not include the central core, so Slough to Paddington or Brentwood to Liverpool Street, then you must apply for a priv-rate Season Ticket in the usual way.

All eligible employees can get a discounted season ticket for use on National Rail services.

If you hold a Staff Travel Card, your season ticket can cover journeys on London Underground and Docklands Light Railway.

The home station is the one that is nearest to your permanent place of residence.

Where there are no services from your nearest station when you start or end a shift, but there are from a station reasonably near to your home, this can be considered by RST. In these circumstances, full details must be provided in the notes field when you make your application.

You must choose the station that is nearest to the work location you travel too most frequently.

For those who hold RST Online smartcards and purchase their season tickets via RST Online, the minimum period is 7 days and the maximum period is 1 year.

For those who purchase paper season tickets from stations, the minimum period is 1 month, the maximum period is 1 year.

However, you can have this for any period in between these two i.e. 3 months 5 days.

We have introduced Continuous Authority Season Tickets (CAST), so you will only need to submit a new form (giving at least 7 days’ notice) if it is the first time you are applying for a season ticket. After this, you will then be able to purchase a season ticket via your RST Online account at any time and you would no longer need to continue submitting a form each time. If you change your home address or work location and you require a change in journey for your season ticket, you would then need to submit a new form in order for us to update our records and we can then add your new season ticket to be purchased via your RST Online account.

If you opt to purchase your season ticket via RST Online you will receive an email advising you to login to your account to do so.

If you wish to purchase this from the station then the approved form will be attached to the reply email. You can then take this and your photo ID card to the station and that will be sold to you.

Once approved the form will be attached by return email. You can then take this and their photo ID card (if applicable) to the station and that will be sold to you.

Your application will be processed and sent back to you within 7 days of the start date.

If there are any queries with your application, we will email you to get further details.

If you have purchased your season ticket via RST Online, then you will need to log into RST Online and then select ‘Your account’, then select ‘Your Bookings’. From here, it will provide you with the option to request a refund on an eligible Season Ticket/Flexi Season Ticket. Please follow the instructions provided in order to submit the refund request.

If you have purchased your season ticket in person from a station, then please submit the Refund Form XX11 which you can find here www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/forms.html#other

Once you have purchased a ticket and chosen smartcard as the method of fulfilment you will need to allow at least 15 minutes for the ticket to be available for collection. You will need to download the National Rail Smartcard Manager app onto your smartphone. Open the app and click ‘Load Tickets’, then tap your smartcard onto your smartphone and this should make a ‘beep’ sound, which means that your season ticket has been loaded onto your smartphone, but is not yet activated. Please note that you will still need to activate your season ticket and this can only be done on the start date of your season ticket (i.e. the first day of travel on your season ticket).

You will need to open the National Rail Smartcard Manager app and click ‘View and activate tickets’. Tap your smartcard onto your smartphone and this should then make a ‘beep’ sound which means that your season ticket has been activated and is ready for use at station barriers.

It is important that your season ticket has been loaded and activated onto your smartcard via the National Rail Smartcard Manager app. If this has not been done, then it is considered the same as travelling without a valid ticket and may lead to a travel irregularity.

Residential Passes are only available to Active Safeguarded Employees and BTP employees who meet the eligible criteria.

It is not available to Non-Safeguarded Employees, Retired Safeguarded Employees and family members.

You can only get a Residential Pass if the distance between your nearest home station to nearest work station is less than the mileage allowances you are eligible for.

If your residential journey exceeds the mileage limit you will not be issued a residential pass, we will approve a form for you to purchase a Privilege Season Ticket  which includes a reduction for the free travel element.

You do not need a Residential Pass if you work for a TOC and you have a Card issued by them that covers your journey or a reciprocal travel arrangement with another TOC.

Eligible employees can apply for a residential pass on form xx01 at least 7 days in advance at www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/forms

Please ensure you upload a passport photograph to our website www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/photo-upload as we are unable to issue this pass without a photograph.

The Residential Pass is for travel to work between the stations printed on the front.

It will operate the barriers on the locations stated on the pass and may be used at intermediate stations along the route but may not operate the barriers at these locations.

You can also use it for leisure travel on the route specified unless it states otherwise.

The FIP Card is a product that allows a discount on full public adult fares on many rail and shipping carriers in Europe.

Eligible Active Staff who receive national, leisure and residential travel can apply for this after 1-year continuous service for them and their dependants.

If when you retired, you did not complete 11 years’ service you would not be eligible for the FIP Card.

You can keep your Active FIP cards for six months from your retirement date. After that they must be returned to exchange for the retired versions.. They can be cut into 4 and a picture of these sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Both active and retired FIP Cards give 50% discount across the FIP members. Active Staff receive 75% for the following FIP Members:

• SNCB (Belgium)
• SNCF (France)

Both Active and Retired receive 75% off the following FIP members:

• CIE (Ireland)
• NIR (Northern Ireland)

A FIP Card issued to a child gives them a discount on the adult fare not on the public child fare.

The ages at which the public child fare is available vary from country to country. This information is available in the Travel Tips for Europe Guide www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/where-can-i-go.html#Europe.  

RST will issue children FIP cards from the age of 4.

Eligible Active Staff can apply for coupons and FIP cards after 1-year continuous service for them and their eligible dependants.   Retired Safeguarded Staff who are eligible must have completed a minimum of 11 years of continuous service at the date of retirement to receive coupons.

Please complete the xx09a form (https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/forms)and the card will be issued for you and all eligible family members

Please complete the xx09b (employee only form) or xx09c (family member form) forms as applicable from https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/forms   If you do not hold a FIP card, then this will be issued at the same time.  You do not need to complete another form for this.   If you large number of coupons, you will need to email us an itinerary before the coupons can be issued.

Yes, there are FIP discounted fares available if you hold a current FIP Card.   If you are safeguarded and hold a Staff Travel Card (without endorsements 5,6,11) there are special fares available.   The Eurostar FIP and safeguarded fares and how to book are in documents on the Offers and Concessions page of this website. https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/offers

There is no arrangement with Eurotunnel for an exchange of staff travel so there are no discounts available with any staff travel facilities.

We need to receive your application a minimum of 3 weeks before your travel date if you complete the online form. Postal applications need to be sent 3 weeks in advance. This is to allow us to issue and print the Coupons and despatch them in time for your indicated travel date

Coupons are issued and sent out approximately 2 weeks before the outward travel date on your form. You will receive an email response once these are sent out. One of the reasons for this is that under the FIP Regulations we are unable to replace Coupons that are lost, stolen or damaged.

Each International Coupon is issued for 3 months. However, if the Coupon start date is any date in December it will expire on the 31st March the following year.

Each date written into a box on the International Coupon will permit free travel on that day, together with free travel up to midnight on the following day.

The date in each box must be entered as DD/MM/YY with leading zeros for single digit dates e.g. 7 August 2017 is entered as 07/08/17.

Please go to our Where Can I Go guide and this will show which coupons you and your family are eligible for   Each FIP member agrees a different level of travel for each other's members.

From the date of retirement, you will be eligible to receive a special 9 and 45 month allocation of coupons. These provide an element of your Active quota over the first 9 and 45 months of your retirement in addition to your Retired allocation.   Please note the date of travel has to be before the end dates of your 9- and 45-month date end to get coupons from these quotas. If you are unsure regarding these dates or the quota remaining, please email RST who can advise.   During the first 9 months after your retirement date you may apply for any coupon not already issued from your Active allocation in the period from 1st January in the year of your retirement until your retirement date. In addition to your 9 month allocation your 45 month allocation allows the issue of a single coupon for each FIP carrier that would provide an Active Coupon for you during the 45 months from your retirement date.(Please note that where an Active allocation allows 2 Coupons, then the 45 month allocation will only provide 1 Coupon.)   The same allocations apply to your dependants although it is restricted to those carriers who grant free coupons to Spouse/Partners and dependent children

If you are Safeguarded staff, you may be eligible for travel in other countries. You will need to go to the Where can I go page on our website www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/where-can-i-go.html#WhereCanIGoSG to check available countries and complete the xx09d form at least 6 weeks in advance.

Booking International Travel using your issued facilities

RST have an agreement with International Rail to make European bookings to those with rail staff travel facilities.

They can help you with booking travel in the following countries:

• Belgium (including Netherlands crossborder services)
• Czech Republic.
• Netherlands
• Switzerland

(Please note that the arrangements for booking domestic journeys within France on SNCF services changed early in 2024. These can now only be booked directly with SNCF. The details of how to contact SNCF are in the pages on France in the Travel Tips for Europe guide).

They can also help with FIP tickets on Eurostar and Thalys services.

To book, email them at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  or visit the website  www.bookmyrst.co.uk

You must make your booking at least three weeks before you intend to travel.

All queries will be responded to but please note that International Rail will always prioritise enquiries with the closest travel dates, so if your enquiry is for travel in several weeks’ time, you may need to wait up to 7 business days before you hear back from them.

Some  Travel Agents in Britain  are able to retail FIP products. These are:

• Ffestiniog Travel - 01766 515630
• Trainseurope - 0135 470 5098 or 0135 466 0222 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  (please enclose images of your FIP cards to prove eligibility. Trainseurope can also retail the safeguarded fares for Eurostar, please enclose images of your Staff Travel Card).

Booking FIP products in Travel Agents' international retailing systems is much more complex than booking public rate tickets. European railways have different booking thresholds and quotas for FIP products and can change these thresholds and quotas without prior notice to Travel Agents. Booking itineraries to cover more than one railway company is difficult.

Travel Agents will do their best to accommodate your booking enquiry, but they reserve the right to refuse to deal with rude and abusive employees, and those making speculative enquiries.

Where incidents of employee rudeness or abusive behaviour to Travel Agents are reported to Rail Staff Travel, it will be referred to the employer to consider disciplinary action.

Other carriers which are able to book FIP fares on their own service are listed here please refer to the Where Can I Go Guide  www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/where-can-i-go

We recommend you book Eurostar FIP bookings in advance. These can be done in person at London St Pancras from staff at the Welcome Host podiums.  You will need to present FIP cards for all family members you wish to book for.

Alternatively you can book through International Rail by either emailing them at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  or visit their website  www.bookmyrst.co.uk You must make your booking at least three weeks before you intend to travel.

A TOC specific pass is one issued by your company to travel on their services or another TOC they may have a reciprocal arrangement with.

Details on reciprocal arrangements can be obtained from your HR as RST do not hold an extensive list of these.

The following holders of staff travel facilities are required to carry a valid Photo ID Card when travelling:

• an active member of staff who has a Staff Travel Card or a season ticket, and does not have a TOC specific pass that has their photo on it
• the Spouse, Partner, or dependant child over 16 of an active member of staff using a Staff Travel Card or season ticket who does not have a TOC specific pass that has their photo on it

A Photo ID Card can be obtained free of charge at any staffed National Rail ticket office. You will need to take a passport sized photo and ask for a public ID Card.

You will need to complete a Replacement Form (see forms ) before we can replace any cards / passes. This should be submitted online.

If you need to pay for a replacement, we will enable the payment to be made through RST Online.  You must pay the fee within one month of submitting the form or you will need to re-submit the form.

There is a replacement fee of £15.00 per card that has been lost.

You will need to complete a Replacement Form (see forms ) before we can replace any cards / passes.

As the cards have been stolen, then you will need to provide the crime reference number on the form.

If the crime reference number is verified then the replacement cards and passes will be reissued free of charge.

You will need to complete a Replacement Form (see forms ) before we can replace any cards / passes. This should then be submitted online.

A damaged or defaced card is chargeable as a replacement, if you need to pay for a replacement, we will enable the payment to be made through RST Online.  You must pay payment within one month of submitting the form or you will need to re-submit the form.

There is a replacement fee of £15.00 per card that has been damaged/defaced.

You will need to check with the station barrier staff that the SmartCard is actually faulty (i.e. it could be the gates that are faulty instead). If they agree that it is the SmartCard that is faulty, you will need to submit a Replacement form (see forms ) online.

You should take a photo of both sides of the card, and attach an image when submitting the form. IIf we view the photo and it is believed the card is damaged you may be contacted to pay a replacement fee before a new card is issued.

Once the replacement Smartcard has been received, you will need to cut the faulty card into four with the card number visible, and send an image to RST. If you fail to do this it may impact on you receiving new cards and passes.

If you have not received a card for either yourself or any eligible family members, then you need to let us know. Please e-mail us and include your full address and details of which cards you have and have not received.

If you have moved address and not let us know, you will need to pay for replacements if you are unable to retrieve them from your old address.

If we have sent the cards to the correct address and they are lost in the post, the following rules apply:

• If you report non-delivery of the replacement card within 1 month of the expiry of the old card, we will issue a replacement for free.
• If you report non-delivery of the replacement card more than 1 month after the expiry of the old card, a replacement fee will apply.

Non-delivery of cards must be reported by written confirmation from you by e-mail or Royal Mail. 

You can pay through RST Online using a Visa or Mastercard credit or debit card. We do not accept American Express. 

You must pay payment within one month of submitting the form or you will need to re-submit the form.

The replacement fees for lost cards are written into the rules, terms and conditions of all products (except international Coupons which cannot be replaced if lost under FIP rules).

These have been agreed by all TOCs, Employers and the DfT. They are to cover the administration costs involved in reissuing travel facilities.

When replacing a lost Staff Travel card, we use a calculation to determine the number of boxes on the replacement card. This is based upon the month that the replacement was first notified to us (assuming payment is made within a reasonable period from this date).

A pro-rata calculation is the fairest means of defining the number of boxes that might remain on the card.

Seat Reservations can now be done via your  RST Online account.

This can be done if you are buying a ticket and a seat reservation is possible or if you are travelling using a dated Staff Travel card or Status Pass.

If you haven’t received details of how to register, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with RST Online as the subject and confirm your name and address.

Alternatively, you can take your Staff Travel Card, Rail Staff Leisure Card or Status Pass to any booking office where they will be able to make a seat reservation for you. Please ensure you check the latest staff travel restrictions first. www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst/where-can-i-go.html#Restrictions

Yes, you can get a discount set on an oyster card, but this is for leisure travel on National Rail services only. This includes the Elizabeth Line and London Overground services.

You and your eligible Dependants can get a discount on an Oyster Card if your Staff Travel Card does not have endorsement 11 on it.

You need to have a standard Oyster card and register it with TfL. Once you have this complete the TfL Privilege Oyster Application form (see forms ). Once authorised by RST, take the form together with your Staff Travel Card and Oyster card to a London Underground station, where a member of staff in the booking hall can set the Privilege rate discount on your Oyster card. You will need to ask the TfL staff to set the ‘Priv All Rail’ discount for staff and child dependants and ‘Priv All Rail N’ discount for spouses/partners.

The discount expiry date will match that on your Staff Travel Card. When you get a new Staff Travel Card you will need to update the Privilege discount on your Oyster card. Just take your new Staff Travel Card to a LU station and ask staff to update the ‘Priv All Rail’ discount. You do not need to contact Rail Staff Travel each year.

If you don’t update the discount each year, once the discount expires, you will be charged the full pay as you go fare instead of the Privilege rate fare

Remember to carry your Staff Travel Card with you when using the Privilege Oyster card, as proof of entitlement.

You can contact them by:

• Using the  online feedback form  and following the links
• Phone on 0343 222 1234
• Writing to TfL Customer Services, 14 Pier Walk, London SE10 0ES

RST Online is a new website which allows eligible active and retired rail employees and their eligible family members to plan a journey, buy priv discounted train tickets online and make seat reservations for journeys across the National Rail network.

www.railstafftravel.com

Full price tickets can also be purchased if you are travelling with people who are not in receipt of rail staff travel facilities.

Employees/retired employees who are eligible for free travel  can also use it to make seat reservations.

It can also be used for making payments for replacement cards/passes.

We will send you a unique one-time passcode via email once we have received your details from your employer and issued your rail staff travel facilities. Please check your Junk and Spam folder in case you can't see it in your Inbox.

This passcode (which you should copy and paste into the relevant box) will allow you to complete registration on the website and create an account with an email and a password of your choice.

Please avoid using first names or surnames as part of the password as this will prevent you from registering.  Passwords will need to be a minimum of 8 characters long. They should contain a mix of upper and lower case letters, include at least 1 number and 1 special character (such as ! or $), but  please avoid using space £#

Yes, as long as the family members receive rail staff travel facilities through you, then you can use RST Online to book priv rate travel for them.

Yes, an employee can request that family members who receive rail staff travel facilities through them  are setup with their own online account.

You can find form XX40 - Request Access for Family Members on the RST Forms page  to request a separate RST Online account.

The season or flexi season ticket must first be authorised by Rail Staff Travel as per the existing process.

You can find the relevant form on the RST Forms page

No, you will not be able to add a ticket purchased from RST Online to an existing Smartcard.  However once we can offer Season Tickets online you will be able to add your priv discount Season Ticket to an RST Season Smartcard.

Yes, you can also buy leisure rail tickets (singles/returns) at the public rate on RST Online while buying your priv rate ticket(s).

Yes, you can use RST Online to plan your journey and book tickets with reservations (where available). 

No, you would need to request this separately via Passenger Assist. This can be done via phone, an app or email. You can find more details at http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/passengerassist 

You can pay using Visa, Mastercard and Maestro.

Yes, sleeper bookings are available to purchase on RST Online.

Yes you can. Currently reservation only bookings are not available in mobile view so you must use the desktop version of RST Online.  

Please remember to cancel any reservation only bookings that you are not going to use.

This will not be possible for tickets purchased on RST Online.

No, you will receive a unique one-time passcode which allows you to register with a different email address if you wish.

Please note that updates about tickets bought via RST Online will be sent to the email address you have registered with RST Online.

Priv discounts are available across the National Rail network in Great Britain. This does not include Eurostar or international travel.

Also, through journeys to and from the Isle of Wight cannot be booked as a single ticket, as there is no priv discount on Wightlink.

Unless you hold the RST Online Leisure Card (which can only be used online), you can still purchase your priv tickets at the station. RST Online is an additional option for those holding the Staff Travel Card or Rail Staff Leisure Card. 

Yes, you can do this via ticket machines at the station (where available).

Yes, you can get leisure tickets sent to your email address as an e-ticket, for routes and TOCs which accept them.

If your ticket includes the Cross London marker, then it will not be available as an e-Ticket.

Yes, RST Online will provide the option to reserve a bike space where it is available at the station during the ticket purchase process.

For RST Online Enquiries, please contact:

• Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Phone: 0330 123 3872

If your enquiry is about rail staff travel policy, replacement travel passes or privileged season ticket approvals, please visit RST Contact details

If your ticket is eligible for a refund, you can request one by selecting the My Account option, then select Your Bookings, then click on View against the ticket booking you wish to refund. You will see a list of the possible options in the drop-down against 'I would like to'.

To check if your ticket is eligible for a refund, please see the National Rail Conditions of Travel .

If you decide not to use your ticket then you can apply for a refund through RST Online by logging into your account or by calling us on 03301233872.

When you log into RST Online, click on “Your Account”, or “Your Bookings”, then find the ticket/booking you wish to refund, click “View”, and select “I would like to Refund Journey” from the drop down list, then “Go”. Then follow the instructions on the screen.

You are required to submit your refund within 28 days of your ticket expiry date. Failing to do so will mean your refund request will be rejected and funds will not be returned.

If you have to send your tickets back to us, we advise you to do so via a guaranteed delivery service, such as Royal Mail Special Delivery or Recorded Delivery, as we cannot be held liable for any tickets lost in transit to us. We regret that the postage and packaging costs cannot be refunded. Please send your tickets to:

Refund Administrator RST Online Web Support PO Box 6136 Wolverhampton WV1 9RL

From receipt it will take up to 28 working days to process your refund and it may take a further 5 days for any credit to appear on your statement.

The amount of refund that you are due will depend on the ticket purchased and the terms and conditions of that ticket.

We charge an administration fee of £10 per booking.

If your train is delayed or cancelled and you choose not to travel, your unused ticket can be refunded without any fees.

To be eligible for a refund due to a disruption or cancellation you are required to collect written confirmation from the train company that operated your particular service at the time of the disruption/cancellation. It is your responsibility to first contact the train company to request written confirmation.

Once you have received written confirmation from the train company, log into “Your Account” or “Your Bookings”, find the ticket/booking you wish to refund, click “View”, and select “I would like to Refund Journey” from the drop down list, then “Go”. From the “Reason for Refund” drop down, select “Service disruptions & cancellations”. Then follow the instructions on the screen. You will have to submit the written confirmation from the train company along with the tickets.

You have 28 days after the ticket expiry date to provide us with your tickets and confirmation to be eligible for a refund.

 If you are seeking a refund for a disrupted or cancelled service and the ticket you wish to refund was purchased for less than £10 you will not be able to submit it online, instead please call our customer service team on 0330 1233 872 .

Refunds must be claimed within 28 days of the ticket’s expiry date. The expiry date depends on the terms and conditions of the ticket you have purchased. To check the terms and conditions of your ticket, log into “Your Account”, click on the booking for which you require a refund, then select “I would like to View Full Details” from the drop down. The conditions relating to the tickets will be displayed by clicking on “Terms & Conditions”.

If you selected postal delivery, you can cancel your tickets in RST Online before you receive them. You will be asked to return the tickets once you have received them. Your refund will not be processed until we are in receipt of the tickets.

If you selected the self-service ticket machine and have not collected your tickets, you can apply for a refund in RST Online without having to collect the tickets, if you wish to refund the complete booking. The money will be transferred back into your account automatically. If you only wish to refund some of the tickets in your booking, you will have to collect the ticket from the self-service ticket machine first

Once your refund has been processed we will send you an email to confirm the amount credited to your bank account. NB: From receipt of the confirmation email, it may take a further 5 days for this credit to appear on your statement.

We process all refund requests within 28 days from either receipt of your tickets (for tickets posted), or from submitting your refund claim online (for tickets collected at the station). Once a refund has been processed it can take a further 5 days for the credit to appear on your statement. If your card statement is due within the next few days you may not see the credit until the following month’s statement. In this case you can check whether the money has been credited to your account by contacting your card issuer

No. The Staff Travel scheme Conditions of Issue and Use require you to carry your Rail Staff Leisure Card or Staff Travel Card if travelling with a staff discounted ticket. If you do not have the Rail Staff Leisure Card or Staff Travel Card  with you at the time your ticket is inspected you will be liable to pay the difference between the price paid for your ticket and the full non-discounted fare. You will not be entitled to a refund of this charge even if you can provide a copy of the Rail Staff Leisure Card or Staff Travel Card  at a later date.

If your tickets haven’t arrived in the post, please call our customer service team on 03301 233 872.

We'll let you know by email the reason we have rejected your refund, however this is usually because your ticket has been stamped as used, or because you've scanned your eticket

If you are travelling and experience a delay arriving to your destination due to a cancelled or delayed service, you may be able to claim compensation from the train company you are travelling with.

Compensation will depend on:

• Which  train company  you are travelling/have travelled with
• Type of  ticket  you have
• Length of the  delay  in arriving at your destination

Please contact the train company that operated the service. For more information on compensation, go direct to the train company’s website.

If you appear to have been charged twice for one set of tickets please call Web Support on 03301 233 872.

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Welcome to the bookmyrst website, run by International Rail Ltd, your new way of booking trains overseas...

Here at International Rail we are delighted that, as of 1st April 2015, we w...

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We are experiencing unprecedented demand for booking enquiries. Although the service requires 3 weeks’ notice for any booking enquiry, over the last two years whilst booking volumes were low, booking enquiry requests have been responded with less than 3 weeks’ notice. The current volume means that it is no longer possible to respond to enquiries at short notice, so booking enquiries will only be responded to where the travel date is more than 3 weeks ahead.

For the foreseeable future, we will not be able to offer an enquiry service by telephone. Please submit your enquiry using the Journey Request form below.  Please could you ensure that if you require a return or multiple legs in journey that you request it on the same form.  Please do not submit multiple requests for the same journey.

All queries will be responded to but please note that International Rail will always prioritise enquiries with the closest travel dates, so if your enquiry is for travel in several weeks’ time, you may need to wait up to 7 days before you hear back from us.

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We'd like to specify that this site is only for the booking of your FIP train journeys. For anything related to your entitlement to book FIP Fares or administration thereof, please go to the Rail Staff Travel site by clicking here. https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst.html

As Rail Staff it is your responsibility to ensure that you are travelling with a valid FIP card or coupon.  Failure to do so may result in you being asked to leave the train and you may also be asked to pay a penalty fare.

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We can arrange FIP reduced rate tickets for Eurostar and other European rail routes including Germany, Belgium, Holland and Switzerland . please note we cannot arrange FIP rates in France.

IMPORTANT PLEASE NOTE: FOR OUR RAIL STAFF TRAVEL SERVICE WE WORK VIA EMAIL ONLY.

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• E-mail your Rail Staff Enquiry to us Email [email protected] In the email subject line enter: RAIL STAFF TRAVEL ENQUIRY / YOUR SURNAME
• You will receive your Quotation You will receive your quotation from us by e-mail, usually within 24 hours during normal office hours (normally much sooner!)
• Book and make payment via BACS If you are happy to book the price quoted; you can reply to the quotation by email along with the full passengers names, dates of birth and the FIP card number for each traveller. Once we have received your payment via BACS, we will then send you a booking confirmation and your E-tickets via email.

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Tickets – FIP Travel (Rail Staff Travel)

One of the most treasured benefits of working on the railway (for an organisation that is a member of ATOC/RDG, at least) is that after a year of employment, you qualify for your free international passes, or FIP.  This is my non-exhaustive guide!

It is, perhaps, bizarre to think that if you, like me, joined the railway after privatisation, you need to pay to travel a few miles down the road if it happens to be on another TOC’s service, but you can travel for  absolutely nothing from Calais all the way to within sight of Africa or Russia if you choose – but this is the case.

FIP comes in two forms – your annual allocation of passes (coupons) for free rail travel in each country, and your FIP “International Reduced Rate” card (essentially, an international priv card) that gives you significant discounts on walk-up fares.

How to apply

Coupons need to be requested for each country you intend to visit individually.  You select which countries you want by way of tick boxes on the online form at  this link .  Applications must be submitted between 3 months and 3 weeks before your trip – you stipulate the start date of your ticket when you apply and each coupon is then valid for four 48-hour periods within the following 3 months.  Your entitlement for each country is refreshed annually – for some countries (e.g. France, Belgium and the Netherlands) you get two coupons per year.

To request your International Reduced Rate card, fill in the form at this link .  You only need one of these, regardless of how many countries you intend to visit.  As these operate on much the same principal as our domestic priv cards, they are worth getting into your possession as soon as possible, even if they just gather dust in your wallet until it’s time for renewal.

There is no provision for FIP travel at all in Sweden, nor on many of the private railway operators in other countries – some of which have quite extensive networks e.g. ALEX in Germany or Trenord in Italy.  Additionally, there is no free coupon provision for Bosnia-Herzegovina, but there are discounted single tickets available with the FIP card.

Some single journeys within metropolitan areas, particularly in Germany, do not qualify for FIP discount, as these fares are set by the local transport authorities rather than the train operator.  This is irritating, but unavoidable.

Journeys on high-speed services such as Eurostar and Thalys are subject to special FIP fares and coupons are not valid.  There are also some individual services on which you can’t use any FIP discounts – mainly “premium” services such as the (loco hauled) “City Airport Train” (CAT) between Wien and its airport or the Airport Express services between Oslo and Gardermoen airport, etc.

It is best to refer to and keep an eye on the Rail Staff Travel section of the RDG website for updates regarding international rail staff travel and its validity.

Ticket machines

When buying a discounted ticket with your FIP card, it is far better to seek out a booking office where you can do this with a human.  In the same way as you can’t buy a priv ticket here, most ticket machines do not allow you to buy a FIP ticket directly.

There is no magnetic strip or equivalent in a FIP coupon so barriered stations can sometimes be tricky to navigate.  There is no common solution to this – for the Netherlands, your coupon arrives with a another slip containing a QR code that will open station barriers.  However, I’ve had problems on the RER in Paris, among others – despite being completely valid on the trains, I’ve had no means of opening the unmanned barriers to enter or egress the system, and with time ticking away for a flight on one memorable morning (whilst en route from Boulogne to work!), had to double-up with locals through barriers at both ends of my journey.

However, it must be seen that the pros massively outweigh the cons!

Family and Dependents

If you have family or dependents who are entitled to priv travel through you at home, then they also qualify for an element of FIP.  More info at the online form here .

Reservations

Having FIP travel documentation does not absolve you of the responsibility to purchase reservations where they are compulsory.

It is fair to say that the benefits of FIP are not well known among British railway staff as a whole (especially those who aren’t cranks), and surprisingly this does extend to some revenue staff on trains and at stations abroad.  Our hobby has a habit of taking us to places that are well away from the tourist trail, and it is not uncommon to find your ticket scrutinised from every possible angle as it is the first one they’ve come across.

One thing to really bear in mind, however, is that each box on a FIP coupon is valid for 48 hours, not 24.  Therefore, if you write a date on your ticket, say 01/06/17, then this sees you through to close of play on 02/06/17.  Many grippers seem unaware of this – it is not uncommon on the second day of a box for them to try and “helpfully” write that day’s date in the next box for you (thus depriving you of two days’ validity!) so do be vigilant of this if they take your coupon off you for a closer look.  The “two day rule” is written in four languages on your coupon so you should be able to make yourself understood.

It must be said though, that once they realise that you are fellow railway staff, many will treat you like an old friend and sit down and have a chat (even if you share no common language!).

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Staff travel information

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Flying on a stand-by ticket can be challenging. We have gathered invaluable insider information and tips to help you to get on board.

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Please note that this form is  not intended to ask staff travel related questions .

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Please note that this form is not intended to submit staff travel related questions as these cannot be answered.

Making staff travel easy and stress-free, like it should be!

Everything you need to know about booking Eurostar train travel across Europe

If you're already based in Europe, the iconic Eurostar train likely needs no introduction; if you're only visiting the continent, however, you may not be quite aware of the service or how speedy and convenient its connectivity is between the U.K. and mainland Europe.

If you're looking for an easy (and typically cheaper) alternative to flying in Europe , then Eurostar might be just what you're looking for. It provides easy access to several countries — if you're short on time during your vacation, you could opt to take a daytrip from London to Paris using this train service.

Keep reading to find out more about traveling on Eurostar, including how to book tickets and save on fares by using your points and miles . Plus, check out our in-depth overview of each fare type on the Eurostar .

Eurostar trains travel to several destinations

Eurostar began operating in 1994 and is one of Europe's most well-known high-speed train services. The train currently offers direct service to London; Paris; Brussels; Rotterdam, Netherlands; and Amsterdam.

Further connecting Eurostar services will take you to Antwerp, Belgium; Liege, Belgium; Dusseldorf, Germany; Duisburg, Germany; Essen, Germany; and Dortmund, Germany.

In addition to operating its own trains, Eurostar serves as a connecting rail service for other high-speed carriers to destinations like Disneyland Paris.

Related: 7 reasons why your next family vacation should be a train trip

What are the different ticket types for Eurostar trains?

The fare classes on Eurostar come in three tiers. The lowest and most affordable is Standard, which is the equivalent of coach or economy class with an airline.

Next up is Standard Premier, which is akin to premium economy. Finally, there's Business Premier, which is Eurostar's version of business class.

The fare classes are broken down as follows:

With regards to pricing, the cost of fares in Standard and Standard Premier fluctuates based on seasonality, peak periods and destination. Business Premier, on the other hand, remains fairly consistent year-round in terms of pricing. Eurostar tickets can usually be booked up to 330 days before your return travel date.

Generally speaking, if you're considering a trip from London onward, you can expect prices to fall somewhere within the following margins for a one-way trip:

If you're looking to snag a bargain, it's worth keeping your eye out for flash sales, which Eurostar regularly runs throughout the year, often with tickets for as little as 30 British pounds (around $38).

How do Eurostar trains compare to flying?

Compared to flying to your destination and transiting through European airports, traveling via Eurostar is much more low-stress.

The most obvious difference is the security experience, which, compared to that at an airport, is effortless, with no removal of liquids or large electric items. Although queues can mount up during busy periods, we've found that we're through security in under 10 minutes when we travel with Eurostar.

Check-in is similar to airport check-in in that you must show your ticket and passport at a desk or kiosk. London's St. Pancras International Station , however, is currently testing biometric face scans , which may make checking in even faster.

Regarding lounge access, it's worth noting lounges are only available at the St. Pancras, Paris Gare du Nord and Brussels Midi/Zuid stations.

If you're used to airline-run business-class airport lounges, you may need to lower your expectations somewhat here. Although comfortable and pleasant, the lounges are somewhat basic — don't expect too much in the way of food.

Related: The best lounges at London Heathrow — and how to get inside

On board the Eurostar, it's like most modern trains you may have taken at home. The differences between Standard Premier and Business Premier are nominal. You'll get slightly more legroom and a slightly more modern seat in both classes than in Standard.

What you're paying for in these classes is the luggage allowance and food service. If you don't deem either of those things a huge must-have, you'll be more than comfortable in Standard.

That said, the food service on the Eurostar is much better than on most airplanes and currently features a menu designed by the renowned Raymond Blanc. Champagne and coffee services are also served free of charge in Business Premier.

How to book the Eurostar train with credit cards

Travel on Eurostar, booked directly with Eurostar or through an online travel provider, should be coded as travel.

The following credit cards offer bonus points for travel expenses, along with strong welcome bonuses:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred Card : Earn 5 points per dollar on travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards and 2 points on all other travel purchases.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve : Earn 3 points per dollar on travel purchases.
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card : Earn 2 points per dollar on all purchases, including travel.
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card : Earn 2 points per dollar on all purchases, including travel.
• Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express : Earn 3% cash back on transit, including taxis, parking, tolls, trains and buses.
• Citi Double Cash® Card (see rates and fees ): Earn 2% on every purchase, with 1% cash back when you buy and an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases.

Related: 14 best travel credit cards

How to earn points and miles for Eurostar trains

Eurostar operates its own loyalty program named Club Eurostar. For every British pound spent (about $1.27), you will earn 1.2 points. This means you earn around 1 point per $1 spent.

Elite members receive the following points bonuses when booking:

• Avantage: 25%
• Carte Blanche: 50%
• Etoile: 75%

Eurostar tickets can now be booked through the Uber app , and you will earn 10% back in Uber credits on Eurostar bookings and National Rail train tickets in the U.K.

Additionally, you can earn 10% back when you purchase your coach tickets with the following U.K. operators: National Express and Megabus. If you decide to opt out of taking public transit, you can also hire a car from Avis, Hertz and other companies in your Uber app. When you book your trip, you'll receive £10 off (about $12).

You can also transfer 2,000 Accor Live Limitless points and receive 300 Eurostar points.

How to redeem points and miles for Eurostar trains

You can redeem 2,000 Club Eurostar points for a round-trip ticket in Standard class (or 4,000 points for a Standard Premier ticket), though these tickets are limited. For 1,000 more points, you can book any Standard or Standard Premier seats available.

A round-trip ticket can easily cost over $200 in Standard class (and double this at peak periods), making Club Eurostar points very valuable.

Business Premier tickets are available for 6,000 points round-trip for any available seat (saver-level space is not offered).

A one-way upgrade from Standard to Standard Premier is 600 points.

If you don't wish to redeem Club Eurostar points for train travel, you can transfer 500 Eurostar points and receive 1,000 Accor points .

You can redeem Virgin points through Virgin Red for the following Eurostar vouchers:

• 2,000 points for a 10-pound E-Voucher (about $12)
• 5,000 points for a 25-pound E-Voucher (about $31)
• 10,000 points for a 50-pound E-Voucher (about $63)
• 20,000 points for a 100-pound E-Voucher (about $126)

We would not recommend redeeming Virgin points in this way under any circumstances, as this will only give you a redemption value of 0.5 cents each, which is only one-third of our current valuation of Virgin points . You can obtain far more value from your Virgin points by redeeming through flights on Virgin Atlantic or partner airlines like Air France, KLM and Delta Air Lines.

Related: Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: How to earn and redeem points for maximum value

Bottom line

Eurostar's popularity boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic as travelers looked for ways to move around Europe without relying on airlines. As a result, Eurostar fares can be more expensive compared to flights with the same route. For short journeys like between London and Brussels, taking Eurostar is a much quicker and more relaxing experience, while on longer journeys like London to Amsterdam, the price can be similar.

If you want to travel within Europe and like the idea of keeping your feet on the ground, book in advance or redeem points and enjoy the stress-free Eurostar rail experience.

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• Fares, Ticketing & Routeing
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Rail staff purchasing Eurostar tickets

• Thread starter MuckyFingers
• Start date 2 Nov 2019

MuckyFingers

In order to purchase tickets with our discount applied do we as rail staff need to go to St Pancras in person or can we do so by another method. Also is anyone able to tell me what proof we need to take with us if this is the case? Cheers peeps  

RailUK Forums

Wallsendmag

Established member.

I bought some last month at STP I just took my Safeguarded Staff Travel cards , it is possible to use an agency but I was in KGX anyway.  

davetheguard

The Rail Delivery Group website gives the following phone numbers to order tickets on its staff travel pages. Booking fees apply. International Rail Ltd. 0333 003 0423 Rail Canterbury 01227 450088 Ffestiniog Travel 01766 515630 Two different levels of discount apply for staff travel on Eurostar: one for safeguarded staff and the other for non-safeguarded staff.  

Forum Staff

davetheguard said: The Rail Delivery Group website gives the following phone numbers to order tickets on its staff travel pages. Booking fees apply. International Rail Ltd. 0333 003 0423 Rail Canterbury 01227 450088 Ffestiniog Travel 01766 515630 Two different levels of discount apply for staff travel on Eurostar: one for safeguarded staff and the other for non-safeguarded staff. Click to expand...

That's hard for those who live up North then.  

gray1404 said: That's hard for those who live up North then. Click to expand...

BluePenguin

On moderation.

cheers guys for the replies il try phoning before i pop by.  

Mag_seven said: If you want the safeguarded discount (as opposed to the FIP discount) then I'm sure that can only be obtained at Eurostar booking offices. Click to expand...

Will the railways ever allow these tickets to be booked online? TfL have managed an online solution for Eurostar fares, not really open to abuse either like the Sleeper tickets were.  

RJ said: Will the railways ever allow these tickets to be booked online? TfL have managed an online solution for Eurostar fares, not really open to abuse either like the Sleeper tickets were. Click to expand...

TheAlbanach_

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Rail Canterbury can offer rail staff services such as travel advice and reservations to complement your free coupon entitlement.

Rail Staff Travel Services

You don’t need to fill in any forms, just call us or send an e-mail and we will be happy to help.

Rail Canterbury Ltd., PO Box 1178 Canterbury, Kent. CT1 9QJ England.

Home :: Eurostar :: European Rail :: InterRail Passes :: Rail Staff Travel :: Hotels :: Other Services :: Worldwide Trains :: Contact Us

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To read the Staff Travel Pages you must be an ESA Member and be logged-in. There are three pages available to members: Staff Travel - Active Staff Staff Travel - Retired Staff Travel Tips from ESA members

Train travel resumes between France and UK after surprise strike ends

A wildcat strike Thursday by staff at Eurotunnel, which links Britain and the European continent and paralyzed dozens of Eurostar trains, ended some six hours after it began, Eurotunnel announced. It promised a gradual return to service.

Issued on: 21/12/2023 - 15:33 Modified: 21/12/2023 - 19:36

Eurostar passenger trains will start transporting passengers on Friday, and the rail shuttle known as LeShuttle, which carries vehicles and passengers, was to return to duty starting Thursday night, along with freight trains.

The unannounced strike triggered by what Eurotunnel staff said was an insufficient bonus caused outrage and disarray in train stations as travelers on both sides of the English Channel tried to join families and friends for the Christmas holidays. 

Union representatives at Eurotunnel’s French site had rejected a 1,000-euro ($1,100) end-of-year bonus, and went on strike to press a demand to have it tripled, Eurotunnel said earlier. That “resulted in the complete interruption of service and the closure of our terminals in France and the UK,” the statement said. 

It said that 30 Eurostar passenger trains had been canceled out of London , Paris or Brussels.

Eurostar and Eurotunnel are two separate companies.

French Transport Minister Clement Beaune had called the stoppage “unacceptable,” insisting on the need for a quick solution.

“I salute the spirit of responsibility of all concerned,” he said later on X, formerly Twitter, noting the end of the Channel Tunnel blockage.

“Eurotunnel (officials) and union representatives reached an accord,” a Eurotunnel statement said, saluting the agreement — but not specifying any specifics of the deal.

It said earlier that affected customers would be able to exchange their tickets free of charge or claim a refund.

Tim Kelsey, of Oxford, was among victims of the strike, stranded at Paris' Gare du Nord train station. 

“We learned about the strike here, when we arrived here at the station. It’s an outrage, being stuck here this close to Christmas," he said. “What are the strikers thinking about?” He bemoaned the lack of any offer of accommodations in Paris.

“No trains available today or tomorrow. How am I going to get home to my children?” Kelsey asked. "It’s going to be a lonely Christmas on the streets of Paris.”

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When are the next train and tube strikes? How ASLEF union action in May & June 2024 will affect commutes and travel

• Caroline Peacock , TV & Showbiz Reporter in London, United Kingdom
• Published : 13:42, 15 May 2024
• Updated : 15:46, 16 May 2024
• Published : Invalid Date,

ASLEF's decision to extend strikes means commuters are bracing for more chaos.

Here is everything you need to know about upcoming strikes .

When are the next train strikes?

There have been no train strikes announced as of May 15, 2024.

However, with Aslef voting to continue striking for the next six months and expected to announce a new set of strikes imminently, the prospect of ongoing disruption looms.

Unions need to give two weeks’ notice of any planned strike action.

The last set of train strikes took place on May 7-9.

Read More on Trikes

Tube staff to strike this week causing more travel misery for Brits

Train drivers at 16 rail firms & Tube staff to stage fresh wave of strikes

A  law  is now in place to ensure a minimum level of service are running during rail  strikes .

When are the next Tube strikes?

There are no Tube strikes planned for anytime soon.

However, there was recently a planned strike by Unite members on the trams that serve stations between Wimbledon and Croydon.

This took place between 8pm on Thursday, July 11, and 6am on Monday, July 15.

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Is eurostar affected by train strikes.

Eurostar has said that strikes will not affect its timetable.

But it's important always to double-check your journey if you are getting a connection within the UK.

Be sure to check if your transport is still running before you leave for the journey and always allow extra time on days where there are strikes.

Can I get my money back for strike days?

If there is a strike on the day you plan to travel, rail passengers with advance tickets can get refunds.

This is only if the train they booked is cancelled, delayed or rescheduled due to strikes.  

Train drivers have voted, again and again, to take action to get a pay rise" Mick Whelan

If passengers have a return ticket they may also be entitled to a fee-free refund if part of the journey is cancelled.

Season ticket holders who cannot travel can claim 100% compensation for strike dates.

What are the strikes about?

Aslef, the train drivers' union, is asking for better pay for its members.

The union say drivers have not had a pay rise for five years, since their last pay deals expired in 2019.

Its members voted overwhelmingly in February to continue industrial action.

General secretary Mick Whelan described the year-old offer of a 4% pay rise followed by another 4% increase as "risible" and "dead in the water".

He said: "We first balloted for industrial action in June 2022, after three years without a pay rise. It took eight one-day strikes to persuade the train operating companies (Tocs) to come to the table and talk.

"Our negotiating team met the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) on eight occasions - the last being on Wednesday 26 April last year.

"That was followed by the Tocs' 'land grab' for all our terms & conditions on Thursday 27 April - which was immediately rejected.

"Since then, train drivers have voted, again and again, to take action to get a pay rise.

Mark Harper, the transport secretary, is being disingenuous when he says that offer should have been put to members. Drivers would not vote to strike if they thought an offer was acceptable"

He said the dispute had now cost more than £2billion, a fraction of which could have resolved the dispute.

Mr Whelan also said Aslef members remained solidly behind the campaign, and in many cases wanted to go "harder and faster" because of the lack of progression.

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A  Department for Transport  spokesperson said: "Aslef is the only rail union continuing to strike, targeting passengers and preventing their own members from voting on the pay offer that remains on the table.

"Having resolved disputes with all other rail unions, the Transport Secretary and rail minister have ensured that a pay offer is on the table - taking train drivers' average salaries from £60,000 up to £65,000."

What train lines will be affected?

When ASLEF workers go on a nationwide strike, these are the lines that could be impacted:

• Avanti West Coast
• CrossCountry
• East Midlands Railway
• Great Western Railway
• TransPennine Express
• Greater Anglia
• GTR (Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern, Thameslink)
• Southeastern
• South Western Railway
• Chiltern Railways
• Northern Trains
• West Midlands Railway
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• Travel delays strikes and disruption

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International Edition

All aboard the Eurostar! Rail operator to order 50 new trains as it seeks to boost mainland Europe routes

E urostar is looking to expand its services between London and the Continent as it prepares to place an order for up to 50 new trains.

The cross-channel rail operator wants to increase annual passenger numbers from 18.6m last year to 30m by 2030 and is planning to increase the size of its train fleet by 30 per cent by the “early 2030s”.

Eurostar chief executive Gwendoline Cazenave said: “There is huge demand for our services and we have big European ambitions.”

She said this “definitely” included considering launching new routes. At present, Eurostar operates direct services between St Pancras and Paris, Lille, Brussels, Rotterdam and Amsterdam, and connecting services at Brussels into Germany.

“With a new fleet we will study new routes, new European routes . . . I think by the end of the year or early 2025 we will be able to say more,” she told the Financial Times.

The firm, which merged with European rail firm Thalys in 2022, announced €2 billion (£1.72bn) annual revenue for the first time on Thursday. The figure, for 2023, was up 26 per cent on the previous year.

Eurostar said the new trains would increase its fleet from 51 to up to 67. It will retain its 17 e320 trains but retire its e300s, PBKAs, and PBAs.

Only the e320, which has 894 seats, and the e300, which has 750 seats, operate in and out of St Pancras. The PBKAs and PBAs, which belong to Alstom's TGV family of trains, run on continental routes.  

A spokesman said no decisions had been made on the manufacturer, and design details were yet to be confirmed.

However the new trains would “set the standards for customer experience and comfort” and the firm would “explore whether the new fleet can be interoperable across the entire Eurostar network”.

Eurostar announced last year that it will continue to run train to Amsterdam this summer after finding a solution to the part-closure of its terminus station in the Dutch capital.

However, from June 15, the frequency of direct services will be reduced from four to three a day, and London-bound passengers will have to change trains at Brussels.

Ms Cazenave told the FT that Eurostar had no plans to reopen Ebbsfleet and Ashford stations in Kent, which closed during the pandemic.

Its footprint at St Pancras and Gare du Nord is due to be expanded over the next five years to create more space for post-Brexit passport checks. New EU biometric checks are due to start in the Autumn.

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Travellers always forget which popular food is BANNED from Eurostar – don’t get caught out on your next trip

• James Halpin
• Published : 16:46, 19 May 2024
• Updated : 17:10, 19 May 2024
• Published : Invalid Date,

HOLIDAYMAKERS this summer will have to remember that one surprising thing is banned from the Eurostar.

Many European countries the train travels to are famous for making this food - but you still can't take it onboard.

Cheese is a perishable food - along with all forms of dairy - by the train firm so appears on their banned list.

So, if you've been to Amsterdam and bought some lovely Gouda, or you've been to Lille and have a soft cheese, you can't take it on board.

Other perishable foods that are banned are red and white meat and fish.

And if you were planning to have a drink onboard the train, there are also limits on quantity.

Passengers are only allowed one 750ml bottle of wine pr four 440ml bottles of beer.

Large bottles of spirits like vodka and rum are also banned from being drunk on board.

Eurostar has also just announced that it is planning to place a new order with train manufacturers.

It is looking to now expand its fleet from 51 trains to 67.

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According to the  Financial Times , Eurostar Chief Executive Gwendoline Cazenave revealed that the train company was considering new route options from London to Europe.

This would mean adding to its existing services between London, Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels.

She said: "With a new fleet we will study new routes,  new European routes  . . . I think by the end of the year or early 2025 we will be able to say more."

The journey currently from London to Amsterdam is also taking longer as the city is refurbishing a terminal.

As a result, passport checks will not be able to take place at the  Dutch capital .

Instead, the service will have to stop at Brussels, where checks will be completed, adding the extra time onto the journey.

Other items prohibited on the Eurostar

There are a number of items prohibited from being brought onboard the Eurostar train. Here is their list:

• Unlicensed firearms, including replicas and de-activated firearms. Imitation or toy guns that have the appearance of a genuine weapon.
• Ammunition of any calibre and in any quantity.
• Licensed firearms: a firearms certificate will be required and a European Firearms Pass may be required. You’ll need to check in advance with the relevant national authorities in the country of boarding and destination. Note that all ammunition must be removed.
• All explosives: military shells (including war souvenirs and relics), detonators, smoke cartridges, grenades, mines, explosive military stores, imitation devices, fireworks, flares, and pyrotechnics.
• Items containing incapacitating substances such as gas guns, tear gas sprays, mace, CS gas, phosphorus, acid and other dangerous chemicals that could be used to maim or disable.
• Any quantity of inflammable substances, including empty canisters e.g. petrol, methylated spirits, paint thinners. Don’t worry though, you can take nail polish and hairspray.
• Firelighters and lighter fuel.
• All flick knives, gravity knives and daggers.
• Folding/lock pocket knives are also banned. Small folding pocket knives with blades under 75mm without a locking mechanism are the exception and are permitted.
• Gardening equipment such as chainsaws and secateurs, and gardening pesticides like weed killers.
• Any other weapon made, adapted or intended for use as an offensive weapon.
• Alcohol that is in excess of our alcohol policy.
• Illegal drugs.
• Any item of furniture.
• Perishable items such as meat, fish and dairy products.
• E-scooters and hoverboards including transport of their associated batteries.

• Food and drink
• Travel advice

The Man in Seat 61

How to travel by train from

London to moscow & russia.

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Train travel UK & Ireland...

Train travel in europe..., train travel in asia..., train travel in africa..., train travel in america..., train travel in australasia, uk to russia by train in 48 hours....

Of course, doesn't everyone go there by train?  It's easy, safe & comfortable to travel from London to Moscow by train in just over 48 hours.  Just take an afternoon Eurostar to Paris and board the Paris-Moscow Express , this runs once a week all year round.  It's the civilised way to reach Russia!  Or travel more cheaply via Berlin, Warsaw or Kyiv, it's all explained on this page with times, fares & how to buy tickets...

IMPORTANT UPDATE 2024:   All international trains to/from Moscow & Russia remain suspended until further notice, originally due to covid-19 and now due to sanctions and the war in Ukraine.  No trains at all now cross the Poland/Belarus or Finland/Russia border.  This page is not being updated, it shows travel as it used to be pre-pandemic.

The Foreign Office now advises against all travel to Russia because of the war between Russia & Ukraine, see www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/russia .

Train times, fares & tickets

Information on other pages

Route map:  uk to russia by train.

London to Moscow by train is a comfortable 1,924 miles (3,097 km) via the route in dark blue.

Useful country information

What are the options for getting to moscow .

There are a range of good options for travel from London to Moscow by train:

Option 1 , London to Moscow via the daily Warsaw-Moscow sleeper :  The cheapest option.  Routed via Belarus.

Option 2 , London to Moscow via the weekly Paris-Moscow Express :  The most glamorous & comfortable option, once a week all year.  Routed via Belarus.

Option 3 , London to Moscow via the twice-weekly Berlin-Moscow Talgo :  Another classy option, twice a week all year.  Routed via Belarus.

Option 4 , London, East Anglia, the North & Scotland to Moscow via Amsterdam :  Similar to option 1, but by ferry not Eurostar.  Routed via Belarus

Option 5 , London to Moscow via Kyiv :  Takes an extra night, but avoids Belarus so no Belarus visa required & has daily departures .  Easiest non-Belarus option.

Option 6 , London to St Petersburg via Stockholm then train to Moscow.  Also avoids Belarus, a scenic & comfortable route via Scandinavia.

Other routes & options including journeys via Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, Vilnius, Riga or Tallinn.

Option 1, London to Moscow via Warsaw

This option runs every day and is usually the cheapest way from London to Moscow.  It takes the direct route shown in dark blue on the route map above .  You might still want to consider option 2, the Paris-Moscow Express , as it's a classic experience even if it costs a bit more, or option 3 via the new Berlin-Moscow Strizh , also a very classy experience.  If you want to avoid having to get a Belarus transit visa, consider option 5 via Kyiv .

London ► Moscow

Day 1, travel from London to Berlin using any of the options shown on the London to Germany page .  For example...

Leave London St Pancras at 09:01 by Eurostar , change at Brussels Midi & Cologne Hbf onto high-speed ICE trains arriving Berlin Hbf 19:08.

Leave London St Pancras at 11:04 by Eurostar , change at Brussels Midi & Cologne Hbf onto high-speed ICE trains arriving Berlin Hbf 21:09.

Eurostar has a cafe-bar, ICE trains have a restaurant car, all these trains have power sockets at all seats & free WiFi.

Stay overnight in Berlin.   Top choice here is the InterCity Hotel Berlin Hbf (my favourite), only 200m from Berlin Hbf 's main entrance, relatively inexpensive with great reviews, or if you're in the money, the excellent 5-star Steigenberger Hotel just outside the station.  If you're on a budget, the cheaper 3-star Motel One Berlin-Hbf is behind the station or use www.hostelworld.com .  Of course, if you really want to push the boat out, the famous Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin is next to the Brandenburg Gate just 17 minutes walk away.

Day 2, travel from Berlin to Warsaw by EuroCity train , leaving Berlin Hbf at 09:38 every day arriving Warsaw Centralna at 15:11.

The Berlin-Warsaw EuroCity trains are comfortable air-conditioned trains with restaurant car serving drinks, snacks and full meals.  Treat yourself to lunch and a beer or two in the restaurant.  Warsaw Centralna station & city information .  Map of Warsaw showing station location .

Day 2, travel from Warsaw to Moscow by sleeping-car, leaving Warsaw Centralna at 19:15 daily and arriving Moscow Belorussky at 16:58 (16:00 from late March to late October as Russia has no daylight saving time).  Check times with Russian Railways at www.rzd.ru .

This train was suspended due to covid-19 and remains suspended due to sanctions...

This is an impressive modern Austrian-built sleeping-car with 4-berth compartments built in 2014, see photos of this type of sleeper here & see panorama photo inside one of these modern sleepers .  Each compartment can be sold as 1st class 1-berth, 1st class 2-berth or 2nd class 4-berth.  The sleeping-car comes from Prague.  A Russian restaurant car is attached between Brest (on the Polish/Belarus border) & Moscow.  This train crosses Belarus, so you will need a Belarus transit visa , also see this update on reaching Russia via Belarus .

Russian track gauge is 5', but most of Europe (including the UK) is 4' 8½", so at Brest on the Belarus frontier the sleeping-car is into a shed, and jacked up to have its bogies (wheelsets) changed. You remain on board while this is done, quite an experience.  Once in Russia, the scenery is rolling hills, birch tree forests, and villages of small wooden houses.  Approaching Moscow, you may catch a glimpse of the plaques on the station building marked '1812' and '1942' as the train passes through the small station of historic Borodino...  Map of Moscow showing Belorussky station .

Moscow ► London

This is an impressive modern Austrian-built sleeping-car with 4-berth compartments built in 2014, see photos of this type of sleeper here & see panorama photo inside one of these modern sleepers .  Each compartment can be sold as 1st class 1-berth, 1st class 2-berth or 2nd class 4-berth.  The sleeping-car goes through to Prague.  A Russian restaurant car is attached between Moscow & Brest on the Belarus/Poland border.  This train crosses Belarus, so you will need a Belarus transit visa .  Warsaw Centralna station & city information .  Map of Warsaw .

Day 2, travel from Warsaw to Berlin by Warsaw-Berlin EuroCity train , leaving Warsaw Centralna daily at 12:33 arriving Berlin Hbf at 18:16. 

Alternatively, a later train leaves Warsaw Centralna at 16:34 daily except Saturdays arriving Berlin Hbf at 22:16.

The Warsaw-Berlin EuroCity trains are comfortable air-conditioned trains with a trolley refreshment service and a restaurant car serving drinks, snacks and full meals.  Treat yourself to a meal in the restaurant:  Three courses, a beer and a coffee only come to around €11.

Day 2, travel from Berlin to London using any service shown on the London to Germany page .  For example:

Leave Berlin Hbf at 06:46, change at Cologne Hbf & Brussels Midi , arriving London St Pancras at 17:00.

Leave Berlin Hbf at 10:46, change at Cologne Hbf & Brussels Midi , arriving London St Pancras at 19:57.

How much does it cost?

How to buy tickets.

Step 1, book your London-Berlin tickets online following the step by step instructions here .

Step 3, now book the Warsaw to Moscow sleeper train, using one of these 3 sites...

a)  You can book it with no booking fees at the Russian Railways website www.rzd.ru .  It's a little fiddly, and doesn't always accept every overseas credit card, but does work with many payment cards,

b)  You can book it easily in plain English using the Real Russia online booking system here with a mark-up, tickets sent to any address worldwide.

c)  You can order tickets online from reliable Polish ticketing agency Polrail at http://booking.polrail.com with tickets collected in Warsaw or (at extra charge) shipped to any address worldwide.

Don't forget to arrange your Russian visa & Belarus transit visa .  See update on travelling to Russia through Belarus

How to buy tickets by phone

You can buy tickets just by picking up the phone, with either...

International Rail on 0844 248 248 3, lines open 09:00-17:00 Monday-Friday.  Overseas callers call +44 844 2482483.  International Rail are equipped with both the French and German rail ticketing systems, so can offer the best prices all the trains between London and Prague.  They charge a £10 booking fee for bookings under £100, £20 for £100-£300, £30 above £300.  In many cases tickets can be emailed to you as e-tickets, so there's no postage fee or delay.

Let Tailor Made Rail arrange it as a package...

This is the most hassle-free way to arrange a trip to Russia by train.  Tailor Made Rail's suggested tour package from London to Moscow & St Petersburg is at www.tailormaderail.com/itinerary/moscow-and-st-petersburg , this can be customised your own requirements, one-way or round trip.  As it's a package, they'll take care of you if anything happens to one part of the trip, for example, a national strike.  They're TTA-protected - like ATOL, but not only for agencies that sell air travel.

Call their dedicated seat61 phone line 020 3778 1461 and quote seat 61 when booking.  From outside the UK call +44 20 3778 1461.  Lines open 09:00-17:30 Monday-Friday.

What's the journey like ?

1. London to Brussels by Eurostar

Eurostar trains link London & Brussels in just 2 hours, travelling at up to 300 km/h (186 mph).  There are two bar cars, power sockets at all seats and free WiFi.  Standard Premier and Business Premier fares include a light meal with wine (or breakfast, on departures before 11:00).  There's a 30-minute minimum check-in as all border formalities are carried out before you board the train.  More information about Eurostar including check-in procedure .  St Pancras station guide .  Brussels Midi station guide & short cut for changing trains in Brussels .

2. Brussels to Cologne by ICE3

Germany's superb ICEs have a bistro-restaurant car, power sockets at all seats & free WiFi.  In 1st class, bistro orders are taken at your seat.  50 minutes after leaving Brussels the ICE calls at Liège, where you can admire the impressive station designed by celebrity architect Santiago Calatrava.  As you approach Cologne Hbf you'll see the twin towers of Cologne Cathedral on the right, next to the station.  More information about ICE3 .  Brussels Midi station guide .  Cologne Hbf station guide .

3. Cologne to Berlin by ICE2

ICE2 trains have a restaurant car, bar car, power sockets at all seats & free WiFi. In 1st class, bistro orders are taken at your seat.  Immediately after leaving Cologne Hbf , the train crosses the Hohenzollern bridge over the Rhine.  It passes through the industrial Ruhr via Wuppertal & Hamm.  After leaving Hannover, the train passes non-stop through Wolfsburg - look out for the original Volkswagen factory on the left, built in 1938.  The train then travels at up to 280 km/h (174 mph) on the high-speed line to Berlin Hbf , where it arrives at the low-level platforms.  More information about ICE2 .  Cologne Hbf station guide .  Berlin Hbf station guide .

4. Berlin to Warsaw by EuroCity train

These comfortable air-conditioned trains have a restaurant car.  See the Berlin-Warsaw EuroCity page for more photos, tips & information .

5. Warsaw to Moscow by sleeper train

The Warsaw-Moscow train starts in Prague, and uses excellent Austrian-built air-conditioned sleeping-cars owned by Russian Railways, with compartments which can be used as either 1st class 1-berth, 1st class 2-berth with two lower berths or 2nd class 4-berth with all four berths in use.  There are toilets and a nice hot shower at the end of the corridor.  See panorama photo inside one of the new Russian sleepers .

Don't forget your visas...

Back to top

Option 2, using the Paris-Moscow Express

This is the most glamorous and comfortable way to reach Russia!  It's the option I'd choose, at least if its weekly schedule suited me.  A direct train run entirely by Russian Railways (RZD) links Paris with Moscow once a week all year round.  It's the safe, comfortable and civilised way to travel to Moscow, with a restaurant car throughout the journey and the option of deluxe VIP sleepers with en suite toilet & shower as well as modern air-conditioned 2 & 4 berth sleepers with washbasin and a nice hot shower at the end of the corridor.  On the route map above , t his option takes the route shown in light blue via Paris as far as Berlin, then the direct route to Moscow shown in dark blue, a total of 3,483 km or about 2,164 miles from Paris to Moscow, making it the second longest direct passenger train in Europe - the longest being another RZD train, their weekly Nice-Moscow Express.  See the Paris-Moscow Express page for more information .

London & Paris ► Moscow

Day 1, travel from London to Paris by Eurostar leaving London St Pancras at 12:24 arriving Paris Gare du Nord at 15:47.  That allows plenty of time, although it's just an easy 10-minute walk to the Gare de l'Est .

Day 1, travel from Paris to Moscow on the Paris-Moscow Express .

It runs once a week all year round, leaving Paris every Thursday.

This train was suspended due to covid-19 and remains suspended due to sanctions

It leaves Paris Gare de l'Est at 18:58 and arrives Moscow Belorussky two nights later at 10:58 (late March to late October) or 11:44 (outside those dates), meaning day 3 from London & Paris.

This train crosses Belarus, so you will need a Belarus transit visa , and see this update on reaching Russia via Belarus .  Map of Moscow showing Belorussky station .

See the Paris-Moscow Express page for more information .

Moscow ► Paris & London

Day 1:  Travel from Moscow to Paris on the Moscow-Paris Express .

It runs once a week all year round, leaving Moscow every Tuesday. 

It leaves Moscow Belorussky at 17:14 (late March to late October) or 18:17 (outside those dates) and arrives Paris Gare de l'Est two nights later at 09:40 on day 3.

This train crosses Belarus, so you will need a Belarus transit visa .  Map of Moscow showing Belorussky station .

See the Paris-Moscow Express page for more information . 

Day 3, travel from Paris to London by Eurostar , leaving Paris Gare du Nord at 11:03 and arriving London St Pancras at 12:30.

Returns are twice the one-way fare.  Children under 12 half price.

Berths are sold individually, prices are for one person in one bed.  So if you book (say) one second class ticket you will travel in a 4-bed sleeper sharing with 3 other passengers of the same sex.  There is no need to pay for sole occupancy unless you want to!

On rzd.ru, 2-cl = 2/4 = 2nd class 4-berth = one bed in a shared 4-bed sleeper. 1-cl = 1/2 = 1st class 2-berth = one bed in a shared 2-bed sleeper.  1-cl 1/1 = 1st class 1-berth = sole occupancy of a 1st class 2-bed sleeper.  De Luxe  = VIP sleeper with shower & toilet, which is always sole occupancy whether you book one person or two.  You even get a chance to select a specific berth or berths.

Method 4:  You can sometimes book this train at the French Railways website www.sncf-connect.com with tickets collected from any French station if your journey starts in Paris, or sent to address in your home country if it doesn't.  Again, if this doesn't work, try another method.

Step 3, don't forget to arrange your Russian visa & Belarus transit visa . 

See this update on travelling to Russia through Belarus - there appears to be no problem

How to buy tickets by phone...

You can book the Paris-Moscow Express by phone with Deutsche Bahn's English-speaking telesales line on 00 49 (0)30 311 68 29 04, lines open 08:30-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday UK time, 1.5% fee for phone bookings.  If you are making a return journey or a one-way trip inbound from Moscow, please read the section above about booking westbound trains from Moscow to London , as the same may apply to the Paris-Moscow Express.  Don't forget to arrange your Russian visa and Belarus transit visa .

What's the journey like?

1. London to Paris by Eurostar

Eurostar trains link London & Paris in 2h20, travelling at up to 300 km/h (186 mph).  There are two bar cars, power sockets at all seats and free WiFi.  Standard Premier and Business Premier fares include a light meal with wine (or breakfast, on departures before 11:00).  There's a 30-minute minimum check-in as all border formalities are carried out before you board the train.  More information about Eurostar including check-in procedure .  St Pancras station guide .  Gare du Nord station guide .

2. Paris to Moscow :  See Paris-Moscow Express guide

Don't forget your visas

Option 3, the berlin -moscow swift.

Russian Railways introduced a twice-weekly sleeper train between Berlin and Moscow in December 2016. Branded Strizh ( Swift ) by the Russians, it's a little articulated Spanish Talgo train featuring a restaurant car and cosy sleepers, some with en suite shower & toilet.  Like the Paris-Moscow option it's a classy option, and faster too:  It cuts 4 hours off the journey time as the Talgo has axles which adjust in minutes from European standard gauge to 5' Russian gauge, without the need for hours in a shed being jacked up.  If you get any photos of this train inside or out, please let me know !

Russian track gauge is 5', but most of Europe (including the UK) is 4' 8½", so at Brest on the Belarus frontier the train runs through a gauge-changing shed and the axles automatically adjust to the new gauge.  Once in Russia, the scenery is rolling hills, birch tree forests, and villages of small wooden houses.  Approaching Moscow, you may glimpse the plaques on the station building marked '1812' and '1942' as the train passes through the small station of historic Borodino...

This train crosses Belarus, so you will need a Belarus transit visa , also see this update on reaching Russia via Belarus .

Stopover in Berlin?   I have shown the fastest practicable journey here, assuming no stopovers.  But by all means leave London in the morning of day 1 rather than the evening and travel from London to Berlin in a single day by high-speed train using any of the options shown in the London to Berlin section on the Germany page .  You'd then have a 24h stopover in fabulous Berlin.  Consider the 3-star Meininger Hotel is ideal as it's right next to Berlin Hauptbahnhof and a 10-minute walk from the Reichstag or a 15-minute walk from the Brandenburg Gate, it's inexpensive and gets good reviews.  If you want to push the boat out, the famous Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin is right next to the Brandenburg Gate.   Alternatively, you could leave London in the morning or even afternoon of day 1 and travel to Cologne, staying overnight in Cologne instead of Brussels.  There are so many possibilities, what you do is up to you...

This train is an articulated Spanish-built Talgo train branded Strizh (swift).  It has ordinary seats and sleeping-cars with 2nd class 4-berth compartments, 1st class 1 or 2 berth compartments with washbasin and deluxe 1 or 2 berth compartments with en suite shower & toilet.  There's also a restaurant & bistro car.  Map of Moscow showing Kurskiy station .

Travelling across Russia, the scenery is rolling hills, birch tree forests, and villages of small wooden houses.  An hour or so out of Moscow you can glimpse the plaques on the station building marked '1812' and '1942' as the train passes through the small station of historic Borodino...  Russian track gauge is 5', but most of Europe (including the UK) is 4' 8½", so at Brest on the Polish frontier the train runs through a gauge-changing shed and the axles automatically adjust to the European standard gauge.

This train crosses Belarus, so you will need a Belarus transit visa .

Day 2, travel from Berlin to London in a single day by high-speed train, leaving Berlin Hbf at 10:46 by ICE2 train , changing at Cologne Hbf onto an ICE3 train to Brussels Midi , then taking a Eurostar to London St Pancras arriving at 19:57.

London to Brussels by Eurostar starts at £52 one-way or £78 return in standard class, £97 one-way, £140 return standard premier (1st class).

Berlin to Moscow costs around 13,000 rubles (€181) with a bed in a 4-berth compartment, 18,000 rubles (€251) with bed in a 1st class 2-berth compartment.

Step 2, book the Berlin to Moscow train.  You can book it in either direction at the Russian Railways site www.rzd.ru .  It's a little fiddly at first, but it usually works, and you'll get a print-at-home ticket.

If you have any problems with rzd.ru, especially at the payment stage, you can easily book the Berlin-Moscow Talgo train online using the Real Russia online booking system here with a small mark-up, tickets sent to any address worldwide

4. Berlin to Moscow by Strizh sleeper train

The Strizh sleeper train from Berlin to Moscow is a Spanish-built articulated Talgo train run by Russian Railways (RZD).  Each car is relatively small, with just one axle between each pair of cars.  The axles adjust automatically from standard European gauge (4' 8½") to Russian 5' gauge at Brest, as the train passes slowly through a special gauge-changing shed at Brest on the Polish/Belarus border.

Don't forget to arrange your Russian visa & Belarus transit visa .

See this update on travelling to Russia through Belarus - there appears to be no problem .

Option 4 , by ferry from Harwich

There are some good reasons why you might prefer a ferry alternative.  For example, if there are problems affecting Eurostar or the Channel Tunnel, or if all the cheap Eurostar tickets have sold out, or if you live in the North of England, Scotland or East Anglia and want to by-pass London.  Or you might simply prefer a relaxing journey, cruising overnight on the Stena Line superferry to Hoek van Holland in a cosy en suite cabin with shower, toilet, satellite TV, have lunch in Amsterdam, then take comfortable trains to Warsaw and the daily sleeper train to Moscow.  You can buy special Rail & Sail tickets from London or any Abellio Greater Anglia rail station to Amsterdam using Stena Line's Harwich-Hoek ferry, complete with a private cabin. 

If you live in the North of England or Scotland, DFDS Seaways run an excellent daily overnight cruise ferry from Newcastle to IJmuiden (near Amsterdam), and P&O Ferries run a daily overnight cruise ferry from Hull to Rotterdam Europoort with bus/train connections to Amsterdam.  So catch the overnight cruise ferry to Holland, spend a day exploring Amsterdam, then take the train to Russia! 

London & Harwich ► Moscow

Day 1, travel from London to Amsterdam overnight by Stena Line Rail & Sail .

You leave London Liverpool Street at 18:45 Mondays-Fridays, 19:36 Saturdays or 20:00 Sundays by direct train to Harwich International.

You leave Cambridge at 19:47 Mondays-Saturdays or 19:45 on Sundays by direct train to Harwich International.

At Harwich the ferry terminal is integrated with the station.  You check in for the luxurious overnight Stena Line superferry to Hoek van Holland, sailing at 23:00 and arriving at Hoek at 08:00 next morning.  All passengers get a comfortable private cabin with shower, toilet & satellite TV and there's free WiFi in the lounges, bars & restaurants on 9 deck.

On arrival at Hoek van Holland you walk down the gangway, through passport control and out of the ferry terminal straight onto the station.  Take the frequent metro train to Schiedam Centrum and change onto an InterCity train to Amsterdam Centraal, arriving 10:25.

Cheap combined train & ferry tickets are offered on this route from London or any Greater Anglia rail station to Hoek van Holland, see the Stena Line Rail & Sail page for full details of times, fares and how to buy tickets .

Coming from the North of England or Scotland?   Take a train to either Hull or Newcastle, whichever is most convenient for where you live.  Transfer to the P&O overnight cruise ferry from Hull to Rotterdam or the DFDS Seaways cruise ferry from Newcastle to IJmuiden, the port of Amsterdam.  Both ferries have bars, restaurants & comfortable en suite cabins, arriving next morning.  For details of timetables, fares, station to port transfer arrangements & how to buy tickets for travel to Amsterdam via each of these ferry routes, see the UK-Netherlands page .

Day 2, travel from Amsterdam to Berlin by Intercity train leaving Amsterdam Centraal at 15:00 and arriving Berlin Hbf at 21:22.

Or take an earlier train and enjoy an evening in Berlin, for example the 11:00 from Amsterdam arrives 17:22, the 13:00 arrives 19:22.  The Reichstag is only 10 minutes walk from Berlin Hbf, the Brandenburg Gate just 15 minutes walk.

Day 3, travel from Berlin to Warsaw by EuroCity train , leaving Berlin Hbf at 09:38, arriving Warsaw Centralna 15:11.

The Berlin-Warsaw EuroCity trains are comfortable air-conditioned trains with a restaurant car serving drinks, snacks and meals.  Warsaw Centralna station & city information .

Day 3, travel from Warsaw to Moscow by sleeper train, leaving Warsaw Centralna at 19:15 every day arriving Moscow Belorussky at 16:58 (one hour earlier late March to late October) (day 4 from London).

This is a comfortable modern Russian sleeping-car with 1st class 1 & 2-berth compartments & 2nd class 4-berth compartments with washbasin, there's a shower at the end of the corridor.  A Russian restaurant car is attached between Brest (just across the Belarus border) and Moscow.  Next morning, as the train passes through the small station of Borodino, look out for the plaques on the station building marked '1812' and '1942'.

This train crosses Belarus, so you will need a Belarus transit visa , also see this update on reaching Russia via Belarus .  Map of Warsaw showing Centralna & Gdanska stations .  Map of Moscow showing Belorussky station .

Moscow ► Harwich & London

Day 3, travel from Amsterdam to London overnight by Stena Line Rail & Sail .

You leave Amsterdam Centraal at 18:35 by train to Schiedam Centrum, changing onto the frequent metro to Hoek Van Holland Haven.  Sail overnight on the luxury Stena Line superferry, sailing at 22:00 and arriving in Harwich at 06:30.  You sleep in a comfortable private cabin with shower & toilet, satellite TV and there's free WiFi in the lounges, bars & restaurants on 9 deck.  A connecting train will get you to London at around 08:55 (day 4 from Moscow).  Special SailRail tickets are offered on this route from Hoek van Holland to London or any Abellio Greater Anglia rail station, covering ferry and train, see the Stena Line Rail & Sail page for full details of times, fares and how to buy tickets .

Heading for the North of England or Scotland?   Instead of using the Hoek van Holland-Harwich route, transfer from Amsterdam Centraal by bus or train+bus to the relevant ferry terminal and sail overnight by cruise ferry either with P&O Ferries from Rotterdam Europoort to Hull or with DFDS Seaways from Amsterdam to Newcastle, whichever is most convenient for where you live.  Next morning (day 4) transfer to the station and take a train home.  For full details of train & ferry times, port transfer arrangements and how to buy tickets for each of these routes, see the Hull-Rotterdam page or the Newcastle-Amsterdam page .

Step 1, buy a Rail & Sail ticket from London to Amsterdam online as shown on the London to Amsterdam page .  One ticket covers the whole journey, train and ferry then Dutch train.

For journeys via P&O Hull-Rotterdam or DFDS Seaways Newcastle-Amsterdam, first buy your ferry ticket online at www.dfds.com (Newcastle-Amsterdam) or www.poferries.com (Hull-Rotterdam).  Then check train fares and buy a ticket online as shown on the UK page or using www.nationalrail.co.uk

a)  You can book it with no booking fee at the Russian Railways website www.rzd.ru .  It's a little fiddly, and doesn't always accept every overseas credit card, but does work with many payment cards,

Step 1, London to Amsterdam by train & ferry

A train takes you from London's Liverpool Street station directly to the ferry terminal at Harwich.  You walk off the train, into the terminal, get your boarding card & cabin key at the Stena Line check-in desk and walk straight onto the overnight ferry to Hoek van Holland.  The superferry Stena Britannica is the largest ferry of its kind in the world.  Have a late dinner in the restaurant, retire to bed in a private cabin with en suite toilet & shower and satellite TV.  At Hoek van Holland, you walk off the ship, through passport control and straight onto the station for the frequent metro train to Schiedam & Rotterdam.  Change at Schiedam Centrum for a Dutch Railways (NS) train to Amsterdam Centraal .  The journey from London to Holland is explained in detail on the Stena Line Rail & Sail page .  See the video ...

Step 2, Amsterdam to Berlin by Intercity train

Take a comfortable Intercity train from Amsterdam Centraal to Berlin Hbf .  See the Amsterdam to Berlin InterCity page for photos, tips, and what to see along the way .

Step 3, Berlin to Warsaw by EuroCity train

4. Warsaw to Moscow to Russian sleeper train

The train from Warsaw to Moscow uses immaculate modern Russian air-conditioned sleeping-cars (pictured below, see also panorama photo inside one of the new Russian sleepers ).  The Russian cars have compartments which can be used as 1st class 1 or 2 berth or 2nd class 4 berth, shower & toilets at the end of the corridor.

Option 5, London-Moscow via Kyiv

If you want to avoid Belarus to escape the cost & bureaucracy of a Belarus transit visa and any issues crossing Belarus to reach Russia, the cheapest and easiest way to do this is to go south of Belarus through Ukraine rather than north through the Baltic states.  EU & UK citizens no longer need a visa for Ukraine and the trains work much better this way than via the disjointed rail networks through the Baltic States.

The complete journey from London to Moscow takes 3 nights, assuming you don't want to stop off anywhere, as opposed to just 2 nights on the direct route via Belarus, so although you save the cost of a Belarus transit visa it takes longer.  Going north of Belarus via Vilnius & Riga generally means an even longer 4 night journey, with yet more changes of train and at least one, possibly two nights in a hotel, although by all means do this if you want to see the Baltic capitals on the way to Russia.

Update 2024:  For obvious reasons, this route is now out of action.

Day 1, travel from London to Berlin using any of the options shown on the London to Germany page .  For example:

Day 2, travel from Berlin to Warsaw by EuroCity train , leaving Berlin Hbf at 09:38 and arriving Warsaw Centralna at 15:11.

The Berlin-Warsaw EuroCity trains are comfortable air-conditioned trains with a trolley refreshment service and a restaurant car serving drinks, snacks and full meals.  Treat yourself to lunch in the restaurant car with a beer or two...

Alternatively, on Mondays-Saturdays you can take the early 05:43 Berlin-Warsaw EuroCity train arriving 11:11, which will give you an afternoon in Warsaw, see the Warsaw Centralna station & city information .  A left luggage office and lockers are available.  Warsaw's historic old town is a 20 minute walk from Centralna station - if you fancy a modest splurge, the celebrated Ufukiera restaurant ( www.ufukiera.pl ) is excellent and right on the square in the heart of Warsaw's old town.  The Palace of Culture (a wedding cake style Soviet skyscraper and distinctive Warsaw landmark, www.pkin.pl ) is right next to the station and has a viewing terrace on the 30th floor.

Day 3, take an overnight sleeper train from Kyiv to Moscow...

There are several night trains and times vary by date, but for example there's usually one leaving Kyiv at 19:36 and arriving in Moscow Kievskaya station next morning at 10:13 (day 4 from London).  2-berth & 4-berth sleepers are available.  Check times for your date using int.bahn.de or www.poezda.net .  Incidentally, there's also a direct train from Kyiv to St Petersburg, but this passes through a small corner of Belarus, requiring a Belarus visa and so defeating the object of the exercise...

Day 1, travel from Moscow to Kyiv by overnight train...

The best train is train 5 leaving Moscow Kievskaya station at 19:35 and arriving Kyiv at 07:02 (day 2).  Other night trains are available and times vary, so check times using int.bahn.de or www.rzd.ru .  2 berth & 4 berth sleepers are available.

Spend a pleasant day exploring Kyiv...

The Kyiv Express has comfortable Ukrainian sleeping-cars with 3-berth compartments, you can book all three berths for single or double occupancy.  There may be a buffet car serving tea, coffee, beer and snacks, but it's a good idea to take your own supplies of food, water and wine or beer.  Around 4am, the train is shunted into the gauge-changing shed at Yagodin (the Ukrainian border point) and jacked up to have its wheels changed from Russian 5' gauge to standard European (4' 8½") gauge.  You remain in your sleeping-berth on board while this is done, an interesting experience.  See Tim Richards excellent blog entry about of the Kyiv Express .

Day 3, travel from Warsaw to Berlin by EuroCity train , leaving Warsaw Centralna daily at 12:33 and arriving Berlin Hbf at 18:16.  Alternatively, daily except Saturdays there's a later EuroCity train leaving Warsaw Centralna at 16:34 and arriving Berlin Hbf at 22:16, giving you more time in Warsaw.

Day 4, travel from Berlin to London using any service shown on the London to Germany page .  For example:

See the London to Ukraine page for prices between London and Kyiv .

Kyiv to Moscow costs around €92 with a bed in 4-berth kupé or €180 with a bed in a 2-berth spalny vagon, if booked online.  Polrail.com charge about €95 for a bed in a 4-berth sleeper.

There may be a reduction if you buy both the Warsaw-Kyiv and Kyiv-Moscow tickets together, Warsaw-Kyiv-Moscow becomes £146 one-way in 3-berth to Kyiv then 4-berth to Moscow.

• You'll still need a Russian visa , but you don't go through Belarus if you go this way.

Other possible routes & options

There are several other routes worth considering, especially if you want to stop off on the way in Scandinavia, the Baltic States or Ukraine, or to avoid travelling through Belarus and so avoid the cost and hassle of getting a Belarus transit visa (although this isn't really a problem, just an expense and a bit of extra bureaucracy).  All these routes take at least 3 nights compared with just 2 nights travelling on the direct route through Belarus, so the cost of an extra day or two's food and accommodation must be set against the cost of the Belarus visa for travel on a direct train to Moscow.  These alternative routes tend to involve a bit more legwork to book, too.  If you simply want to avoid Belarus, the quickest and easiest way to do this is really to head south via Kyiv & Ukraine, see the section above .  You might not be saving much money by avoiding Belarus, but the opportunity to stop off in some fascinating places and countries makes these alternative routes worth considering.

London to Moscow via Warsaw, Vilnius & the Baltic States

London to moscow via copenhagen, stockholm & helsinki, london to moscow via copenhagen, stockholm & riga, london to st petersburg.

There are several good ways to travel from the UK to St Petersburg by train ( all routes currently suspended due to sanctions ):

Option 1:  London to Moscow, then Moscow to St Petersburg

This is the fastest and most frequent option, first travelling to Moscow, then using one of the many Moscow-St Petersburg trains.

Step 1, travel from London to Moscow as shown in the London to Moscow section above using any option you like .

Step 2, travel from Moscow to St Petersburg on any of the overnight trains, or on one of the new Sapsan high-speed day trains in just 3h55.

To buy tickets, first arrange your London to Moscow tickets as shown above .

Then book an internal Russian train between Moscow & St Petersburg using the booking form below which links to Russian rail ticketing & visa agency Real Russia, or you can use www.rzd.ru if it will accept your credit card.

Sapsan high-speed trains from Moscow to St Petersburg, in 3h55

Introduced in December 2009, the Sapsan (Peregrine Falcon) 250 km/h high-speed trains link Moscow & St Petersburg in just 3 hours 55 minutes.  The initial 3 services a day have now been increased to 5 trains each way every day.  The Sapsans have been very successful, with a 99% on-time performance and an average load factor of 80% (meaning each departure is on average 80% full).  Built by Siemens and based on the superb German ICE , they are set to revolutionise travel between Russia's two prime cities, with additional services and faster journey times to come as the line is progressively upgraded.  See the Russian railways' Sapsan video .

Traveller Ian Newberry reports:   "I travelled from Moscow to St Petersburg on Sapsan train 156 leaving at 13:00.  Departure was punctual and the staff greeting passengers could not have been better - they all speak English as well as Russian.  The service on the train was extremely good and in business class a full 3 course meal was served with wines and spirits all included in the price of the ticket.  Information was supplied through screens and announcements in English as well as Russian. The train is very comfortable and arrived 5 minutes ahead of schedule at 17.40.  If one wants to avoid a night train then this is a very civilised way to travel, on a par with any equivalent TGV or ICE available in western Europe."

Overnight sleeper trains from Moscow to St Petersburg

The best Russian Railways overnight train is the famous Krasnaya Strela (Red Arrow) leaving Moscow (Leningradski Vokzal) at 23:55 daily, arriving in St Petersburg (Moskovski Vokzal) at 07:55 next morning.  The Krasnaya Strela has 2-berth and 4-berth sleeping cars plus two luxury sleeping-cars with 1 & 2-bed rooms with private toilet shower and TV/DVD entertainment.  The fare is about 3,280 rubles (£70 or $110) in a kupé 4-berth sleeper, 5,895 rubles (£126 or $197) spalny vagon 2-berth sleeper or 16,250 rubles (£551 or $865) luxury sleeper with private shower and toilet - although there are less swish, cheaper sleeper trains.  The Krasnaya Strela has now been joined by a couple of other premium sleeper trains, train 3/4 Ekspres and train 5/6 Nicholaevsky Express .  Since 2005, there's also a privately-run luxury train, the Grand Express , with fares from 3,700 rubles.  Click for information & online booking for the Grand Express .

Option 2:  London to St Petersburg by train to Stockholm then direct cruise ferry

Travel from London to Stockholm by train, taking Eurostar & connecting trains from London to Hamburg on day 1, staying in Hamburg overnight, then taking trains from Hamburg to Stockholm on day 2.  See the London to Sweden page for full details of train times, prices and how to buy tickets .

Spend the night in Stockholm , find a hotel here .  Spend most of the following day free in Stockholm.

A new ferry company, St Peter Line ( www.stpeterline.com ), sails twice a week from Stockholm via Helsinki to St Petersburg using a luxurious cruise ferry.  She sails at 19:00 on various dates, arriving St Petersburg at 09:30 two nights later, with a day to explore in Helsinki on the way.  The return trip also takes 2 nights, with a day spent exploring Helsinki included.  See www.stpeterline.com to check sailing schedule and prices.  Other ferries on this route seem to have started up and been discontinued soon afterwards, it's hoped that this one will survive a bit longer!

Onward trains to Moscow are explained on the train travel in Russia page .

Other options

London to st petersburg via stockholm & helsinki.

If you feel like seeing a bit of Scandinavia on the way to Russia, you could travel from London to St Petersburg via Stockholm and Helsinki.  This will take 3 nights / 4 days.  See the Finland page for information on the journey from London to Helsinki, then click here for trains between Helsinki, St Petersburg & Moscow .

London to Minsk (Belarus)

The direct Belarusian sleeping-cars from Amsterdam & Cologne to Minsk were discontinued in December 2013.  However, it's still easy to get there via Warsaw or using the Paris-Moscow express.

Option 1, via Brussels, Berlin & Warsaw

This is the cheapest option, and it runs daily.

London ► Minsk

Day 1, travel from London to Berlin by Eurostar to Brussels, high-speed train to Cologne and ICE2 train to Berlin, using any of the several daytime options shown on the London to Germany page .  For example, you can leave London St Pancras at 11:04, arriving Berlin Hbf at 21:09.

The Berlin-Warsaw EuroCity trains are comfortable air-conditioned trains with a trolley refreshment service and a restaurant car serving drinks, snacks and full meals.  Treat yourself to a meal in the restaurant.  Warsaw Centralna station & city information .  Map of Warsaw showing station location .

Day 2, travel from Warsaw to Minsk by Russian sleeper train, leaving Warsaw Centralna at 19:15 and arriving Minsk at 06:13 next morning (day 3).  The sleeper train has a modern Russian sleeping-car with 4-berth compartments which can be sold as 1st class 1 or 2 berth or 2nd class 4 berth.  This train is currently still suspended due to sanctions.

Minsk ► London

Day 2, travel from Warsaw to Berlin by Warsaw-Berlin EuroCity train , leaving Warsaw Centralna daily at 12:33 arriving Berlin Hbf at 18:16.  Alternatively, a later train leaves Warsaw Centralna at 16:34 daily except Saturdays arriving Berlin Hbf at 22:16.

The Warsaw-Berlin EuroCity trains are comfortable air-conditioned trains with restaurant car serving drinks, snacks and full meals.  Treat yourself to a meal in the restaurant...

Day 3, travel from Berlin to London by ICE train to Cologne, high-speed train to Brussels and Eurostar to London, using any of the several daytime options shown on the London to Germany page .  For example, you can leave Berlin Hbf at 06:46 arriving London at 17:00 or you can leave Berlin at 10:46 arriving London St Pancras at 19:57.

Option 2, using the Paris-Moscow express

This costs a bit more, but is a very comfortable journey using the excellent Paris-Moscow express which calls at Minsk on the way.  There are comfortable sleepers direct from Paris to Minsk, with restaurant car Paris-Warsaw.  It runs once a week.

See the Paris-Moscow Express page for details of the Paris-Minsk train and how to buy tickets.

Add a connection between London and Paris at www.eurostar.com .  I'd allow at least a two hours to connect in Paris to allow for any delay.

Buy Russian train tickets online

How to arrange a russian visa..., important:  travel to moscow via belarus from 2020 onwards....

No major problems were reported by any westerners using the direct Russian Railways trains from Paris, Nice, Vienna, Berlin, Prague or Warsaw to Moscow via Belarus in 2017, 2018 or 2019, in spite of there being a theoretical issue with westerners reaching Moscow via Belarus, due to the Belarus-Russia customs union so there's no border control.

It seemed to be that as long as you had a valid Russian visa and a valid Belarus transit visa, travel from Western or Central Europe to Moscow on a direct Russian Railways international train was fine, even if it crossed Belarus.  One traveller even confirmed this with the traincrew.  The problem only arose if you want to START a train journey in Belarus to travel to Russia.  This was the actual situation in practice, regardless of any theoretical official legal situation.  This route is after all Russia's main 'front door', the main line to Moscow, the way people have always travelled since the 19th century...

UPDATE 2020   However, in early 2020 I have now had two reports from travellers who were taken off international trains at Smolensk, because they had crossed overland from Belarus to Russia.  Both reports involved a Warsaw to Moscow journey on the Berlin-Moscow Strizh.  One traveller had made a dozen similar journeys without incident since 2015 and asked why the random check now.  He was told it varied with the political ups and downs between Russia and Belarus.

So whilst the situation below seems to hold true for most westerners on most international trains and I'm still getting occasional positive reports from people who have travelled this way without any problem, you might want to consider diverting via Kyiv to avoid Belarus .

Situation in detail, prior to both updates above...

Since 2016 there has been some concern about entering Russia via Belarus, to do with the Belarus-Russia customs union and the lack of border formalities between the two countries - though of course Brest-Minsk-Moscow has been the perfectly normal mainline rail route for international travellers for over 100 years.

It seems that in practice the Russians are OK with people entering Russia on these direct Russian trains via Brest on the Polish/Belarus border as Moscow-bound passengers appear to have their Russian visas checked here. Many people use these trains every week, but so far I've had zero reports of anyone on these trains having any problem in 2016, 2017, 2018 and just one report in 2019 - but only one isolated report so other factors may have been involved.  I have had a steady trickle of positive confirmations that people have used these trains without a problem.  Polrail.com haven't heard from anyone who's had any problem using these international trains either, and nor have Real Russia.

When leaving Russia, travellers report that they simply showed the Belarus entry stamp that they received at Brest when they entered to the Belarus-Russia unified customs area, and that seems to satisfy the Russian border staff when you leave Russia.

On the other hand, you cannot start a journey in Belarus and go to Russia, as there's nowhere to check visas in between Minsk and Moscow. Real Russia tell me they had reports of people being taken off Minsk-Moscow trains and sent back to Minsk even with valid Russian visas - but so far, they tell me they've had reports from anyone having problems on the Russian-run international trains from Paris, Berlin, Warsaw, Vienna or Prague to Moscow via Brest.

By all means check the latest advice at http://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/belarus, although at the time I write this it simply refers you to your travel provider.  I suppose I should add the disclaimer that I can only report what I hear from travel companies and travellers, and you travel at your own risk - but read the traveller's feedback below, it seems pretty conclusive!

PLEASE REPORT BACK !!   If you successfully travel to Russia on a direct Russian train through Belarus to Moscow, please let me know .  It's difficult to prove a negative, but the more 'no problem' reports I get, the more confident we can be.

How to arrange a Belarus visa ...

Holidays to russia by train.

Tailor Made Rail...

Tailor Made Rail can arrange a flight-free holiday or tour to Russia by train, with trains, hotels & stopovers arranged for you.  Tailor Made Rail have a suggested tour package from London to Moscow via Warsaw & Berlin, and a suggested return tour via Helsinki, Stockholm & Copenhagen, see at www.tailormaderail.com/destinations/russia .  These can be customised your own requirements, one-way or round in either direction, with any stopovers you want.  They specialise in complex itineraries!  As it's a package, they'll take care of you if anything happens on one part of the trip, for example, a national strike.  They're TTA-protected - like ATOL, but not only for agencies that sell air travel.

European Rail Timetable & maps

Rail Map Europe is the map I recommend, covering all of Europe from Portugal in the west to Moscow & Istanbul in the east, Finland in the north to Sicily & Athens in the south.  Scenic routes & high-speed lines are highlighted.  See an extract from the map .  Buy online at www.europeanrailtimetable.eu (shipping worldwide) or at www.amazon.co.uk (UK addresses).

G uidebooks

Click the images to buy the book from amazon.co.uk ..., hotels in moscow & russia, tripadvisor hotel reviews....

www.tripadvisor.com is a good place to find independent travellers' reviews of the main hotels.  It also has the low-down on all the sights & attractions too.

Backpacker hostels:  www.hostelworld.com

If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about the hostels.  For backpacker hostels in Amsterdam and most other European cities at budget prices (either a dorm bed or an ultra cheap private room) see www.hostelworld.com .

Travel insurance & VPN

Always take out travel insurance.

You should take out travel insurance with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover from a reliable insurer.  It should cover trip cancellation and loss of cash & belongings up to a reasonable limit.  These days, check you're covered for covid-19-related issues, and use an insurer whose cover isn't invalidated by well-meant but excessive Foreign Office travel advice against non-essential travel. An annual policy is usually cheapest even for just 2 or 3 trips a year, I have an annual policy with Staysure.co.uk myself.  Don't expect travel insurance to bail you out of every missed connection, see the advice on missed connections here .  Here are some suggested insurers, I get a little commission if you buy through these links, feedback always welcome.

Get an eSIM with mobile data package

Don't rely on WiFi, download an eSIM with a European mobile data package and stay connected.  Most newer mobile phones can download a virtual SIM including iPhone 11 & later, see device compatibility list .  There's no need to buy a physical SIM card!  Maya.net is a reliable eSIM data retailer with a 4.5 out of 5 Trustpilot rating and a range of packages including unlimited data .

Get a Curve card for foreign travel

Most banks give you a poor exchange rate then add a foreign transaction fee on top.  A Curve MasterCard means no foreign transaction fees and gives you the mid-market exchange rate, at least up to a certain limit, £500 per month as I write this.  The money you spend on your Curve card goes straight onto one of your existing debit or credit cards.  And you can get a Curve card for free.

How it works:   1. Download the Curve app for iPhone or Android .  2. Enter your details & they'll send you a Curve MasterCard - they send to the UK and most European addresses.  3. Link your existing credit & debit cards to the app, you can link up to two cards with the free version of Curve, I link my normal debit card and my normal credit card.  4. Now use the Curve MasterCard to buy things online or in person or take cash from ATMs, exactly like a normal MasterCard. Curve does the currency conversion and puts the balance in your own currency onto whichever debit or credit card is currently selected in the Curve app.  You can even change your mind about which card it goes onto, within 14 days of the transaction.

I have a Curve Blue card myself, it means I can buy a coffee on a foreign station on a card without being stung by fees and lousy exchange rates, just by tapping the Curve card on their card reader.  The money goes through Curve to my normal debit card and is taken directly from my account (in fact I have the Curve card set up as payment card on Apple Pay on my iPhone, so can double-click my phone, let it do Face ID then tap the reader with the phone - even easier than getting a card out).  I get a little commission if you sign up to Curve, but I recommend it here because I think it's great.  See details, download the app and get a Curve card , they'll give you £5 cashback through that link.

Get a VPN for safe browsing.  Why you need a VPN

When travelling you may use free public WiFi which is often insecure.  A VPN encrypts your connection so it's always secure, even on unsecured WiFi.  It also means you can select the geographic location of the IP address you browse with, to get around geoblocking which a surprising number of websites apply.  See VPNs & why you need one explained .  ExpressVPN is a best buy with a 4.7 out of 5 Trustpilot ranking which I use myself - I've signed up as an ExpressVPN affiliate, and if you go with expressvpn.com using this link you should see a special deal, 3 months free with an annual subscription.  I also get some commission to help support this site.

Carry an Anker powerbank

Tickets, reservations, hotel bookings and Interrail or Eurail passes are often now held on your mobile phone.  You daren't let it run out of power, and you can't always rely on the phone's internal battery or on being near a power outlet.  I always carry an Anker powerbank which can recharge my phone several times over.  Buy from Amazon.co.uk or Buy from Amazon.com .

Touring cities?  Use hill walking shoes!

One of the best things I've done is swap my normal shoes for hill-walking shoes, in my case from Scarpa.  They're intended for hiking across the Pennines not wandering around Florence, but the support and cushioning for hiking works equally well when you're on your feet all day exploring foreign cities.  My feet used to give out first and limit my day, now the rest of me gives up before they do!

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How eurostar’s new trains will reignite a bitter franco-german rivalry.

Rival trainmakers Alstom and Siemens are set to square off in the race to win a £2bn order from Eurostar, in a rerun of a battle that ended in legal action more than a decade ago.

Eurostar has announced plans to issue a tender for 50 new trains to tap increasing demand for cross Channel services and to help it launch new routes within a network that already links London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Cologne, and provides services to the French Riviera and Alpine ski resorts.

The contract for more than 700 rail cars will be one of the biggest this decade for high speed trains and is expected to draw interest from other manufacturers including CAF of Spain and Japan’s Hitachi, which has its main European train plant at Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

At the heart of the contest will be a renewed confrontation between Paris-based Alstom and Germany’s Siemens.

Alstom provided Eurostar’s original fleet, based on France’s intercity high-speed rail service TGV, when journeys through the Channel Tunnel began 30 years ago. However, the French company found itself gazumped in the bidding for a follow-on contract in 2010, losing out to the Siemens Velaro model.

The decision by Eurostar, which is part of French state rail operator SNCF, represented a setback for Alstom, allowing its German rival to break into the French high-speed market for the first time.

Alstom responded with legal action, arguing that the power system used in the Velaro – featuring motors under the carriages – breached safety rules for operations in the tunnel. It argued that a requirement to be able to evacuate passengers through either end of the train in the event of fire could be met only with trains hauled by locomotive, such as the TGV.

The initial case was thrown out and while Alstom sought to pursue the claim further, it finally dropped the action in 2012.

Eurostar plans to retain all of its Siemens trains in the coming years, while retiring the last of its Alstom models. It means the German manufacturer may have an advantage in winning the new contract, though an industry insider said a second award to a foreign firm would be tough for France to swallow.

A Eurostar spokesman said the company is “very open to pitches and in multiple discussions”.

The company is also keen to purchase trains that can operate not just on the Channel Tunnel route but across its entire network. This was expanded last year through a merger with Thalys, also owned by SNCF, which added services between Paris and Brussels and beyond into Germany. That may open the tender up to a wider group of bidders.

A formal request for proposals will be issued later this year and a manufacturer selected towards the end of 2025, Eurostar said.

Alstom, which builds its TGV trains at a plant in La Rochelle, declined to comment, while Munich-based Siemens said it intends to bid.

A spokesman for Siemens Mobility said: “We welcome this announcement given how much passengers love our Velaro e320 trains, and we are eager to put in a competitive offer to build the next generation of these iconic trains.”

Hitachi, a bullet train manufacturer, said it will look at the tender once it is issued.

Eurostar is making the commitment to expand its fleet as it seeks to attract more than 30 million passengers a year by the end of the decade, 50pc more than it transported in 2023.

Following the Thalys merger, dubbed Project Green Speed, Eurostar is aiming to expand operations to capture increased demand for train travel as airlines come under pressure to retreat from the shortest European routes.

The expansion will help Eurostar defend itself against new entrants, with five companies including Virgin Group reportedly interested in launching their own Channel Tunnel services.

Getlink, which operates the tunnel, says that current infrastructure allows for roughly double the number of trains to run through per day than are currently scheduled.

Eurostar’s investment will increase the company’s overall fleet size by 30pc, or 16 trains, to 67 once older models are retired. The first trains from the new order are expected to enter service in the early 2030s.

Gwendoline Cazenave, Eurostar chief executive, said: “Investing in up to 50 new trains will provide more capacity and give customers something really special, offering a cutting-edge experience in terms of comfort, accessibility and sustainability.”

The company aims to appoint a designer for a new cabin interior this year and select an option in 2026. Customers and staff will be consulted as part of that process. The new trains will also be required to reduce energy consumption compared with the current fleet.

Eurostar set out its fleet plans on Thursday after revealing that annual revenue surpassed €2bn (£1.7bn) for the first time last year, with earnings increasing 8pc to €423m. The company also refinanced €964m of debt last month.

News of the Eurostar tender comes a day after UK operator Southeastern said it will acquire up to 640 electric rail cars, holding out the prospect of new work for Alstom’s Derby plant, which had been threatened with closure because of a dearth of future work.

Should the contract go to Alstom, the future of the Litchurch Lane site would be guaranteed into next decade. However, Siemens is also interested and would build the trains at its new plant in Goole.

Litchurch Lane’s immediate future is expected to be safeguarded by a 90-carriage deal to supply trains for the Elizabeth Line, spanning the period until work to build trains for the High Speed 2 line begins in 2026.  Alstom completed existing manufacturing work in Derby in March and had been planning to open redundancy talks.

Negotiations with the Department for Transport (DfT) and Transport for London are in the final stages, with a contract signing targeted by the end of this month.

The DfT said separately on Thursday that a consultation is underway on lowering the minimum age for a UK train driver from 20 to 18 as earlier as this summer. It comes amid fears that a wave of retirement will trigger a shortage of drivers that would impact services.

The average age of train drivers is currently 48 years, with many set to retire in the next five years.

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