Russians choose the railway services

Russian Railways OJSC has been actively engaged in developing railway tourism, as well as passenger and tourist services. By this December, the holding company has launched more than 50 federal and 28 regional routes. At the same time, the Russian Government supports the development of domestic tourism, in particular in the Far East, by subsidizing the construction of tourism infrastructure.

Popular destinations 

“It is no coincidence that railway tourism has become an interesting and promising area. There are over 50 such routes now which encompass Karelia, the Urals, the central part of Russia and many of our other regions,” noted Russian President Vladimir Putin at the IV Railway Congress on December 15. 

Today, the geography of railway tourist routes spans 32 Russian regions: 19 regions, 5 territories and 8 republics, RZD Tour (Russian Railways Tour), which is a part of the Russian Railways holding company engaged in travel organization, told 1520International.

According to RZD Tour, Karelia is currently the most popular choice among Russian railway tourists whereas southern cruises, such as “the Pearl of the Caucasus”, come second. The route and excursion program are updated annually. In particular in 2023 it has passed through Maykop, Vladikavkaz, Grozny, Kizilyurt, Makhachkala and Nalchik.

“Winter Tale” weekend tour is a popular winter route among Russians. The trip passes through Veliky Ustyug and Kostroma. Russians also like travelling to the port of Baikal by the Circum-Baikal Railway.

This September, Russian Railways OJSC, Severstal Airlines, Federal Passenger Company JSC and RZD Tour launched Cherepovets – Sochi Airport – Rosa Khutor – Gagra – Sukhum – Sochi Airport – Cherepovets multimodal tourist route. The project called “Ritsa” took the Vologda region residents on an exciting round trip to the Black Sea coastal resorts. 

RZD Tour also develops two international routes – to Belarus and Abkhazia. Inbound tourism is represented by travel programs along the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Silk Road by the Imperial Russia and Golden Eagle trains, as well as round trip tours along the Golden Ring and the North of Russia. 

According to the company, since the beginning of the year, about 16 thousand tourists have taken the company's railway tours. Bundle tour packages were purchased mainly by residents of the Moscow region and St. Petersburg, while the number of tourists from other regions is gradually increasing. 

“We are witnessing an explosive interest in tourism inside Russia. This does not only concern Central Russia and the North Caucasus; we note major interest in the Siberian region, the Baikal and the Far East regions,” emphasized Ivan Kolesnikov, Deputy General Director of Russian Railways OJSC, during a briefing held in Moscow on December 14.

Support for domestic tourism

Today, the Russian Government is making a great deal of effort to develop domestic tourism in the Far East. Thus, in early December, the Council of Ministers expanded funding of investment projects aimed at developing tourism infrastructure in the region. 

Projects involving the creation, reconstruction, and major repairs of hotels, other accommodation, health resort treatment and recreation facilities in the region will be eligible for subsidies. The aggregate volume of subsidies will equal about 1 billion rubles with the funds distributed among the winners based on the results of competitive selection. 

At the Eastern Economic Forum held in September, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Dmitry Vakhrukov said that by 2030 the tourist flow to the Far East could reach 7.1–7.2 million trips per year, which is twice as high as the current figure. 

“Kamchatka Territory, Sakhalin Region, and Magadan Region, the regions with minimal or nonexistent railway transportation infrastructure, will be the primary growth points. However, the Trans-Siberian regions - Primorsky Territory, Khabarovsk Territory and the Republic of Buryatia will remain among the top 3 by an absolute number of arriving tourists,” notes Alexander Neretin, Director of Integrated Transport Projects at the Center for Economics and Infrastructure (CEI). 

The leading expert at Finam Management Holding Company Dmitry Baranov believes that prioritizing investment projects in tourism will also serve to increase the volume of transportation of necessary goods and equipment, which will facilitate a quick launch of these tourist facilities. 

“While tourist flows to these locations are typically modest (between 5,000 and 10,000), the implementation of infrastructure improvements will significantly boost this value,” concludes Alexander Neretin.

Alexander Solyanik