Russian Railways and the Belarusian Railway plan to extend the ticket sales window to 90 days. The railways are also planning to expand the route network and increase the number of seats on trains.
At present, 26 pairs of trains already operate between Russia and Belarus, including transit services to Kaliningrad with stops in Belarusian cities, as well as through coaches from Arkhangelsk, Murmansk and Mineralnye Vody.
Last year, according to Russian Railways, 3.1 million passengers were carried on services between the two countries, up 9.3% compared with 2024. The Belarusian Railway press centre cited a different figure — 3.6 million passengers, an increase of 11.7% year on year — noting that this total includes transit passengers.
“The share of traffic in services with Belarus accounts for almost 86% of the total volume of traffic with CIS countries.
The high-speed format remains the most in demand. Almost 786,000 passengers were carried on Lastochka trains on the Moscow–Minsk route, up 11.7% compared with 2024.
The strongest growth came during the New Year holidays: from December 26 to January 11, more than 76,000 travellers, an increase of 27.7%, chose Lastochka trains for journeys between the capitals,” Russian Railways added.