The main rail operator in Russia is Russkiye Zheleznye Dorogi (RZD; website: www.rzd.ru), but information is only provided in Russian. A more useful source of information on train classes, ticketing and timetables is www.seat61.com. Travellers can also get up to date information and timetables by visiting the following stations:

Moskovsky vokzal (tel: (812) 768 4905; Nevsky Prospekt 85; Metro: Ploschad Vosstaniya) - for trains to Moscow and the north.

Baltiysky vokzal (tel: (812) 768 2732; naberezhnaya Obvodnogo Kanala 120; Metro: Baltiyskaya) - for trains to Poland and the Baltics.

Vitebsky vokzal (tel: (812) 768 5939; Zagorodny prospekt 52; Metro: Pushkinskaya) - for trains to Belarus, the Ukraine and southern cities such as Odessa.

Finlayandski vokzal (tel: (812) 768 7900; Ploschad Lenina 6; Metro: Ploschad Lenina) - for connections to Helsinki.

Ladozhskaya vokzal (tel: (812) 768 900; Zanevsky prospect; Metro: Ladozhskaya) - for trains to Siberia and the far north and east of Russia.

Facilities at trains stations are basic - kiosks and canteens sell cheap snacks for passengers, but be wary of elevated prices in cafe-bars inside the main station buildings. Most stations offer token-operated left luggage lockers.

Trains in Russia are, for the most part, safe and reliable, although the carriage interiors can seem a little dated. Dining cars are found on most long-distance trains, but hours are erratic so bring your own drinking water and a light snack, as well as toilet paper. Overnight travel is becoming increasingly comfortable, particularly on the popular St Petersburg-Moscow route, with fresh bed-linen, morning tea and a packaged breakfast included in the ticket price. Travellers should purchase a kupe (a four-bed compartment) or lyuks (a two-bed compartment) ticket rather than the platzkart option, which is for a six-bed compartment, often with no door. Note that compartments on overnight trains are not divided by sex - lone female travellers are best off travelling with a companion. Daytime trains may offer tickets for seats (sid) rather than sleeping berths.

Rail services: It is possible to travel to St Petersburg from most European capitals via Warsaw, Berlin, Helsinki or Moscow. There are daily trains to Helsinki (6 hours), Riga (13 hours) and Vilnius (20 hours) and several trains a week to Berlin (36 hours), Prague (40 hours) and Warsaw (27 hours). Within the former Soviet Union, there are daily trains to Kalingrad (26 hours), Kyiv (24 hours), Minsk (14 hours) and Odessa (35 hours). Finland's VR passenger services (tel: (358) 9 2319 2902, in Finland; website: www.vr.fi/heo/eng/index.html) operates comfortable daily passenger trains to and from Helsinki (journey time - 7 hours), with connections on to Moscow. For domestic travel, there are at least eight daily trains to Moscow (8 hours), most travelling overnight, plus longhaul and short-haul services to towns across Russia.