Moscow does not have a single, central railway station; instead, trains depart from nine railway terminals arranged in a ring around the city centre. It is possible to travel by train to almost everywhere on the Russian Federation's extensive rail network, but be sure to go to the right station. The state-owned Russian Railways (tel: (495) 262 1280; http://eng.rzd.ru) network is broken into regional divisions but timetable information is now available from their website. The network is currently being integrated into the European rail transport network, which should make it much easier to enter Russia by rail.

Trains and stations around Moscow are operated by the Moscow Railways Agency (tel: (495) 266 9333; www.mza.ru, Russian only). Service in kupé (second class) is usually very good - the compartments are four berth, the linen is generally clean and each carriage has a helpful provodnik (attendant) who will even make a glass of Russian tea for travellers who ask nicely. Spalny vagon (first class) seats in two-berth compartments cost twice as much. For more information on Russian trains, see www.seat61.com/Russia-trains.htm. Tickets can be purchased at stations or from the downtown offices of the Moscow Rail Passenger Agency - see the 'Tickets' link on the Passenger section of Russian Railways (http://eng.rzd.ru).

The four railway stations most likely to be used by visitors to Moscow are Belorussky vokzal (tel: (495) 973 8191), which has trains from Western Europe, Kievsky vokzal (tel: (495) 240 0415), which has trains from Budapest, Prague, Kiev, Sofia, Venice and Belgrade, and Leningradsky vokzal (tel: (495) 262 9143), with trains from Helsinki, St Petersburg, Murmansk and Tallinn. Trans-Siberian trains leave from Yaroslavsky vokzal (tel: (495) 921 5914); destinations include Yaroslavl, Archangelsk, Irkutsk, Beijing, Ulaanbaator and Vladivostok. Trains to and from Riga leave from Rizhky vokzal (tel: (495) 971 1588). Larger stations have toilets, shops and food and drink stalls, but prices at station restaurants can be extortionate.
 
Rail services: Due to the vast distances involved, almost any trip a Western visitor will make in Russia will be on a night train. Journey times between Moscow and hubs with onward European connections include Kiev (journey time - 13 hours), St Petersburg (journey time - 8 hours 30 minutes) and Helsinki (journey time - 14 hours). There are also connections to cities across Western European via Warsaw, Budapest and Prague. With a week to spare, a trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway will make you realise the staggering dimensions of the Russian Federation.