OREANDA-NEWS. January 21, 2015. Russian Railways is introducing a new system of discounts for passengers on the Sapsan high-speed trains between Moscow - St. Petersburg - Moscow from 15 January to 15 April 2015.

The fare will depend not only on the booking trends, capacity utilisation, time en route and class of service on the train, but also on the day of the week and the train's departure time.

Thus, when selling tickets for trains between Moscow - St. Petersburg - Moscow, from 15 January to 15 April 2015, special factors or coefficients will be taken into account which can reduce or increase the fare.

When planning your trip in advance and buying your ticket 45 days before departure (i.e., from the time tickets go on sale for the selected date), passengers can save up to 60% of the applicable fare.

For example, by applying the coefficients of the new fare system when buying a ticket for Sapsan trains Nos. 757 and 759 (departing on Tuesdays and Wednesdays) 45 days before departure, the fare for one adult from Moscow to St. Petersburg will be 1,160 roubles (the current average ticket price for these trains is 2,500 roubles), while tickets on trains Nos 751, 752, 753 and 754 (departing on Sundays) cost 1,393 roubles (the current average price of a ticket for these trains is 3,125 roubles) and tickets on trains Nos. 757 and 759 (departing on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays) cost 1,625 roubles instead of the current average ticket price of 2,500 roubles.

A number of other trains will apply coefficients which increase fares. For example, the average ticket price on train number 765, departing on Wednesdays and Thursdays, will not be 3,440 roubles, but 3,774 roubles.

The new tariff coefficients will not apply to the cost of on-board services and the purchase of group tickets, when a coefficient of 1.0 is applied, regardless of the booking trend and the time before train departure.