In the recent past, there was no question of whether it was possible to buy a train ticket in advance. Train tickets were bought immediately before the trip, and some of them were even suitable only for a specific time. Today, for the convenience of passengers, the ability to buy tickets in advance has been added, but not for all commuter trains.
Suburban train tickets and passes
Officially, electric trains are called wagons with unnumbered seats. It is precisely with the "unnumbered" seats that sometimes more tickets are sold than there are seats, and people have to stand. All routes followed by such cars are divided into two types: short-distance and long-distance. For short-distance trains, a ticket can be bought only on the day of the trip, and for long-distance trains, tickets are available 7-10 days before departure. The exact time depends on the route of the train.
To find out exactly what type of short-distance or long-distance train you need belongs to, it is recommended to contact the information station or suburban ticket offices.
A subscription ticket for long-distance commuter trains can be purchased 30 days before the trip.
You can buy tickets at train stations at short-distance ticket offices, as well as in vending machines located at some stations in large cities. If the ticket offices do not work, and there are no machines at the station, then you need to buy a ticket from the controller in the electric train. Such travel is not considered a stowaway trip. But if you do not take care of the ticket in advance, although there are all possibilities for this, the controller has every right to fine you. Late arrival and lack of time to purchase a ticket are not considered valid reasons.
Discount tickets can be bought in advance only by residents of Moscow Oblast and Leningrad Region
Some categories of citizens are entitled to preferential or free travel on suburban electric trains. Such tickets, despite the fact that they do not cost anything, can usually be bought only on the day of the trip, but if the beneficiary lives in the Federal District (Moscow and the Moscow Region), then he can buy a ticket 10 days before the trip. Beneficiaries of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region can buy a ticket only the day before the trip, not earlier.
Validity of single tickets
A single ticket is a ticket on which you plan to make one trip. There are two types of single tickets: one way or both directions, "round trip".
If you bought a ticket for an electric train, which departs on the required date, but arrives the next day, but the validity of the ticket is automatically extended until the train arrives.
The validity of single tickets varies somewhat. A regular single ticket is valid only within the date indicated on it. A round-trip ticket is valid for 2 days from 00:00 on the day on which it was purchased. Weekends and holidays usually increase the validity of such a ticket, but for how many days it is better to check at the box office, since each holiday has its own counting rules. For example, according to this rule, you can buy a round-trip ticket, leave on Friday and return no later than Monday.
