Expanding presence in the international transport market

In line with the Comprehensive Long-Term Programme to Introduce Double-Decker Passenger Carriages on Russian Railways’ Network, in 2019, the following rolling stock renewal initiatives were carried out:

  • For Karelia branded train No. 17/18 Petrozavodsk–Moscow: on 3 December 2019, the first double-decker train set out from Petrozavodsk
  • For Sura branded train No. 52/51 Penza–Moscow: on 8 December 2019, the first double-decker train set out from Penza
  • For Ivan Paristy branded trains Nos. 737/738, 739/740 and 741/742 Moscow–Bryansk: on 25 December 2019, the first double-decker train set out from Bryansk.

In 2020, regular carriages will be replaced with double-deckers in passenger trains No. 29/30 Saint Petersburg–Moscow and No. 22/21 Saint Petersburg–Murmansk.

Key principles of FPC’s passenger services

As part of our efforts to improve passenger travel comfort, we maintain a continued focus on collecting proposals for train timetable adjustments to offer more convenient arrival/departure times and maximise train travelling speeds subject to capacity constraints of Russian Railways’ infrastructure.

Traffic and acceleration

In the 2019/2020 standard train schedule, the overall traffic of FPC’s passenger trains amounts to 455 train pairs, including 266 pairs of express trains, 162 pairs of passenger trains and 27 pairs of higher-speed trains.

126 splitting train pairs were included in the schedule to improve operating performance and rolling stock efficiency, including 88 pairs of year-round trains, 33 pairs of summer trains and 5 pairs of winter trains.

Several initiatives were implemented to accelerate FPC’s passenger trains in the 2019/2020 schedule. In total, the train travel time was reduced by 147 hours. For 85 trains, the new table reduced their travel time by 30 minutes or more, for a total of 115 hours.

To improve the passenger experience and attract more passengers to rail, the 2019/2020 schedule includes new long-distance train pairs made up by FPC.

New daytime trains:

  • Locomotive-hauled trains with passenger carriages (two pairs):
    • No. 48/47 Moscow–Nizhny Novgorod (calling at Murom and Arzamas)
    • No. 201/202 Khabarovsk–Vladivostok
  • Lastochka (four pairs):
  • No. 735/736 Moscow–Nizhny Novgorod
  • Nos. 801/802 and 803/804 Perm–Yekaterinburg
  • Nos. 811/812 and 813/814 Tyumen–Yekaterinburg
  • No. 825-811/826-812 Armavir/Maykop–Imeretinsky Resort.

New night trains:

  • No. 47/48 Omsk–Vladivostok
  • No. 77/78 Abakan–Moscow
  • No. 99/100 Belgorod–Moscow
  • No. 160/159 Moscow–Petrozavodsk (calling at Saint Petersburg and Sortavala)
  • No. 547/548 Belgorod—Imeretinsky Resort
  • No. 603/604 Kievsky Railway Station–Paveletsky Railway Station
  • No. 686/685 Belgorod–Voronezh (Belgorod–Novorossiysk direct carriage group coupled to train No. 505/506 Tambov–Novorossiysk)
  • No. 687/688 Kavkazskaya–Stavropol (Stavropol–Moscow direct carriage group coupled to train No. 61/62 Nalchik–Moscow instead of train No. 77/78 Stavropol–Moscow)
  • No. 691/692 Novorossiysk–Kavkazskaya (Novorossiysk–Baku direct carriage group coupled to train No. 391/392 Rostov–Baku)
  • No. 277/278 Belogorsk–Blagoveshchensk (Vladivostok–Blagoveshchensk direct carriage group coupled to train No. 7/8 Vladivostok–Novosibirsk).

New product range

The names of products within FPC’s current product range are over 90 combinations of train categories (passenger, express, higher-speed, branded), carriage types (deluxe, first-class sleeping, second-class sleeping, third-class open sleeping, with seats), and on-train services (catering, travel kit, press, etc.).

To help passengers better understand our product offering, FPC’s Strategy provides for transitioning to a new product range with a clearer value proposition.

The fundamentally new classification will include four service classes across four transport products:

  • Four train types (daytime express trains, night express trains, conventional trains, and tourist trains)
  • Four service classes (business, comfort, economy, and economy budget).
Rolling stock renewal