Europe
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Train to / from Moscow – St Petersburg — Accessibility?
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Train to / from Moscow – St Petersburg — Accessibility?
Does anyone know if the Sapsan (high speed train) from Moscow to St Petersburg offers Accessible entry / seating? On the Russian Railways site it appears I will have to jump through some hoops “proving” my child is legitimately disabled — we can help him transfer into a regular train seat so we four can just sit together, 2 facing the other 2 with a table in between.
I am having a hard time finding if the train stations (Leningradsky / Kursky, Moskovsky) themselves are Accessible, and when I look online at the tickets I cannot find how to request a ramp. We won’t be going until March 2021, so no need to purchase tickets now, but I want to get my ducks in a row so when the tickets open up I’ll know just what to do.
Maybe I’ll go to Fodor’s or Frommers to see if they have recs for travel agents to help me plan train travel, but I thought I’d try here just in case ….
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3 Replies
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Hi,
I asked around the internet and was told:
“You only have to ‘prove’ the person is disabled if you’d like to receive a 40% discount. I’m not sure the discount is available to foreigners.
Russian railway stations have ramps. If you take a look at the Sapsan train at the station you’ll see that you don’t have to climb the stairs but there’s still one 10-15cm step when you enter the train.”
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You are amazing + generous — thank you!
I don’t worry about “proving” my child’s disability when traveling — not something we have to do here in the US because we don’t allow people with disabilities and their attendants to either have free or discounted access. Let’s say there are pluses + minuses on both sides of that equation. I’ll pay for my angel’s tickets no problem, but it’s the ramp and actual seating area on the train which concerns me.
Thank you for all you do for all of us!
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Hello! Sapsan trains have special sits, usually in the beginning of every coach. You can pick the places when booking a train ticket online, or addressing a cashier directly at the railway station.
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