Ticket to ride

The Russian train experience is a great one and one of the best parts of travel in the country.

I took several overnight trains some up to 15-16 hours across country to reach cities. Its really the only way to travel such vast distances in Russia.
Everyone is assigned a seat and a bunk bed in wich they retire to at about 10pm. There are four classes, the first and second and not really affordable
for budget travellers and the fourth doesn't include the bed so third class is the perfect compromise I would suggest. The only discernable
difference from the first classes is that you do not have a door to your compartment, rather it is an open carriage. In some respects, like security for
women especially, this is an advantage as they don't have the possibility of being alone in a locked room with male strangers (possibly drunken).

The space is set out with two sets of bunk beds facing each other and another on the other side of the aisle along the window. Thus sleeping six in all.
It's a fairly comfortable way to travel and get some sleep on long journeys but I would say if you are over six foot the bunks can be a bit cramped. Still even with 3-4 hours solid sleep the trip is a steal at about 1000 roubles per journey (25 Euros approx.)
The carriages are patrolled by the Provodnista (generally middle aged female train attendants) who have a reputation for being matronly and no nonsense.
The one's I had were quite friendly and jovial with the passengers which is very refreshing in straight faced Russia.

It can be at best rather amusing sitting for hours in silence with a group of locals who generally speaking you cannot really communicate with in their language beyond saying 'hello' and 'I dont understand Russian, sorry'. Clearly this can be a little uncomfortable so I would recommend a good book and an ipod or some such device. It is worth mentioning that this is a good example of the few times that solo travel can be a bit difficult. In saying that on my last trip I made friends with two university students who spoke English so it is really all swings and roundabouts.

However the only issue I had was with my first journey from St Petersburg to Moscow when the Provodnista urgently needed to explain something to me.
I am usually quite good at interpreting such things with body language but this time I was at a loss. Obviously you need to get over your embarrassment in such cases and just laugh it off. She needed to find a passenger to speak English to me in the end. It turned out she wanted an extra 30 roubles (75 cents) or something to pay for the sheets as it wasn't included on the ticket fee as it usually is!
I would never have guessed.