As of July 31, Russian Railways put into operation additional Sapsan daytime trains with travel time of just four hours. Three pairs will be serving every Sunday till September, 4 to fill the gap between the demand and the capacity on the line.
There will be 36 trips totally in both directions. In July on 31st, in August on 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th and in September on 4th, three trains will be departing from Moscow to St. Petersburg at 11.40 (arrival time 15.30), 13.30 (17.30) and 17.30 (21.20); from St. Petersburg to Moscow – at 07.00 (arrival time in Moscow is 11.00), 11.10 (15.00) and 17.00 (20.50).
Nowadays, 12 pairs of Sapsan are in operation daily with one more pair available only on weekdays.
In first half of 2016, Sapsan ridership increased by 31.3% on year-to-year basis to 2.13 million passengers.
It’s highly recommended to buy railway ticket for a trip between St. Petersburg and Moscow in advance during high season.