Nathan Toohey

Ticketless travel has arrived at the Russian Railways. A virtual ticket to ride on some long-distance journeys can now be purchased using electronic registration technology.

"Electronic registration allows passengers to board the train without having to collect a paper ticket," RIA Novosti quoted a press representative as saying on Tuesday. "In order to board the train, passengers need only present the identification document that they used to book the ticket over the Internet. The new service can be used by passengers who buy their tickets for long-distance journeys through the Russian Railways web portal."

So far, electronic registration is available only to passengers who book tickets on some Moscow-St. Petersburg trains (Nos. 55/56, 23/24, ¾, 159/160, 165/166), Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod-Moscow (Nos. 61/62, 119/120) and Moscow-Kazan-Moscow (No. 49/50).

Tickets can be electronically registered for trains departing from June 1.

"A passenger can register remotely when booking the ticket through the Russian Railways web portal or at any other time, although not later than one hour before departure," said the press representative. "In order to register, passengers must log in on our site, select the already paid order and complete the subsequent electronic registration."

Passengers can decline to register electronically on the Russian Railways site and choose to receive their tickets at the ticket office or via the self-service payment terminals. Passengers can cancel their electronic registration at any time up to one hour before departure.

"In the event that the details of the journey need to be changed, the passenger will need to receive the electronic ticket from a Russian Railways ticket office not later than one hour before departure," said the press service.

Meanwhile, Moscow Railways has moved to introduce suburban-train ticket sales via electronic payment terminals. The experimental program is set to start in June, with the ticket sales taking place at Vsya Moskva payment terminals.

Sixty-four terminals will be set up in 42 stops along the Belorussky line - including stops that currently don't have a ticket office. Passengers simply choose their departure and arrival points and can pay with cash. The terminals will print standard tickets with bar codes for passing through stations' revolving gates. If the program is successful it is planned to be extended throughout the Moscow Railways suburban system.