Categories and Equipment of Carriages

The categories of passenger carriages have the following indications: Ë (ëþêñ, CB – lyux, SV) – soft sleeping carriage (with two-berth compartments), Ì, Ê (êóïå - kupé) – soft sleeping carriage (with four-berth compartments), Ï (ïëàöêàðòíûé - platzkártny) – carriage with sleeping banks, Î (îáùèé - óbschiy) – carriage with seats, C (ñèäÿ÷èé - sidyáchiy) – regional/carriage with seats.

Indication Ë is used for the carriages of the superior category (18 beds). They consist of nine two-berth isolated sleeping compartments and a corridor along the carriage. This is the most comfortable and thus the most expensive travelling option.

Equipment:

Two soft berths located opposite each other, a table by the window, personal lamps at the head of each berth, multi-mode ceiling lamps in the compartments and the corridor, space for baggage and hand luggage, one or few mirrors, curtains and a light-proof blind on the window, radio, folding shelves for keeping any small things and toilet articles, central conditioning and heating system of the carriage, and a lock. Compartments in some high-class trains may be equipped with TV sets.

In the trains formed by the Chinese Railway (¹3/4 Moscow-Beijing) the berths are located one above the other, and there is a folding upholstered seat in the corner of the compartment. Between each two cabins there is a shower-room with a wash-basin.

In the trains running to Eastern and Western Europe the compartments have 3 berths which are located one under another on one of the walls. There is a wash-basin and a folding soft seat in the corner of the compartment. When tickets of the 1st class are sold into such carriages, the middle berth is attached to the wall, and the cabin is used by two passengers only.

Ê, Ì are the indications for a tourist class of a sleeping car (36 beds). It consists of nine four-berth sleeping compartments and a corridor along the carriage. Thanks to optimal correlation of cost and comfort this is the second popular type of traveling in Russia.

Equipment:

Four soft sleeping berths one under another – two on each wall of the compartment (narrower than in a lux car), a folding ladder (for comfort of the passengers who have upper berths), a table near the window, personal lamps at the head of each berth, multi-mode ceiling lamps in each compartment and in the passage, space for keeping the baggage and hand luggage, one or several mirrors, curtains and a light-proof blind on the window, a radio, folding shelves for small things and toilet articles, central heating system of the carriage, and a door-lock.

In the trains running to the Eastern and Western Europe the compartments have 3 berths which are located one under another on one of the walls. There is a wash-basin and a folding upholstered seat in the corner of the compartment.

Ï indicates an economy category of a sleeping carriage (54 beds). This type of a carriage consists of nine open 4-berth compartments and nine pairs of side sleeping banks. This is the most popular type of railway travels in Russia due to the cheap price and convenience.

Equipment:

Four berths are located one above the other by each wall of an open compartment, and two berths one above the other are in front of each compartment on the other side of the carriage (they are oriented not across, but along the passage). Berths are narrower and shorter than in the soft sleeping carriages. There is also a folding ladder (for convenience of passengers on upper berths), a table by the window in each compartment, personal lamps at the head of each berth, multi-mode ceiling lamps in the compartments and the passage, space under the lower banks and the third tier of berths for baggage and hand-luggage, curtains and a light-proof blind on each window, a radio, folding shelves for small items and toilet articles, central heating. The lower side berths can be transformed into two seats and a table between them.

Î is a mark for a the most economic category of railway carriages (81 seats). Carriages are the same as the previous ones (Ï), but tickets are sold only for lower berths. They are intended for people (3 persons) only to sit on the lower berths. The upper berths are not counted, and therefore one third of passengers have the opportunity to rest in a lying position.

Equipment:

See equipment description of the carriages with sleeping banks (Ï).

Ñ marks in most cases a carriage with no partitions or compartments equipped with several rows of airplane-type armchairs along each side of the carriage (64 seats). The equipment of the carriages, number of seats, distance between them, and their location may vary depending on the category of the train and type of the carriage. Such carriages are usually used for transportation at the distance of 500-700 km in daytime trains.

The carriages of all categories are equipped with:

• Two toilets – at the each end of the carriage;
• Two entrance areas, one of which is intended for smoking;
• A boiler for drinking hot water;
• Garbage bin;
• 2-berth cabin for the conductors;
• Auxiliary cabin.
• There are one or two conductors in each carriage, who are responsible for solving problems, checking traveling documents of passengers, keeping cleanness in the carriage and toilets, making tea, coffee and providing passengers with meals and press if such is guaranteed by the train/carriage category.