The main advantage is simply to save money. Commission or mark-up charged by going through travel agencies can be at least 15 or 20% of the ticket value and sometimes much more. By cutting out the ‘middle-man’ you might be saving yourself around US$100 to US$200, for example, on a train trip from Moscow to Beijing or Vladivostok for instance.
The main disadvantages are potential language and communication problems as well as the risk of not being able to get a booking on the desired train or in the desired class if you don’t buy the ticket far enough in advance. This should not be a problem though if travelling outside the peak months, which are roughly May to September.
Where to Buy Tickets and How to Get There
Tickets can be purchased at Yaroslavski train station, located about four kilometres northeast of Red Square. The nearest metro station is Komsomolskaya, which is located just across the road from Yaroslavski train station. Komsomolskaya is on either the brown, ‘Koltsevaya’, line number 5, which is the circular line, or the north-east, south-west running, red, ‘Sokolnicheskaya’, line number 1.