High-Speed Railway Service Opens Between Moscow, Kyiv

KYIV. Aug 1 (Interfax) – A high-speed railway service between the Russian and Ukrainian capital cities was opened on Monday.

Two high-speed express trains, one built in Ukraine and the other in Russia, will run between Moscow and Kyiv.

The journey will last nine hours. Ticket prices range from 220 hryvni to 350 hryvni ($44-$70). In the future, diplomatic wagons with four compartments will be hooked to the trains. Each compartment will have two rooms, a bath and an office. A VIP wagon with nine compartments is already available for passengers of the Russian train.

The first express departed from Kyiv at 8:09 p.m. on Monday. All tickets had been sold out. About 80% of the tickets had been bought in Moscow, said an official with the Ukrainian Railways.

An express railway journey between the two capitals on a Ukrainian train currently lasts 13 hours and 17 minutes.