Train tickets to St. Petersburg for the UEFA European Championship go on sale on March 18.

VR and RZD, the railway operator of Russia, will release the Allegro train tickets for the UEFA European Championship period for sale on Wednesday, March 18 at 7 a.m. Finnish time. We have prepared for the increased demand for the Allegro train operating between Helsinki and St. Petersburg by doubling the number of seats on several trains. There will also be a few night-time Allegro trains during the European Championship.

The tickets for the Allegro trains for Finland’s matchdays will go on sale on March 18 at 7 a.m. Finnish time. The reservation period of the Allegro tickets has exceptionally been extended to 100 days and therefore the tickets can be bought for departures until June 25. This makes buying the single and return ticket at the same time possible. Normally, Allegro tickets go on sale daily with a reservation period of 90 days. We will return to this normal reservation period in our sales channels on Friday, March 27.

“The train is absolutely the most comfortable and environmentally friendly way to travel to the Championship, and you can already get into the mood on the way to the match. We have received many questions relating to Allegro tickets for the duration of the Championship, and we are very happy that, together with RZD, we have managed to extend the reservation period so that you can purchase a return ticket with your single ticket. We have prepared for the greatly increased demand and have added plenty of seats on Allegro trains for the duration of the European Championship. We will also exceptionally drive some extra night-time Allegro shifts,” says Viktoria Hurri, Head of Finnish-Russian Passenger Services at VR.

The Allegro train is an easy and smooth way to travel to St. Petersburg. The travel time from city centre to city centre is only three and a half hours, and border and customs checks do not require you to leave your seat or the train to make extra stops. Ticket prices start from as low as EUR 39. From March 29, you can also board the Allegro train at Pasila, where the train will once again stop.

In addition to the Allegro, you can also travel to the Championship by the Tolstoi train that operates between Helsinki and Moscow and for which the reservation period will also be temporarily extended to 100 days. The Tolstoi train stops at the St. Petersburg-Ladozhsky station. Tickets will go on sale on March 18, the same as the Allegro train.

 Double trains for matchdays

The Finland v Russia match will be played on Wednesday, June 17, and the Finland v Belgium match on Monday, June 22. On the two days preceding the matches, i.e. Monday and Tuesday, 15–16 June, and on Saturday and Sunday, 20–21 June, the morning and afternoon trains at 6.20 and 15.00 will run as double trains. On matchdays, the morning train departing from Helsinki at 6.20 will run as a double train.  Return traffic will also always have added double trains for the two days following Finland’s matches, and they will depart from St. Petersburg to Helsinki at 10.30 and 15.00.

In addition to the double trains, there will also be exceptional night-time Allegro trains.  Before the Finland v Russiamatch, from Monday to Wednesday (15–17 June), there will be a night train on both nights that departs from Helsinki at 1.10 and arrives in St. Petersburg at 5.26 local time.  You can travel to the Finland v Belgium match on the night between Sunday and Monday (June 22), following the same time table. After the games, night trains to Helsinki will depart from St. Petersburg on June 18 and June 24 at 2.10.

Friday, July 3 You can easily get to the play-off games in St. Petersburg by the double train on Thursday, July 2, which departs from Helsinki at 15.00. There is also a double train for the return on Saturday, July 4, at 10.30 from St. Petersburg to Helsinki.

Easily and smoothly to St. Petersburg

With the FAN ID that is acquired with a Championship ticket, you can travel to Russia as visa exempt aboard the Allegro and Tolstoi trains. The Fan ID entitles you to cross the border into Russia during the period 30 May – 3 July 2020, and to leave the country during the period 30 May – 13 July. During these time periods, you can use the FAN ID to visit Russia several times.

“St. Petersburg is an amazing summer holiday destination. If you have time for a city vacation in your summer plans, we recommend using the Fan ID’s visa feature for a second St. Petersburg trip. Forexample, for a weekend stay,” Hurri explains.

The Allegro train is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary. The travel volume of the Allegro has been strongly increasing for a long time. In 2019, the volume grew once more to over 15% from the previous year. At the same time the Allegro set a new record, a total of 560,000 trips. The Allegro train is also a very environmentally friendly way to travel abroad from Finland.


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