Country info: Belarus (Беларусь)

Rail companies: BC (Беларуская Чыгунка)

For more detailed information about train schedules and fares use our forum 

Belarus Rail Network Map 

Currency: 1 euro = app. 11200 Belarus rubles (BYR)

Train travel in Belarus: train types, tickets, fares, discounts & other useful info

National Train Service:

Train types in Belarus: Urban ('городские'), Regional ('региональные'), InterRegional ('межрегиональные') & International ('международные') trains

InterRegional & International trains can also be 'upgraded' – these trains called 'Branded Trains' ('фирменные') having so-called 'Brand' making them 'Branded Trains' ('фирменные поезда'). BC 'branded' trains are easy to recognize since they usually have special train name (for instance 'Belarus' it is Minsk to Moscow # 1/2 train, 'White Stork' is Minsk to Kyiv # 85/86 train etc.), painted in some unique livery, have newer carriages and shorter travel time

• Urban (marked as 'CL' on BC website) - urban & partly suburban service around Minsk area, no seat reservation required 
• Regional (marked as 'RLe' & 'RLb' on BC website  ) – Regional Lines(econom) & Regional Lines(business) service short & medium distance routes all over Belarus, usually connecting cities & towns within one administrative region. RLe (previously known as suburban/пригородные) have 4 digit number starting with 6*** (no seat reservation required), while RLb have 3 digit number starting with 8** (seat reservation compulsory)
• InterRegional (marked as 'IRL') – long-distance trains connecting major Belarus cities & towns (previously interregional trains were called 'Passenger' & 'Fast'), seat/bed reservation required. IRL train have 3 digit number below 699
  
• International (marked as 'IL' on BC website ) – international service from Belarus to Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria & Kazakhstan, seat/bed reservation required. IL trains have 3 digit number below 699                 

NB: in Belarus for domestic journeys ticket and seat/bed reservation are printed on the same ticket sheet

Types of carriages in BC trains:

• Common ('общий вагон') – mainly 'platskartnyi' couchette carriage where not 54 berths (as in usual 'platskartnyi') are sold, but 81 seats, thus basically turning couchette carriage into seating carriage, seat reservation compulsory (used in some InterRegional & International trains)
• Sitting ('сидячий') – various seating carriages used in Urban, Regional, InterRegional & International trains, mainly aircraft type salon (1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd class)
• Platskartnyi ('плацкартный') – 3^rd class couchette carriage (3/6) with an open compartments & 54 berths (beds from #1-36 located in the open compartments, while beds from #37-54 are on the side, thus opposite to compartments, odd numbers are lower berths, even – upper. Bed reservation required. 'Platskartnyi' carriages used in InterRegional & International trains
• 
  Kupe ('купе') –  2^nd class sleeper carriage (2/4) with 'closed' compartments for 4 passengers, odd numbers are lower beds, even – upper. Bed reservation required. 'Kupe' carriages used in InterRegional & International trains
• Soft (мягкий) - 2^nd class sleeper carriage (2/3) with 'closed' compartments for 3 passengers (standard RIC type), where all 3 beds located are located on one side of the compartment. Usually this type of carriages used by BC in international trains (from Minsk to Warsaw, Berlin, Amsterdam, Prague etc.), bed reservation required
• Lux ('люкс' or as well known as 'СВ') – 1^st sleeper carriage (1/2) with compartments for 2 passengers, both beds are lower ones, bed reservation required. 'Lux' carriages used in InterRegional & International trains

Discounts, special offers & ways to save money for passengers traveling in Belarus (BC):

Belarus is probably the cheapest country in Europe when we speak about rail travel & train tickets price, since it is possible to travel across the entire country for as low as 3-4-5 euro (ticket+reservation included) in 'kupe' of InterRegional or International trains. Journeys using Regional train are also very cheap. So the only good suggestion for travelers to Belarus is to enjoy BC domestic tariff as much as possible, while it is still so inexpensive

International Train Service:

Tariffs for international tickets used by by Belarus Railways (BC):

• for connection to Europe it is special East-West tariff, tariff currency - Euro
• for connection to former USSR countries it is special MGPT tariff, which is cheaper than East-West, but more expensive than domestic one, tariff currency – Swiss Francs
• for connections to China, Mongolia, Vietnam & North Korea it is MPT tariff, tariff currency – Swiss Francs

a) Regular discounts

No info available

b) Special offers (SparSchiene)

Not available

c) CityStars

No info available

Special cross-border fares to neighboring countries:

• Poland: from Brest to Terespol & from Grodno to Kuźnica Białostock one-way ticket for 3 euro (+1 CHF)
• Russia & Ukraine: for all the cross-border regional trains from Belarus to Russia & Ukraine tickets are calculated using BC domestic tariff for regional trains (roughly 600 BYR for every 10km)

How to Buy Train Tickets in Belarus:

Do you still have further questions or want to share your own travel experience? You are welcome on our Forum page

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