Europe Trains Guide Forum
General discussion => Train fares and tariffs => Topic started by: daryankoff on February 04, 2011, 04:00:40 pm
-
Hi.
A group of 3 from Slovenia will be travelling to Lvov in April. I'm asking you what's the best option for us. We'd like to travel via Bratislava.
I was informed that City Star ticket from Slovenia to any station(in our case Čierna nad Tisou) in Slovakia would cost 45eur per person. Then we could buy a return ticket Čierna nad Tisou-Lvov. What's the price for this part of journey. Then we need a sleeper reservation which should be 19eur from Bratislava to Lvov one way as I red in another post. Is it possible to buy these tickets outside Slovakia? We'd like to travel by direct train from Bratislava-Lvov.
Another option would be to buy City Star ticket in Bratislava. What's the City Star ticket price Bratislava-Lvov-Bratislava?
Thanks for your help.
Darjan
-
I was informed that City Star ticket from Slovenia to any station(in our case Čierna nad Tisou) in Slovakia would cost 45eur per person.
That is a really good price, so your choice here is the best, just go with Slovenia-Bratislava-Cierna CityStar (just make sure you give the cashier correct route within Slovakia: carriages to Ukraine run via Zilina-Poprad-Kosice route). CityStar ZSSK-UZ isn't that good anyway to buy it for Bratislava-UZ connections
Then we could buy a return ticket Čierna nad Tisou-Lvov. What's the price for this part of journey.
Return ticket with ZSSK-UZ 30% discount will cost app. 25 EUR per person. But since there are 3 passengers, then it makes sense to purchase CityStar ZSSK<100 UZ<500km, it should be app. 30 EUR (or maybe even a bit less since UZ lowered fare for UZ part) for the first passenger and 1/2 for the others, thus making app. 60 EUR for all three of you.
Then we need a sleeper reservation which should be 19eur from Bratislava to Lvov one way as I red in another post.
Yes, it is still 19 EUR, but you can actually save 5 EUR, if you purchase Kosice-Lviv sleeper (14 EUR) and use standard ZSSK seating carriage on leg Bratislava-Kosice. Anyway it is the same R 609 and ride is during the day. Or purchase reservation to RZD carriage Bratislava-Moscow, sleepers are cheaper there.
Is it possible to buy these tickets outside Slovakia?
Carriages on the route, both RZD and UZ are in the EPA, so you shouldn't have problems purchasing it anywhere with access to the EPA reservation system. But it is not a good idea to purchase ticket Cierna-Lviv anywhere besides Slovakia or Ukraine, since there are special discount applies and it won't be available if you do purchase tickets anywhere else.
-
Thanks for your help. Yes, the City Star ticket from Slovenia would be the best idea.
Unfortunately I got an answer from Slovenian Railways that's impossible to buy/reserve such carriages(Bratislava-Lvov) in Slovenia.
I assume I shouldn't have problems to purchase these carriages at any station in Austria 60 day in advance? Because it would be good idea to purchase it well in advance.
-
Unfortunately I got an answer from Slovenian Railways that's impossible to buy/reserve such carriages(Bratislava-Lvov) in Slovenia.
Hmm... hard to believe that SZ doesn't have access to the any all European reservation system. Maybe ticket cashier just wasn't skillful enough? Because those couple carriages aren't easy to spot, because you need to enter train R 609, route Bratislava hl.st.-Lvov and then chose either 1/1, 2/2 or 2/3, but not just Bratislava-Lvov. So maybe it worth trying another time with more detailed instructions to cashier ;)
I assume I shouldn't have problems to purchase these carriages at any station in Austria 60 day in advance?
Yes, with OeBB it's definitely not a problem. Here is the example of reservation for Zilina-Moscow carriage (since 09/2010 substituted with Bratislava-Moscow) (http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/2825/zilinamoscow.jpg) (http://img836.imageshack.us/i/zilinamoscow.jpg/)
-
I agree 'cause they also offered me return ticket price for Čierna-Lvov leg(47EUR), so there must be European computerized system :)
-
...they also offered me return ticket price for Čierna-Lvov leg(47EUR), so there must be European computerized system
Well, not necessarily you need access to the European system here. The fare can be simply taken from standard East-West tariff book (in paper version or computerized version 'incorporated' into Slovenian ticket system). In case of tickets selling you don't need access to the real time information, cashier just adds sums of Chop(gr)-Lvov and Chop(gr)-Ceirna legs and multiplies it by two. While in case of reserving specific seat on specific train, cashier actually needs real time access to the general (in this case one of the European) systems in order to see availability, be able to 'remove' specific seat etc.
Anyway, we would probably recommend to try once more, maybe even print out sample reservation from previous post, so cashier in Slovenia can actually see "realness" of the carriage. Even if your try won't be successful, we doubt that both RZD and UZ carriages from Bratislava are really busy, so that you can't purchase reservation before departure. Plus there is always an option of going with the same trains (as carriages) till Chop and boarding there cheap Ukrainian domestic trains till Lviv ;)
-
So by making sleeping reservation on route Bratislava-Lvov correct train is R 609, Košice-Lvov R 609 or 8815?, Lvov-Bratislava R604 or 15? According to Slovakian railways sleeper costs 10EUR per way on route Bratislava-Lviv so they probably mean russian carriage. What's the difference between russian and ukrainian carriage, cause both are 2/3. Which is better to take?
-
So by making sleeping reservation on route Bratislava-Lvov correct train is R 609, Košice-Lvov R 609 or 8815?, Lvov-Bratislava R604 or 15?
As a rule, such international carriages attached to local trains in the reservation systems can be seen with train number of those local ones according to the departing station. Thus carriages Bratislava-Lviv/Kyiv/Moscow departing from Bratislava will go under 609 R, but while departing Kosice already 8815, Cierna - 8860 etc. Same story on the way back - carriage Moscow-Bratislava runs with train 15 ("Tisza"), but during the reservation the number might have additional letters, for instance in European systems it will be 15VJ till Chop and 15UJ from Chop. With UZ carriages (going with train #7) it will be 7KJ, so it is good to give the cashier those letter endings as well, it might simplify her/his job.
Also you can write down actual number of those carriages: Bratislava-Moscow (#382), Bratislava-Lviv (#384) and Bratislava-Kyiv (#385), so you can make sure you purchase in the one you want
According to Slovakian railways sleeper costs 10EUR per way on route Bratislava-Lviv so they probably mean russian carriage.
Yes, RZD carriages in such case always cheaper, since besides higher fare UZ also charges also VAT for all the reservations (as far as we remember, it is 18%)
What's the difference between russian and ukrainian carriage, cause both are 2/3. Which is better to take?
In most cases RZD carriages are a bit newer, but carriage #385 (Bratislava-Kyiv) has a small unique feature - you pay for 2/3, but in reality it will be 2/2 (middle berth just removed from sale). Same feature is in Budapest-Kyiv and Belgrade-Kyiv UZ carriages, but not in any RZD or UZ carriages Bratislava/Budapest-Lviv. Seems like a strange situation, but we don't have any particular explanation here, maybe it's just some kind of 'promo' from UZ, maybe something else, anyway they sell 2/2 for the fare 2/3 already for many years on route to/from Bratislava/Budapest.
-
Thanks a lot, very interesting :)
One more question: Since we are 3 of us travelling together it's probably better to avoid this #385 carriage from Bratislava if we want to travel in the same sleeping compartment? Or they will sell middle berth to us to be in the same compartment. We'll be probably travelling on Tuesday. That day as I know #384 isn't running. As I understood #385 is UZ carriage and #382 RZD. So this special "promo"(2/2 in 2/3) applies only to #385 not to #382?
-
Since we are 3 of us travelling together it's probably better to avoid this #385 carriage from Bratislava if we want to travel in the same sleeping compartment? Or they will sell middle berth to us to be in the same compartment.
No, middle berth is removed from sale at all, so if you need 3 sleeper reservations they will just sell you two in one compartment and third in the other, but nobody forbids you to spend all the time in one compartment and use middle berth on your own. In most cases RIC compartments are rather congested when having 3 passengers, so that is why UZ 'promo' 2/2 is appreciated by many passengers, but if all of you are together, then maybe compartment won't feel crowded ;)
We'll be probably travelling on Tuesday. That day as I know #384 isn't running.
Yes, Bratislava-Lviv carriage (#384) runs on Wednesdays and Saturdays from Bratislava, other days of the week there is Bratislava-Kyiv (#385) carriage, so in total there are UZ carriages from Bratislava everyday - two days of the week to Lviv and five to Kyiv.
As I understood #385 is UZ carriage and #382 RZD. So this special "promo"(2/2 in 2/3) applies only to #385 not to #382?
Yes, #382 is Bratislava-Moscow RZD carriage and #385 is UZ Bratislava-Kyiv. 2/2 for the price of 2/3 is sold only in #385
-
In another post below topic Bratislava-St. Petersburg I was reading about situation that's not possible to reserve RDZ carriage in advance on route Kiev-Budapest by train 15 Tisza(only after the train actually leaves Moscow). We're gonna take the same train 15 and RDZ carriage back on route Lviv-Bratislava. Will be possible to reserve this carriage in advance in this case? Thanks again. :)
-
We're gonna take the same train 15 and RDZ carriage back on route Lviv-Bratislava. Will be possible to reserve this carriage in advance in this case?
Unfortunately, but probably no. The situation with any reservations for RZD transit carriages is rather absurd. First of all, Ukrainian and Russian system concerning international trains aren't synchronized or even 'connected', as result in Ukraine (where still all international tickets are handwritten) there is simply no way to access life time info about availability of seats in RZD carriages. In some cases, like Moscow-Venice carriage (where more simplified "global price" is used), it is possible to fax from Kyiv to Moscow with request to reserve seat from Kyiv (or any other UZ station) for RZD Venice carriage. But, as you can guess, this is really complicated enterprise. And even more RZD in most cases simply blocks in advance purchase of reservations from any other station besides Moscow (even russian Briansk, for instance) and they definitely don't give quota to UZ for selling tickets in RZD carriages, especially when there is mirroring UZ carriage running.
So the only minimal hope in your case, is so called norm of the inverse return when RZD gives ZSSK small quota, so ZSSK can sell those reservations for the return Moscow-Bratislava. But even in this case it is probably limited only to reservations Moscow-Slovakia or, if lucky, RZD-Slovakia, but we doubt that ZSSK will sell any UZ-Slovakia for RZD carriage. But anyway you might ask, maybe you will be lucky.
btw, it will be good if you can share your experience after you get back, so we and other interested potential passengers can get some actual news from the field :)
-
We can call it russian bureaucracy ;D
I'll share my experience despite we'll probably take RDZ carriage onward(Brat/Kosice-Lviv) and UZ carriage back(Lviv-Brat) to make it easier for us and cashier :)
-
we'll probably take RDZ carriage onward(Brat/Kosice-Lviv)
In this case Kosice-Lviv probably loses its sense, since difference between Bratislava-Lviv and Kosice-Lviv with RZD will be minimal or even non-existing.
I'll share my experience...
Great, will wait for it. It is always interesting when someone "explores" Central-Eastern European rail tricks ;)
-
some fare infos:
City Star Bratislava-Lviv: 1. passenger 63 EUR(2nd pass. 50% off and so on)
City Star Čierna nad Tisou-Lviv: 35 EUR
regular return Čierna nad Tisou-Lviv: 31 EUR
-
Thanks, daryankoff
This means we definitely know now the fares for CityStar ZSSK>300km and UZ<500km (63 EUR) and ZSSK<100km and UZ<500km (35 EUR)
p.s. and sorry about our small miscalculations for Čierna nad Tisou-Lviv, it seems we lost somewhere app.5 EUR with both CityStar and standard ticket ... ???
Well, we will try to figure out where...
-
Yap, and City Star ZSSK>300km, UZ>500km(Kiev) costs 88 EUR.
Is direct sleeper Venice-Moscow still running? I remember I saw RDZ carriage at Ljubljana railway station years ago. It used to run on route Venice-Ljubljana-Zagreb-Budapest-Moscow.
-
Is direct sleeper Venice-Moscow still running? I remember I saw RDZ carriage at Ljubljana railway station years ago. It used to run on route Venice-Ljubljana-Zagreb-Budapest-Moscow.
Yes, it is still running. Once a week, Mondays from Moscow and Thursdays from Venice. As you can guess, still with "Tisza"+ EN Budapest-Venice. Tickets RZD/UZ-Italy are sold using "Global price" (btw rather reasonable since last year fare change: 155-165 EUR for RZD-FS and 100-110 EUR for UZ-FS; + 30 EUR for 2/3, 46 EUR for 1/2 and 104 EUR for 1/1). Tickets to/from Slovania/Croatia/Hungary - standard "East-West" tariff.
-
So, I tried to book sleeper Bratislava-Lviv at railway station in Ljubljana but wasn't successful. Of course they have EPA system but we couldn't find those sleepers. I had all numbers with but wasn't helpful. There's probably no agreement between SŽ and RZD/UZ and they can't sell it.
So, what now. We bought City Star ticket till Čierna nad Tisou(SVK). We depart Bratislava 25.4 and going back 29.4 from Lviv. I checked e kvitok and there's almost no berhts for the train that departs Chop around 4am(the same train which departs Bratislava at 13.57 aday before). For going back there are still berths for the train that departs Lviv 10.31AM(the same train which arrives in Bratislava around 5AM next day). We could depart Bratislava in the evening, arrive in Chop aroud 11am and take local train to Lviv which departs aroud 2PM. No problem. Another solution is train to Michalovce, bus to Uzhorod and then train to Lviv.
What do you suggest? Since it's holiday time it will be good idea to buy those local ukrainian trains in advance at e kvitok. How it works? I know some russian. And I read somewhere if you buy it at e kvitok you need to claim tickets at counter some days before your train departure. That's the problem because we will be in Chop some hours before the train to Lviv departs. Does the site works well with foreign credit cards?
-
I tried to book sleeper Bratislava-Lviv at railway station in Ljubljana but wasn't successful. Of course they have EPA system but we couldn't find those sleepers. I had all numbers with but wasn't helpful. There's probably no agreement between SŽ and RZD/UZ and they can't sell it.
Hmm... unfortunately. But actually there are pretty good chance simply to purchase Bratislava-Lviv reservation already in Bratislava on the day of departure. Those carriages aren't that busy, especially since most potential traffic will tend to travel before the holiday (24.04). Even if you want be lucky, then you can always proceed with other options (those discussed below).
I checked e kvitok and there's almost no berhts for the train that departs Chop around 4am(the same train which departs Bratislava at 13.57 aday before).
Well, it is expected, since it is next days after the holiday. In regular times it is usually not a problem to purchase ticket even an hour before departure.
Another solution is train to Michalovce, bus to Uzhorod and then train to Lviv.
Actually if you a fan of scenic routes, then this one is rather good option, because it allows you to catch "wave" of suburban trains Uzghorod-Sianky-Lviv, so you depart Uzghorod at 10:45 and arrive to Lviv 19:26, a bit long journey, but it is totally worth is because the view is incredible there, train goes for long time in the mountains by the Polish-Ukrainian border etc. Views are almost like Bohinj Railway + it is really cheap and no need to buy anything in advance.
But going via the main pass (Muchachevo, Svalyva, Skole etc.) by train also rather scenic route.
Since it's holiday time it will be good idea to buy those local ukrainian trains in advance at e kvitok. How it works? I know some russian. And I read somewhere if you buy it at e kvitok you need to claim tickets at counter some days before your train departure. That's the problem because we will be in Chop some hours before the train to Lviv departs.
Not quite right. After purchasing E-kvytok just gives you order form with the code for your ticket, then you need to show this code (or whole printed order form) at any ticket counter, doesn't matter when (it might be even after the train departure), so not a problem to do it in Chop an hour before departure. Ticket cashier based on this will print you regular looking train ticket. If you printed the ticket already after train departure, then the only thing you can do is give it back and ask for reimbursement, depending on timing UZ will give back (transfer to the accounted it was payed from) certain percentage of the sum.
Does the site works well with foreign credit cards?
It used to work with almost all the cards, including foreign. But lately there were certain messages that website started to be picky, like accept only cards with 3 D secure etc. But you might try anyway.
-
I was informed that City Star ticket from Slovenia to any station(in our case Čierna nad Tisou) in Slovakia would cost 45eur per person.
Is that price via Hungary or via Austria?
-
Via Austria. There's no City Star ticket for Hungary. That price(45EUR) is correct if 3 persons travelling together f.i. from Celje. From Ljubljana would be around 6 Euro more. The base price for 1 person from Ljubljana is 76 Euro.
-
Actually if you a fan of scenic routes, then this one is rather good option, because it allows you to catch "wave" of suburban trains Uzghorod-Sianky-Lviv, so you depart Uzghorod at 10:45 and arrive to Lviv 19:26
I'm looking for that train at ukrainian railways webpage but I couldn't find any info. There's one that departs at 22.35. And there are probably only seats and no berths and restaurant on this suburban train?
And thanks again for your infos:)
-
I'm looking for that train at ukrainian railways webpage but I couldn't find any info. There's one that departs at 22.35. And there are probably only seats and no berths and restaurant on this suburban train?
Since it is suburban trains ("приміські" in Ukrainian and in this case EMU ER2 probably), timetable for them can be found in a bit different place than standard long distance one - http://www.railway.lviv.ua/index.php?id=21 for all the suburban trains. Specifically you need this one - http://railway.lviv.ua/fileadmin/trafaret/d5/tro6519.txt and this - http://railway.lviv.ua/fileadmin/trafaret/d1/6021.doc . If to believe UZ suburban fare table, then Uzghorod-Sianky ticket will cost 8.5 UAH (app. 0.75 EUR) and Sianky-Lviv ticket will cost 11.6 UAH (app. 1 EUR).
p.s. at 22:35 departs the only long-distance train via Sianky, it is Solotvino-Chop-Uzghorod-Lviv #601
-
So our plan would probably be: Trying to buy sleeper at the railway station in Bratislava few hours before train departure. In case they are full we'll take the same train (13.57) till Chop in seatin carriage. It arrives in Chop around 1AM. There's a train #830(probably suburban, though it's fast) which departs Chop 6.59AM and arrives in Lviv 12.22PM. In this case we'll need to wait in Chop almost 6 hours in the middle of the night. I know not the best idea 'cause there's nothing to do. Is someone familiar with the Chop train station? There should be a waiting room, ATM, maybe a bar? And I read somewhere there's possible to take a room upstairs in the train station.
-
I just got a message from ZSSK. There is currently 22 vacant berths in direction Bratislava-Lviv for the date 25.4. In opposite direction they can't tell me how many berths are available but I think it's normally possible to buy berth in Bratislava for Lviv-Bratislava direction.
-
In Chop, there are two railway stations - one for international and long-distance travel and one for suburban travel. The first one is the one you'll arrive at - with customs and ticket counters issuing tickets all around Ukraine and also for international travel. There is also a small bar close to the platform (working only during the day) and free rooms upstairs (working non-stop), where you can spend the night. The price for one person was around 50 UAH one year ago.
The second station is located some 200 meters to the west. It's newer, cosier and definitely better place to kill the time (in case you don't want to use the rooms) as the bar there is working non-stop and offers hot/cold drinks, some pastries, cakes and desserts.
-
On the square in front of railway station there is also couple places like bars/cafe. Pretty sure that some will work rather late. About ATM's: there is one right inside the international/long-distance railway station building. The other one used to be outside on the square.
Concerning rooms: 63 UAH per person for double room, 48 UAH for triple etc. (http://railway.lviv.ua/info/passengers/station-services/). But actually you can as well spend night in the waiting hall of the suburban railways station as well (usually it is empty and rather warm)
Another option is to catch last suburban train Muchachevo-Chop-Uzghorod (dep.1:30am from Chop) and spend the night in much nicer and newer Uzghorod railway station/service rooms (http://railway.lviv.ua/info/passengers/station-services/#c120)
There's a train #830(probably suburban, though it's fast) which departs Chop 6.59AM and arrives in Lviv 12.22PM.
Well, it is served by slightly renovated EMU, but it is not suburban with free seating. The tickets for this one you need to purchase at the regular ticket counter and it will look like standard UZ long-distance train ticket (with your seat marked). Same can be purchased from e-kvytok as well.
-
I found out there may be problem with our City Star ticket because of Sunday rule. There must be Sunday between outward and return journey. We bought City Star ticket Celje-Čierna nad Tisou-Celje. We start our journey in Monday. By returning from Lviv we actually depart Čierna in Friday and arrive in Bratislava in Saturday. We'll stay 2 days in Bratislava and return home in Monday. I think this Sunday rule apply by returning from Čierna and not when you actually arrive back to Slovenia. Are conducters really concern on this Sunday rule? So in worst scenario we'll need to pay for additional ticket Čierna-Bratislava (about 20 EUR) and maybe penalty. Or dou you suggest that we buy ticket Čierna-Bratislava in advance at the counter and use our City Star ticket by returning from Bratislava. Does this Sunday rule exist also for City Star Čierna-Lviv-Čierna.
I know lots of questions but that infos may be usefull for others:)
-
Are conducters really concern on this Sunday rule?
Honestly... we doubt that all of them even know about it (for instance UZ conductors don't have a clue definitely), especially since it doesn't apply to all the CityStars ;)
We can't guarantee anything, but probably there is nothing to worry here. Even if you will be somehow asked - make a surprised eyes and note that you have no idea about such thing. In worst scenario you will need to get off train at the next station (then you can start thinking about buying new ticket). And no way they can charge you any penalty, because you do have a valid ticket.
Does this Sunday rule exist also for City Star Čierna-Lviv-Čierna.
ZSSK lists this rule only for ZSSK-SBB and ZSSK-DB CityStars, but not the other one (http://www.slovakrail.sk/index.php?id=city-star---zlava-pre-kazdeho), while for ones like ZSSK-CD it is even hard to imagine such rule.
-
On my City Star ticket is written Kledering*Kittsee*(as a border station)*Bratislava. I see if you want to go to Bratislava hl.st, the border station will be Marchegg. Does it really matter which train you choose to go to Bratislava. We'd like to go to Bratislava hl.st, not Bratislava Petržalka.
-
Actually it does, because via Marchegg it is fully different route and, if to be precise, your ticket doesn't cover that. Usually in such cases they simply write Wien*Kittsee/Marchegg-Bratislava (which means that you can choose either route, as result "For connections from and to Vienna, you can use the ticket either via Vienna Simmering/Marchegg, via Gänserndorf/Marchegg or Bruck an der Leitha/Kittsee" http://www.oebb.at/en/Travelling_abroad/EURegio/EURegio_ticket_Slovakia_%28Bratislava_ticket%29/index.jsp), but in your case it seems that cashier just went with the first option that came up in her/his computer. From tariff question it doesn't matter and conductors probably doesn't even notice it, but CityStar isn't familiar to them EURegio ticket Wien-Bratislava, so some questions might arise.
-
It's very easy to get from Bratislava-Petrzalka to Bratislava hl.st., you just need to take bus nr. 93 to its terminal stop (7 stops, 10-12 minutes)
There is actually very limited number of trains from Bratislava-Petrzalka further to Bratislava-Nove Mesto, where you can change to Bratislava, hl.st. and thus go by train all the way, but this option is unpractical as it takes too much time and the service is sparse. Moreover, all passenger traffic from Petrzalka to Nove-Mesto will be canceled from 1.5.
-
I have one more question...since renovation of Wien Suedbahnhof our train will arrive in Wien Meidling station. From there we need to take S Bahn to Wien Suedbahnhof for Bratislava directions. Does the S bahn departs from the platforms inside Meidling train station? Do we need to buy separate ticket for Vienna transport or will be ok to make this part of route with our City Star ticket? Thank you.
-
Does the S bahn departs from the platforms inside Meidling train station?
Yes, actual station isn't that big, so maximum you will have to change platform, thus go via the tunnel. For some connections they even list exact platform number for S-bahn, so you might check yours.
Do we need to buy separate ticket for Vienna transport or will be ok to make this part of route with our City Star ticket?
No need for separate ticket, CityStar should work fine. S-bahn anyway is run by OeBB and they easily sell through tickets with S-Bahn part in it, so your case is exactly like this.
-
So, we are back, safe and sound :) Some infos. There wasn't possibility to buy sleeper in Bratislava on day of departure, it was full. Also we couldn't buy City Star ticket Čierna-Lviv-Čierna in Bratislava because of 1 ADULT, 1 CHILD rule. But it was fine. We took the same train in sitting compartment till Chop. We bought return Čierna-Chop-Čierna in Bratislava for about 4,5EUR. Then we bought ukrainian train in Chop. Return Chop-Lviv was about 15 EUR, depends of train. Connections went fine.That way travelling is a lot cheaper so I suggest not buying City Star tickey by travelling to Ukraine instead of to/from border seperate tickets.
-
There wasn't possibility to buy sleeper in Bratislava on day of departure, it was full.
Wow... a bit unexpected. Since when this carriages became so popular??? Look at them: travel time isn' that good because of a long ride via Slovakia, ticket expensive since number of km, night border etc.
Also we couldn't buy City Star ticket Čierna-Lviv-Čierna in Bratislava because of 1 ADULT, 1 CHILD rule.
This sounds even more strange. You mean cashier didn't sell it to you because you had no child? If so, then it is a mistake since in the rules it is "at least 1 adult and 1 child", we never heard of "child" as a must.
Then we bought ukrainian train in Chop.
Did you wait till morning? Or used train #15?
Return Chop-Lviv was about 15 EUR, depends of train. Connections went fine.
Glad that you managed Ok. UZ trains actually tend to be one of the cheapest in Europe, especially counting the fact that those are sleeper trains mainly, so it definitely makes sense to 'exploit' UZ domestic tariff as much as you can.
-
We haven't asked about UZ carriage in Bratislava just for RZD since we couldn't buy City Star ticket. Actually there was 1 free berth in RZD carriage but we were two of us. Maybe the fact was end of holiday time. Yea I was surprised about that 'child' rule I didn't know what to say hmm:) And cashier spoke english so there's wasn't lack of communication. We actually could buy regular ticket Čierna-Lvov and ask then for UZ carriage but it would be too expensive. Return Čierna-Lvov as I remember is 31EUR and UZ carriage 19EUR one way. We used train departing 4.19AM. We took kupe on route Uzhhorod-Moscow and cost 12EUR till Lviv so more expensive than usual. Waiting at the station wasn't problem. We killed time by conversation with ukrainian lady using the same train. They were all nice and helpful in Ukraine we met.