VR and RZD, the railway operator of Russia, will release the Allegro train tickets for the UEFA European Championship period for sale on Wednesday, 18 March at 7:00, Finnish time.
According to VR, they have been preparing 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 18 March at 7:00, 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 25 June.
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. VR will return to their normal reservation period in their sales channels on Friday, 27 March.
The travel time of the Allegro train from city centre to city centre is only three and a half hours, and border and customs checks do not require to leave the seat or the train to make extra stops. Ticket prices start from 39 euros. From 29 March, passengers can also board the Allegro train at Pasila, where the train will once again stop.
In addition to the Allegro, costumers 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 Saint Petersburg-Ladozhsky station and the tickets will go on sale on 18 March, the same as the Allegro train.
Double trains for matchdays
The Finland-Russia match will be played on Wednesday, 17 June, and the Finland-Belgium match on Monday, 22 June. On the two days preceding the matches, this is 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 Saint 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-Russia match, from Monday to Wednesday (15–17 June), there will be a night train on both nights departing from Helsinki at 1:10 and arriving in Saint Petersburg at 5:26, local time.
Passengers can travel to the Finland-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 Saint Petersburg on 18 June and 24 June at 2:10.
On Friday, 3 July travellers can get to the play-off games in Saint Petersburg by the double train on Thursday, 2 July, which departs from Helsinki at 15:00. There is also a double train for the return on Saturday, 4 July at 10:30 from Saint Petersburg to Helsinki.
With the FAN ID that is acquired with a Championship ticket, passengers can travel to Russia as visa exempt aboard the Allegro and Tolstoi trains.
The Fan ID entitles 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, the FAN ID can be used to visit Russia several times.
