Russia launches 1st Arctic train service

June 7, 2019

Russia has launched first Arctic train service running from St. Petersburg station headed to Norway. The inaugural trial journey of first tourist train traveling through Russia’s Arctic region and on to Norway will be a 11-day trip with 91 passengers aboard.

Key Highlights

Journey: The train is named ‘Zarengold’ (means ‘The Tsar’s gold’ in German). It is complete with two restaurant cars will travel along route from Saint Petersburg through Petrozavodsk (historic town of Kem) and Murmansk.
The tourists will get off the train at Murmansk (largest city north of Arctic Circle) and will continue by bus to Kirkenes in Norway before ending their journey with a boat trip to Oslo (Norway’s capital) or by air to island of Spitsbergen, the largest and only permanently populated island of Svalbard archipelago located in northern Norway.
Time: The whole trip will take 11 days in total and allow passengers to discover areas in Arctic region which are difficult to access by other means.
Aboard: The inaugural test journey is being undertaken by tourist belonging to seven countries including the United States, Germany, Norway and Russia.

Way Forward

The train is expected to run twice by 2020 and four times in 2021.
As global warming is breaking up the glaciers in Arctic region, Russia tries to foresee new trading routes and opportunities in it. With this new advancement in connectivity Russia hopes to become top economic and military power in Arctic region.

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