Traveling by Train inside Armenia

Booking tips :

• Booking opens 30 days ahead for most trains.  Armenian Railways are Own by their Russian Analog.

• Train fares in Armenia are very affordable, although there have been significant price rises over the last few years.  Yerevan - Gyumri is the most popular direction it costs around 1400 AMD (3,5 EUR). 

• Look for trains described as firm, short for firmeny which is the top quality category of long-distance fast train with the most modern coaches and a high standard of on board service.

• Armenian fares vary by season.  Higher fares are charged at Easter, New Year, July & August, lower fares in January & February.  Higher fares are charged for the fast high-quality firmeny trains, lower fares for slower unnamed low-quality trains.

• On the best trains you can buy tickets either 'without services' (no meals) or 'with services' (meals included, either served in the restaurant or in your compartment).  

• Trains used to run to Yerevan time in Armenia and you should now find online booking systems and station timetables showing local time at each stop.  It makes things a lot easier to understand!

• Children:  In Armenia, one child aged 0 to 5 travels free, children aged 6 to 9 travel at cheaper fare, children aged 10 and over must pay full fare.  Important:  Note that unlike trains in most of Europe, on Armenian trains even infants and babies travelling for free must have a (free of charge) ticket with their name on it.

Buy tickets online at railway.am

You can also now buy =Armenian  train tickets direct from "South Caucasus Railways" at www.railway.am which now has an English version.  It's a bit fiddly and not as user-friendly as Real Armenia, but there are no fees and it does work if you persevere.  It accepts some overseas credit cards, though not all.  

How to buy tickets at the station

The cheapest place to buy Armenian train tickets is at the station reservation office.  Here are some tips:

• Remember to take your passport, even if you only want Armenian domestic train ticket.

• Armenian train reservations open usually 30 days before departure, you can't buy tickets before reservations open.

• Armenian Railways have an efficient computerised reservation system, and you can book any journey within or out of Armenia at the reservation office at any Armenian railway station.

• To avoid language problems if you don't speak Armenian, it's a good idea to learn the Armenian alphabet so you can write down the journey and date you want to show to the ticket office staff.  When writing dates, use roman numerals for the month, or example for '3 June 2008' write '3 VI 2008'.

• People often ask me, "If I go to the ticket office the day before I want to travel, will I find tickets available?".  Well, if you know the Armenian alphabet, you can check how many berths in each class are still available on any train on any date within the next 60 days using the Armenian Railways website, www.railway.am.  So you could see how many berths are left today on trains from (say) Yerevan to Gyumri tomorrow or the day after.  This will give you a pretty good idea of how many places are likely to be available if you ask at the station a day or two before departure.

• Security: Are Armenian trains safe for families or single women?

Yes!  There is no need to worry unduly about security on Armenian trains, even for families or women travelling alone. How do you think Armenian families or solo women travel?  By train, of course, like everyone else!   Just use common sense as you would in a hotel, locking your door at night and not leaving valuables unattended in your compartment.  In addition to the normal lock on the compartment door, 'Spalny Wagon' and 'kupé' compartments have a security latch which stops the door opening more than an inch or two, and which cannot be released from outside.  There's also a safe place for your bags at night - if you have a bottom bunk, there is a metal box underneath the bunk which you can only get to by lifting up the bunk - in other words, for anyone to get to your bags, they will have to shift you off your bunk first..!  Your provodniks will probably also lock the access doors at each end of the corridor at night to prevent unwanted guests.  Men and women share the same compartments in Armenia, but it's generally quite safe for women travelling alone.  If you're a woman and find yourself in sharing with three men that make you uncomfortable, just ask the provodniks (carriage attendants) if they can move you.