Many people living in the immediate vicinity of Moscow prefer to look for work in the capital. They are not afraid of the need to spend several hours daily on the road, because the level of salaries in Moscow is much higher. The railway management, caring for its main customers living in the satellite towns of the capital, back in 2011 created the Greater Moscow pass.
Rail benefits
Many of those who travel from the nearest Moscow region to the capital on a daily basis prefer to take electric trains. The schedule of their movement does not change depending on traffic jams on the capital's highways, they are considered one of the most predictable modes of transport. Everyone who wants to quickly and easily get to their destination chooses an electric train.
The railway provides its regular users with the opportunity not only to get to the station they need as soon as possible, but also to save on travel by purchasing a monthly ticket "Big Moscow". The subscription, the range of which is limited to 25 kilometers, allows you to travel in any direction for a given distance from the stations of the capital. By purchasing such a pass, customers get certain advantages. And this is not only savings on daily travel. People who have bought such a subscription have no need to spend time in lines at the ticket offices of suburban railway stations, which allows them to spend less time.
Subscription validity
The Greater Moscow Travel Card was put into effect in November 2011. From this period, each passenger living in the area of his or her validity has the right to choose between the purchase of the indicated subscription once a month or the daily purchase of tickets. True, a transport card is required to purchase a travel card. If you do not have it, you will have to buy it. This can be done at the box office of most stations that are within the scope of the subscription zone. When buying a monthly ticket, a special marking is applied to the card, allowing you to attach branded stickers, this is a confirmation of the purchase of a train.
You can use the subscription for a whole month, making an unlimited number of trips on various trains, except for express trains and satellites. You can buy this reusable ticket in advance, but not more than 30 days in advance.
Travel Area
The subscription "Greater Moscow" is suitable for residents of the capital, the nearest Moscow region and for summer residents in the summer season. But before you purchase it, it is better to accurately determine the area of its action. If you have to drive further, then such a pass does not suit you. So, it can be used in the nearest Moscow region to the stations established by the railway management on electric trains with the 6000th and 7000th numbers.
In various directions, the coverage area of "Greater Moscow" is limited to the following stations:
- Kursk: Butovo, Balashikha and Railway.
- Kazan: Tomilino and Lyubertsy 2.
- Riga: Krasnogorsk.
- Kievskoe: Vnukovo.
- Yaroslavl: Bolshevo, Tarasovskaya.
- Belarusian: Barvikha, Odintsovo.
- Savelovskoe: Sheremetyevo.
- Paveletsky: Rastorguevo.
Benefits of "Greater Moscow"
Subscriptions for travel in the suburban railway were created a long time ago. But with the advent of "Greater Moscow" the benefits of their acquisition became apparent. The previously created travel cards allowed in most cases to travel only in certain directions, many of them gave the right to travel only on weekdays. But the opportunity to travel by train across the capital and the stations of the nearest Moscow region to either side appeared only with the introduction of the Greater Moscow subscription.
The organization “Central Suburban Passenger Company” (CPPK) introduced not only monthly travel passes, but also a single transport card. “Big Moscow” along with this document allows you to ride for a month on various trains. It is worth noting that the single map, which was created in 2012, is intended for use in several types of transport: buses, trams, trolleybuses, subways. It is also suitable for commuters.
Disadvantages of the travel ticket "Big Moscow"
But many have consumed, along with the benefits, note the disadvantages of this monthly pass. The Bolshaya Moskva subscription is valid only at a small distance from the capital, without covering important railway junctions that do not fall into the 25-kilometer zone established by the CPPK.
But the main drawback, according to ordinary customers, is the inability to purchase a ticket from a station located on the border of the Greater Moscow subscription to the necessary railway station near Moscow. If you need one-time trips, for example, to Pushkino, where there is a large suburban bus station, the passenger of the train must purchase a ticket from Moscow to this station. He cannot get on his Bolshaya Moskva pass to Tarasovskaya and pay only the fare difference. The passenger has two options. First: pay the full fare from the Moscow station in Pushkino. Second: to get to Tarasovskaya with a subscription, get out, buy a ticket to Pushkino for the next train and continue on it, losing at least half an hour.
If you try to get to Pushkino with the Bolshaya Moskva pass, there is a risk of running into controllers. In this case, you will have to pay a fine, because traveling by train after Tarasovskaya is already considered to be stowaway.
Fare and possible savings
Before acquiring a subscription "Big Moscow", everyone can decide whether it is beneficial to him. And it is worth considering that you can travel by train every day in any direction without limiting the number of trips. When a subscription appeared in 2011, its cost was 1040 rubles. Subsequently, it increased to 1750 rubles.
When the Greater Moscow ticket appeared, the cost of the subscription was such that passengers using electric trains daily could save significantly. According to the CPPK estimates, the fare with the appearance of the monthly ticket has noticeably fallen in price, and the amount of savings depends on the direction of travel. For example, with daily trips to the Kursk Station from Zheleznodorozhnaya Station, the passenger will spend 35% less.
Possible travel routes
Despite the shortcomings described, the Greater Moscow subscription is suitable for many. It is especially popular among people whose life or work is impossible without constant trips. After all, with it you can not only get home, but also go around for free all the nearest suburbs. Having left Butovo, you can head to Odintsovo, Barvikha, Balashikha, at Rastorguevo, Sheremetyevskaya or Tarasovskaya stations by train without problems and additional expenses. However, it is better to try to find out in advance the schedule of the necessary trains and make your own route with a minimum number of transfers.
It is also worth noting that the creation of such subscriptions is aimed primarily at attracting additional passengers. This, according to transporters, should help unload the subway and roads at rush hours. In addition, with the help of discounts, the management of TsKKP intends to attract additional passengers who will use suburban transport.