The platzkart, doorless sleeper coaches with open-plan rooms, have long been a cheap and popular way to travel Russia by rail.
Russian Railways reportedly
plans to phase out (постепенно отказаться от) the
legendary Soviet-era economy class carriages (вагоны) with stacked beds by
2025.
The overhaul is part of the
state-owned railways’ effort to battle airline competition (конкуренция) by
attracting 1.4 billion customers by 2025 – and laying off nearly 30,000
employees. Russian Railways will begin replacing platzkart carriages with
modern cars as early as next year, the Vedomosti business daily reported
Tuesday, citing railway development plans for 2025.In place of the older
one-story carriages, Russian trains will have cars with a shower cabin, a baggage compartment (отделение) and
vending machines, Vedomosti reported, citing an unnamed spokesperson for
Russia’s biggest rail car and equipment maker Transmashholding.
Sleeping carriages older
than 12 and a half years will be upgraded to include USB slots and service
areas with vending machines, according to the railway development plan. Russian Railways estimates that the platzkart coaches make up 70 percent of ticket sales but only bring in 30 percent of revenues (доходы).
