Russian Railways has published a new schedule for Aeroexpress trains to Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. Passengers won't like it: travel times will increase almost 50%, and the usual midnight and 12:30 hour departures will be lost. Furthermore, at Belorussky Station, Aeroexpress passengers will have to cross a walkway and collide with commuters. Ultimately, the new Aeroexpress buses will be more attractive than the company's trains, according to a Travel.ru correspondent.
The new schedule will be in effect starting Thursday, November 21—the launch date of the first MCD line, which is the reason for the Aeroexpress schedule change. From that date on, travel time between Belorussky Station and Sheremetyevo Airport will be a full 50 minutes instead of the current 35 (plus, boarding and disembarking at Belorussky Station will be significantly longer and more complicated).
Stretched schedule. Starting November 21, all Aeroexpress trains from Sheremetyevo will run from and to Odintsovo Station, rather than from Belorussky Station. Departure times from Belorussky Station will change: instead of the current midnight and 30 minutes past midnight, trains to the airport will depart at 5:35 minutes past midnight. The stop at Belorussky Station will be just two minutes: during this time, all commuter passengers from Odintsovo must disembark and all passengers heading to the airport must board.
The one-minute stop at Savelovsky Station will be restored: departures from there toward Sheremetyevo will be at 11 and 41 minutes past the hour. Departures from the Okruzhnaya platform will be shifted to 21 and 51 minutes past the hour, and arrivals at Sheremetyevo will be at 25 and 55 minutes past the hour. Travel time from Okruzhnaya to Sheremetyevo will increase from 22 to 34 minutes.
Return departures from Sheremetyevo are scheduled at 17 and 47 minutes past the hour, arriving at Okruzhnaya Station after 32 minutes (at 19 and 49 minutes), at Savelovsky Station after 43 minutes (at 00 and 30 minutes), and at Belorussky Station after 49 minutes (at 06 and 36 minutes past the hour). The stop at Belorussky Station will also last only two minutes, so air passengers will not only have to quickly exit the train but also be careful not to get caught in the crowd of commuter passengers boarding the same train at the same time, heading to Odintsovo. This latter aspect could potentially become a serious problem during the evening rush hour. And in any case, leaving the station will have to be among the crowd of people crossing the overpass with suitcases.
Accordingly, the departure time of the last evening Aeroexpress, which allows you to get to the metro before it closes, will change. Currently, this train departs Sheremetyevo at midnight (if boarding at Belorussky Station) and at 12:30 a.m. (if boarding at Okruzhnaya Station). Starting November 21, you can still get to the metro by leaving the airport at 12:17 a.m.—but only to Okruzhnaya Station. The last train, which allows you to board the metro at Belorussky or Savelovsky Stations, will leave Sheremetyevo at 11:47 p.m.
Inconvenient platform. As a reminder, the Sheremetyevo route is gradually being converted to double-decker trains. However, they can only travel to Belorussky Station on two of the four existing middle tracks. This means that the most convenient track closest to the station, near platform 4, which has until now been the standard for airport commuter trains, will be closed to Aeroexpress double-decker trains. Double-decker trains will arrive and depart from the island platform 5. As a result, passengers will no longer be able to walk from the station square through the Aeroexpress terminal to the train on the nearest track in just one minute. They will have to walk to the overpass, climb about fifty steps, and then descend to platform 5.
Therefore, when planning a trip from Belorussky Station to Sheremetyevo, you should now allow approximately three minutes for the transfer to another platform. Passengers with heavy luggage should expect an additional five minutes. Aeroexpress does not specify in its schedule which trains will be double-decker (the first one took place on November 9). Currently, there are only a few daily departures, but by the end of the year, the company promises to completely switch to double-decker trains at Sheremetyevo.
Vnukovo and Domodedovo. Aeroexpress only has 11 double-decker trains, some of which are short four-car trains that typically operate in pairs. This means that Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports will be without double-decker trains by the end of the year. According to unconfirmed reports, Lastochka trains may replace them on the Vnukovo route. Aeroexpress's current Sheremetyevo trains will likely continue to operate to Domodedovo.
Aeroexpress passengers to Sheremetyevo will benefit from more comfortable trains, with power outlets at the front of the carriages, next to individual seats. Passengers traveling to other airports will not be able to use these trains.
Express bus. As a reminder, a month ago Aeroexpress launched an express bus route to Sheremetyevo. However, during the first month, it was quite unreliable, primarily due to the small number of buses on the route and chronic morning traffic jams at the Khovrino metro station, which added up to 20 minutes to the travel time into the city. It's unclear whether the situation has improved since then.
However, starting November 21st, this bus will undoubtedly be a much faster way to get from the city center to the northern terminals (Sheremetyevo-1 (B) and the new Terminal C, which opens this winter). The average travel time from Belorussky Station by metro and this bus is approximately 55 minutes, while the Aeroexpress train and interterminal shuttle will take an average of about 85 minutes (including average flight wait times).
Moreover, the bus is becoming comparable to the train in terms of travel time to Sheremetyevo's southern terminals: both modes take an average of approximately 70 minutes. Considering that the bus is currently about a third of the cost of the train for most passengers, eliminates the hassle of crossing bridges, and significantly reduces the overall walking distance, a significant shift to the new bus route is expected.
Source: travel.ru