Russian Railways has introduced mandatory passenger contact information when purchasing tickets through all sales channels, including online and at train station ticket offices. The company explained this by the need to promptly inform passengers about changes in train service, reports Travel.ru's own correspondent.
The likelihood of such changes is now many times higher than usual—several hundred trains have already been cancelled due to the coronavirus epidemic, and the list continues to grow. It's unclear whether contact information can be used for other epidemic-related alerts, such as quarantines imposed in the destination region and the like.
Such information may include a phone number or email address (when purchasing a ticket on the Russian Railways website, you are only asked to provide a phone number). It is unclear what Russian Railways will do with passengers who do not have a mobile phone or email address. Previously, providing such information was optional.
Source: travel.ru