- Title: Passengers board first train for Crimea after Putin opens bridge
- Date: 23rd December 2019
- Summary: ST PETERSBURG, RUSSIA (DECEMBER 23, 2019) (REUTERS) PEOPLE HAVING THEIR DOCUMENTS CHECKED BEFORE BOARDING TRAIN SIGN READING (Russian): 'CARRIAGE 12 / TRAIN NUMBER 7/8 / ST PETERSBURG - SEVASTOPOL' VARIOUS OF PASSENGERS ON PLATFORM TRAIN CONDUCTOR CHECKING DOCUMENTS VARIOUS OF PASSENGERS ON PLATFORM (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) PASSENGER OF TRAIN TO CRIMEA, MIKHAIL, SAYING: "It'll be another reason for me to travel more. Everything's good. In fact, I came here from Zhukovsky in the Moscow Region to travel on this train." VARIOUS OF TRAIN AND DRIVER AT PLATFORM (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) CRIMEA RESIDENT, SVETLANA, SAYING: "This train is very convenient for me because I'm from Crimea. I've been afraid of flying on planes since I was young so a direct train for me is just a dream." PASSENGERS ON PLATFORM (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) PASSENGER OF TRAIN TO CRIMEA, VASILIY, SAYING (HOLDING CHILD IN ARMS) : "Honestly speaking, I can't even find the words to describe how good it is. It's the first time I feel this way. Even at the opening of an airport, I didn't feel this, it just opened, but the train is like some sort of landmark moment because I believe I saw that it ran from 1875, but now the first time in our (current) Russian reality, they've launched it again and it's very cool." VARIOUS OF RELATIVES WAVING THROUGH TRAIN WINDOW VARIOUS OF TRAIN DEPARTING PASSENGERS IN TRAIN STATION VARIOUS OF TRAIN TIMETABLE VARIOUS OF MOSKOVSKY TRAIN STATION
- Embargoed: 6th January 2020 15:07
- Keywords: Crimean bridge Putin opens bridge Russian train to Crimea passengers railway bridge to Crimea
- Location: SAINT-PETERSBURG, RUSSIA
- City: SAINT-PETERSBURG, RUSSIA
- Country: Russia
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001BB74Y0P
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The first direct train from Saint Petersburg to Crimea departed from the northern Russian city's Moskovsky train station on Monday (December 23).
The 2,741-kilometre journey takes 43.5 hours and costs between 70 USD and 120 USD depending on the date and the car class.
Russia President Vladimir Putin on Monday opened a rail route linking Russia's two biggest cities to Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. The European Union and the United States Western countries have imposed economic sanctions on Russia over the annexation.
Putin inaugurated the passenger service by personally taking a train across the Kerch Strait road and rail bridge which Russian engineers built to link Crimea to southern Russia.
(Production: Dmitry Vasilyev, Dmitry Vasilyev) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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