Russians Trying Women-Only Train Cars

Beginning this week, Russian Railways will be offering tickets for same sex sleeping compartments in a trial program on eight trains, thanks to popular demand (by women, say news stories). The first trial train with compartments designated for single-sex use left Moscow on January 15, and Russian Railways says the experiment was a success. I've never had the chance to ride a Russian train, but I plan to (the Trans Siberian is on my lifetime list of gotta-do's) -- from what I've heard, a $50 one-week ticket from Moscow to Vladivostok sounds good on the surface, but some folks say sleeping in platzcart (Russian third class sleeper cars) is a very interesting adventure. Find some avenues for locating info on Russian train travel:

• Train Travel in Russia

Related: Train Travel in the US | Train Travel in Europe | Train Travel in the UK | Women's Travel Tips Worldwide