Ticket sales for electric trains via a chatbot in Max will be launched across the entire Russian Railways network by the end of 2026. As reported by TASS in the holding company, the only exception will be the Moscow transport hub, where its own sales system operates.
Since March, the service has been tested at suburban company sites in Novosibirsk, Omsk, Kemerovo regions, Altai and Krasnoyarsk territories. Since July 1, the North-West of Russia has been connected to the test. During the pilot in Western Siberia, passengers purchased almost 380,000 tickets, which confirms the demand for the digital channel.
A comprehensive audit precedes the full launch. Russian Railways stated that it is important to assess not only the growing demand, but also the technological stability of the platform, the convenience of the interface for different categories of citizens, and feedback. In essence, this is an attempt by the monopoly to find a balance between mass online services and maintaining ticket offices for those who are not ready for digital.