ST. PETERSBURG, December 23. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken part via video conference in a ceremony of departure of the first Russian train to Crimea that will arrive to the peninsula via the Crimean Bridge from St. Petersburg. Moreover, Putin kicked off regular traffic on the new railroad bridge across the Kerch of Strait.
The first train travelling between St. Petersburg and Sevastopol (№ 7/8) departed from the Moskovsky railway station. The journey will take 43 hours and 25 minutes, it is scheduled to arrive in Sevastopol on December 25 at 9:25 am (Moscow time). The train will pass the Crimean Bridge on December 25 between 2:10-2:30 am (Moscow time). A ticket for the St. Petersburg-Sevastopol train costs 3,500 rubles ($56).