Russia closes 7 rail checkpoints with Finland, Estonia and Latvia

Rail service through seven Russian border checkpoints with Finland, Estonia and Latvia stopped July 1, cutting one of the last overland channels between Russia and the EU by train.

What's closed at the border

A Russian government decree signed June 30 suspended all movement of people, vehicles and cargo through seven named railway checkpoints, with no end date attached. On the Finnish border, the closures cover Vyborg, Svetogorsk, Vartsilya, Lyuttya and the St. Petersburg-Finlyandsky rail checkpoint. On the Estonian border, Pechory-Pskovskiye is shut. On the Latvian border, Pytalovo is shut.

Most of these had already been dormant for passenger traffic since 2022. Pechory-Pskov and Pytalovo were the two still carrying meaningful volume, mostly freight including Russian fertilizer bound for Finland, per Meduza and The Moscow Times. Ivangorod (Estonia) and Sebezh (Latvia) aren't named in the decree.

What travelers will actually encounter

Anyone with a train ticket routed through the listed stations should assume the service is cancelled and not attempt to board. There is no exemption process in the decree , the suspension applies to all nationalities, all visa categories and all cargo. Rail staff at these checkpoints won't process crossings.

For anyone still moving between Russia and its northwestern neighbors, the practical options are air, sea or the remaining road crossings on the Estonian and Latvian borders. Finland's land border with Russia has been closed to most passenger traffic since late 2023, so the Finnish rail routes were already largely theoretical for tourists. Anyone shipping personal belongings out of Russia by rail , a route some expats used for relocations , needs to rebook through road freight via Narva or Sebezh or switch to sea freight out of St. Petersburg. Expect longer lead times and higher quotes from forwarders as capacity shifts.

Visa and migration rules haven't changed. What's gone is a channel, not a status. Travelers weighing the wider picture for living in or leaving Russia should budget extra transit days and confirm the specific checkpoint on any ticket before paying.