The first tourist train travelling through Russia's Arctic region and on to Norway set off from Saint Petersburg station on Wednesday with 91 passengers aboard for the inaugural trial journey.
"The Arctic fascinates everybody," said Nurlan Mukash executive director of the German Lernidee Erlebnisreisen tour group behind the project.
"This destination has been covered by Canadian and Norwegian tourist agencies but, this has not been the case for Russia," he added.
The train, named "Zarengold" ("The Tsars gold" in German) complete with two restaurant cars will travel from Saint Petersburg through