Moscow-Nice trains CANCELED as coronavirus epidemic spreads across Europe
It’s one of the world’s most evocative railway routes, calling at Vienna, Milan and Monte Carlo as it links the Russian capital to the Cote D’Azur. Now, the Moscow-Nice express is the latest victim of COVID-19.
Following the rapid increase of cases on the continent, the Russian Ministry of Transport has announced that the route will be suspended from next week.
The Ministry of Transport announced that “From March 4, temporarily, until further notice, the movement of trains on the route Moscow - Nice - Moscow will be stopped.”
This is not the first long-distance train to be canned due to COVID-19. Routes from Russia to China were suspended last month and those to and from North Korea since February 3.
The journey between Nice and Moscow is just over two days long and passes through three countries with confirmed Coronavirus cases – Austria, France, and Italy. It usually leaves from Moscow’s Belorusskaya station every Thursday. The return journey also runs weekly, arriving in Moscow every Tuesday.
The decision was likely taken due to the rapid growth of cases throughout Italy, which now has 528 confirmed infected people and 14 deaths. The Moscow-Nice train stops in Milan, the capital of Lombardy, the region with the most Italians infected with COVID-19. In France, the final destination of the train, there are 18 confirmed cases and two deaths.
Earlier on Thursday, Rostourism recommended that Russian tour operators stop selling tours to Italy, Iran, and South Korea. There are currently an estimated 20,000 Russian tourists in Italy, according to Dmitry Gorin, Vice President of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR).
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