There are five passenger railway stations in the city operating with different Russian and foreign directions: Moskovsky, Finlyandsky, Vitebsky, Baltiysky and Ladozhsky. All St Petersburg train stations have convenient transport links. All but Ladozhsky are located near the city center.

Moskovsky railway station

Most international trains arrive at this railway station. It's centrally situated in city, on the Nevsky Prospect and the Vosstaniya Square. The entrance to the nearest metro station - "Ploshchad Vosstaniya" is located in the main hall of the station to the left of the Petr I monument.

Ladozhsky railway station

Opened in 2003. It serves routes to the north and east previously served by Moscow Rail Terminal, as well as some lines previously served by Finland Station. Some trains originating at Moscow and bound to other cities via Saint Petersburg are also using the station. Of the five active major stations in Saint Petersburg, Ladozhsky station is the only through station.

Vitebsky railway station

Vitebsk railway station itself is an architectural monument. The building is decorated with openwork lamps, fences. Services from the station run to Central Europe, Baltic States, Ukraine, Belarus and the southern suburbs of St. Petersburg, such as Pushkin and Pavlovsk. The station is connected to the Pushkinskaya Station of the Saint Petersburg Metro.

Finlyandsky railway station

The only long-distance trains that stop at the Finland railway station are trains from Helsinki. In the building there is an entrance to the metro station "Ploshchad Lenina".

The station is famously known for the arrival of Vladimir Lenin by train from Germany on 3 April 1917 to start the October Revolution. The event is commemorated by the statue of Lenin (made by S. A. Evseev) placing in the square in front of the station. Lenin is shown on the top of armored car which he used as a tribune. Lenin arrived to Russia on the steam locomotive #293. Now it is installed as a permanent exhibit at one of the platforms on the station.

The Finland Station was the only Leningrad rail terminus that remained in use during the Siege of Leningrad in 1941–43. There “Road of Life” began and first train with a food for Leningrad arrived to Finland station at February 1943.

Baltiysky railway station

A nearby vestibule of the Baltiyskaya Metro Station was opened in 1955. Since 1933, the station has been used to handle suburban communications only, including trains to Peterhof, Lomonosov and Gatchina.