Wagons ZL and ZU - what is it?

In the modern world, the movement of trains remains relevant, although more and more types of transport are being improved, new opportunities are emerging, so gradually the trains go to the background. However, it should be noted that this is mainly in the West - in Russia this vehicle is used everywhere for transporting passengers and for transporting a variety of goods.

Myths of the railway

Despite the fact that trains have existed for a very long time, there are still certain myths that can not be completely destroyed. For example, many people are still puzzling over the difference between the cars of ZL and ZU. What it is? In this article you will find a detailed analysis of this issue, which torments many travelers. How is it known? It is enough to look for these abbreviations on the Internet - and you will find many questions about what the cars of ZL and ZU differ, what kind of designations and so on. So this material is designed to remove the veil of secrecy from these cars and explain to you what the difference is.

Riddle of two notation

It's not the first year people have been asking themselves: what is the difference between the cars of ZL and ZU? What is the difference, which makes you put different signs on two cars? Are they really not like each other? In fact, the problem is that these cars are actually twins - you will read more about them later. And that is why the question is raised - and what is the difference? If they are so similar to each other, then why use a different marking? Is it not easier to unite all the cars of ZL and ZO in one? What is this insidious plot that makes travelers puzzle over buying a ticket, since they do not understand what is the difference between these two markings? Well, now this step will be solved step by step so that in the end you can understand why it is on the wagons that such marking is put.

How are cars marked?

To understand what a wagon of ZL and ZO means, you need to understand first of all what is generally a system of marking cars. First of all, you need to understand what type of car is, and what is the class of service. In this particular paragraph we are talking about the types of wagons, that is, this marking means, is a sedentary, compartment, reserved seat, sleeping car and so on. Thus, the marking of the type of car can tell about how exactly the seats are placed there, in what conditions the passenger will go and so on.

However, this is not all information that you can take out of the marking. Moreover, if you scan all types of cars, you will not find there the above mentioned notations, which are the main characters of this article. PL, KB, CB and so on - that's what this label looks like, and it's easy to decipher. A submarine is a reserved car, a KB is a compartment car with a cupboard, and CB is a sleeping car.

However, since there are no desired designations, it is not necessary to linger on this classification. It's time to switch to the notation for the class of service. Maybe there it will be possible to find the answer to the question about what the wagon of ZL and ZO means.

Classification of service classes

If you look at the classes of service, you can immediately notice there the designation of wagons ZU and ZL. Well, if they are there, then the investigation goes the right way. However, you should not rush and run ahead - it's better to move gradually, in order to understand the essence of these notations as precisely as possible and the difference between the two cars in question. So, what are the designations of classes? If you look closely, you can see that they are all united by one pattern - the designation always consists of a number and a letter: 1A, 2B, 3L and so on. But what do these abbreviations mean? Is there any sense behind them? And will this point help solve the riddle that the car of ZU and ZL poses to people - what's the difference?

Numeral

So, before you is the choice of different options for classes of service, and you are interested in wagons ZU and ZL. What is the difference between these two cars? In order to understand this, we must first understand what exactly the digit and the letter in the abbreviation mean. With the figure, in fact, there are no problems at all. Given that the class of service is indicated, it is easy to guess what the figure may mean. 1 - this means the first, that is the highest class of service, 2 - the second, and 3 - the third. The figure 4 can no longer be found in this notation, so you can conclude that there are only three service classes, and the third one that interests you is the lowest.

However, this also suggests that the type of car wager and ZL - the same, that is, in the overall level of service the difference is clearly not covered. Well, in that case, you need to switch your attention from the number to the letter - what can it mean?

Letter

As for the letter, which is supplied with a figure denoting the general class of service, then everything is not so simple. It is simply impossible to allocate a general scheme, since there is no specific order for the appearance of letters, in fact, as there are no words that could be hidden behind this letter. Accordingly, it will not help you, since it serves to simply differentiate different types of wagons of one class of service. However, the fact that the cars ZL and ZU are different, was known initially - the question was what they differ so that they can be divided into two different classes. Now you know all the details of the classification, so it's time to put an end to this investigation and bring to the surface the truth about the cars ZL, ZU. The difference between them is actually relatively small. What does it mean? Now you will find out about it.

What type of cars are these?

To sum up, it is necessary to understand one more thing - what kind of cars are ZL and ZU? If you look into the relevant documentation, you can quickly find that in the classification of Russian Railways these two types of cars are the only representatives of the reserved seats. Accordingly, it can be concluded that there are more than fifty seats available there and there, each of which is intended for lying. These cars are open type, so that passengers do not have the opportunity to close the doors, as it can be done in the compartment car. Strictly speaking, this information only gives even more information about the objects of the article: the wagon-reserved room ZU, ZL is exactly the same car with the same level of service, with the same layout. So what's the difference? It's no surprise that many people ask this question, because so far the searches have only made it clear that these two types of car are identical. In that case, since you have already studied what the ZL and ZA car means, it's time to sort out what is the difference between them.

Wagon ZL

So, summing up, we can safely say that the ZL car is a standard open-type open-air car with about fifty seats intended for lying. It operates a third class of service, which is minimal - this means that it does not guarantee any comfort, except for a recumbent space, as well as a common toilet of a standard type and a washbasin. Also in this car, additional services can be provided for an additional fee: the sale of drinks and snacks, the sale of bed linen and so on. Strictly speaking, this is the essence of this car - a budget solution that is accessible to every person. But now it's time to talk about another car, with which the ZL is compared, that is, about the car of the ZU.

Wagon of storage

Now you know what the wagon of ZL means. The memory adopts absolutely all the characteristics that the first type in question has. This means that neither in terms of maintenance, nor in terms of planning, nor in terms of amenities between these cars there is any significant difference. So what is the essence of the division into two types then? The matter is that the transportation of pets is allowed in the car. If you want to take a four-legged friend on the road with you, then you should never buy tickets to the ZL car, since you will not be allowed to go there with a pet. As you can see, there is a difference between these cars, although it's impossible to notice it at first sight - and from some people it slips away for a very long time. But after reading this article, everyone can say what the main difference is between these cars.

Transportation of pets

Thus, the cars are designed for those passengers who travel by train, but want to take their pets with them. However, unlike the European trains, here you have to try hard to bring your pet to the train. Firstly, as you have already understood, not all cars are designed for this - you need to choose a ticket in such a car that will allow you to travel with the animal. In Europe, there is no such rule - you can safely ride with a small animal in the presence of a carry for him, and if it does not have an unpleasant smell.

Additional payments in the storage car

However, the second difference is even more surprising, because when carrying pets, even in special wagons you still have to pay for your pet as a passenger - in European trains, for example, payment for transportation of animals is not charged at all. So if you are traveling with a pet on the territory of the Russian Federation, you should remember these features.

A common misconception

If you read the questions of users on the Web, you can find rather strange answers that do not correspond to what you see in this article. Many people for some reason believe that the letter "U" in the designation of the ZU stands for "improved". And on the basis of this, they say that in the car, in comparison with ZL, a variety of amenities are available, such as air conditioning, bio-toilet, video surveillance, sanitary and hygienic set and so on.

However, this is a big mistake, because in fact in this car there is absolutely nothing of what is listed above. It starts with the fact that the letter "U" does not mean the improved one - as you could already notice earlier, it is not an abbreviation at all, so it does not hide a full word behind it. It serves only to differentiate cars of different types with one level of service. Accordingly, such striking differences, which are described in these reviews, do not exist between the cars of ZL and the memory.

Features of TKS carrier

In some cases, such misconceptions appear simply because of ignorance, and also because of the assumption that the letter "U" means "improved." However, in some cases, they have certain grounds, since they can rely on real facts that were simply incorrectly correlated. It is known that most Russian trains are serviced by Russian Railways, but there are other trains that are serviced by other carriers, for example, TCS (TransKlassService).

And here there is one small confusion - the fact is that the TCS has its own classification of wagons in the class of service. And, proceeding from it, the car of the ZU is a open-topped open-air car with sleeping places, that is exactly the same as with RZD. But here the level of service here is very different, and in the car there is also a conditioner, and biotoilets, and even a video surveillance system. In each compartment you can find sockets for personal use, and in the ticket price you will also get bedding and a road kit. So, as you can see for yourself, one carrier has one level of service in the car, and another has a completely different level of service.

What about the car ZL? Here everything is quite simple - the TCS carrier simply does not have such a class of wagons in service, the reserved cars in such trains all have a single standard. So now you know what wagons of ZL and ZU are, how they differ among themselves, what explanations they have, what misconceptions there are about this - and even what these misconceptions can have good reasons. Now you can answer anyone with a question about which ticket is better to take in a car - ZL or ZU. And you yourself will never be mistaken if you want to bring your pet through the territory of the Russian Federation.