Russia has expanded optional face-based identity checks to two more Lastochka train routes, allowing enrolled passengers to board by matching their face with ticket data instead of presenting a paper passport.
The service is now available between Nizhny Novgorod and Ivanovo and between Nizhny Novgorod and Kirov. Those additions bring the test to five routes, joining services from Moscow to Kostroma, Ivanovo and Nizhny Novgorod.
Passengers must first register confirmed biometrics in Russia’s Unified Biometric System and give advance consent for the rail check. During boarding, a conductor uses a handheld device to recognize the traveler’s face and compare the result with the identity information associated with the ticket.
The biometric option remains voluntary. Travelers can continue to show a paper passport, and passengers using face verification are still advised to carry the document while the service remains in test mode. The system therefore adds another boarding method without removing the conventional identity check.
Russia’s Unified Biometric System is a state infrastructure for storing and matching biometric templates with user consent. The Center for Biometric Technologies operates the platform, which has been extended into financial services, telecommunications and transport. The organization has also formed research partnerships, including a program with a Russian university focused on biometric technology and training.
Transport deployments have included facial recognition for both identity and payment. Moscow has been working to extend its Face Pay system across metro turnstiles, using a stored face template and linked payment method to authorize entry. The Lastochka service instead uses the face match to confirm that the person boarding is the passenger named in the booking.
The Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media announced the additional routes as part of the continuing trial. The current list covers three services beginning at Moscow stations and two regional connections beginning in Nizhny Novgorod.
The boarding sequence combines advance ticket purchase, biometric consent and an identity check at the train. Conductors retain the ability to use the established document-based process when a traveler chooses it or when biometric boarding is unavailable throughout the current pilot period.
Sources: WWW1, Russian Transport Ministry
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
