Rail transport in Lithuania

In late 19th and early 20th centuries, some Lithuanian cities used the wagonways i.e. trams pulled by horses which were colloquially called "konkė".[10] Kaunas had one wagonway line from 1892 until 1929.[11] Vilnius had three wagonway lines from 1893 to 1925 using the metre-gauge railway.[10] The wagonways lost popularity due to the emergence of buses and cars. Vilnius, however, briefly had a diesel tramway with a sole line between 1924 and 1926[10] and Kaunas had a narrow gauge passenger line of steam tramway, called kukushka before 1935.[12] During the interwar period there were plans to revive electric tramways both in Vilnius and Kaunas, but they never materialized. Klaipėda, on the other hand, had an electric tramway with 2 active lines from 1904 to 1934.[13] It was revived again in 1950 but due to the lack of popularity closed in 1967.[14]

Main lines:

• Vilnius—Kaunas, 104 km (65 mi), first built in 1862, electrified in 1975.[7] The fastest train takes 69 minutes, but following the Rail Baltica project completion, the travel time will be reduced to 38 minutes.[16]
• Vilnius—Klaipėda, 376 km (234 mi), part of the line first built in 1870, electrification currently in progress.[17]

Vilnius—Riga—Tallinn and Vilnius—Warsaw passenger train routes are technically possible, but currently not practical due to limited speeds and long travel times.[18] These routes will start following the completion of the Rail Baltica project.[18]

The old fleet of passenger trains included the ER9M electric train; D1, DR1A/DR1AM and AR2 diesel multiple units; TEP60/TEP70/TEP70BS and M62/2M62/2M62U diesel locomotives.[19] Some are still in service, but the vast majority are retired.

As of 2021, the main passenger train models include Škoda EJ575 (electric) and diesel Pesa 620M/630M/730ML as well as some RA2 trains. A public procurement was launched in 2021 to replace all diesel passenger trains with a fleet of new electric trains.[15] In 2023, LTG Link signed a contract with the Swiss Stadler Rail company for a delivery of 15 new Stadler FLIRT electric and battery-electric trains.[20] The contract also provides an option for another 39 trains.[20]

Siemens ER20CF locomotive operated by LTG Cargo

As of 2021, Lithuania has three intermodal terminals:[21]

• Kaunas Intermodal Terminal with annual capacity of 102,000 TEU and dual gauge railway;
• Vilnius Intermodal Terminal, 102,000 TEU, broad gauge railway only;
• Šeštokai Intermodal Terminal, 25,000 TEU, dual gauge.

LTG Cargo company provides freight transportation corridors for or between the following regions:

• Western/Northern Europe and Lithuania, primarily Kaunas Intermodal Terminal.[22] Currently, there are regular Kaunas–Tilburg (Netherlands) and Kaunas–Kaldenkirchen (Germany) freight trains.[23][24]
• All three Baltic states with a corridor from/to Poland. "Amber Train" project currently provides Kaunas–Riga–Tallinn (Muuga) service.[25] LTG Cargo Polska (subsidiary in Poland) offers transportation from Šeštokai near the Polish border.[26]
• The Baltic Sea region (primarily Scandinavia) and the Black Sea region, primarily Turkey and Caucasus, via Ukraine.[27][28] "Viking Train" and "Baltic Ukraine Shuttle" are the international projects which enable Klaipėda–Minsk–Kyiv–Odesa transportation corridor between the Port of Klaipėda and the Port of Odesa.[29][28]
• The EU market, as Lithuania is a member, and China via the CIS countries.[21] Lithuania aims to expand its involvement in the New Silk Road and become one of the transport hubs. However, due to strained political relations, the expansion remains uncertain.[30]

LTG Cargo primarily uses Siemens ER20 "Eurorunner" locomotives for the freight trains.[31]

Lithuania uses 25 kV 50 Hz AC for the electrified railway lines.[32] This will remain compatible with the technical requirements for the Rail Baltica high-speed rail. The electrification was first implemented in 1975 for the Vilnius–Kaunas line.[7] This was followed by the electrification of Vilnius–Naujoji Vilnia, Vilnius–Trakai lines and, since 2017, Vilnius–Minsk line.[33]

As of 2021, only 10% of the railways in Lithuania are electrified, but major electrification projects are in progress with the intention of achieving 50%.[34] In 2019, a joint consortium of Spanish companies Elecnor and Abengoa was awarded a contract to carry out electrification of 730 km (450 mi) of railway.[35] In October 2022, a contract was awarded to ABB to supply 25kV AC electrification system.[36] It primarily includes the electrification of the Vilnius–Klaipėda line and a bypass rail around Vilnius. In 2020, LTG set itself a long-term goal of achieving zero CO₂ emissions by 2030.[15] In 2021, LTG Link announced the public procurement to acquire 30 electric trains in order to replace the existing diesel fleet.[37] In June 2023, LTG Link ordered 15 FLIRT multiple-units and plans to procure up to 13 additional Flirt inter-city EMUs, 15 battery-electric Flirt trains with a 100km range and 11 battery-electric Flirt multiple-units with a 70km range.[38]

TU2 diesel locomotive on the narrow gauge track in Anykščiai

Lithuania has a narrow gauge line of 750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in) first constructed in 1891.[39] It was built as a cheaper alternative to the wider gauge railway.[8] In 1996, the narrow gauge railway was declared a heritage railway and, in 2003, the Panevėžys–Anykščiai–Rubikiai line was included into the national list of preserved cultural heritages.[40] The total length of the preserved railway is 179 km (111 mi).[39] Today, the active part of the railway is 68.4 km (42.5 mi), making it one of the longest narrow gauge lines in Europe.[41]

In 2001, Aukštaitija narrow gauge railway was established as a separate company (independent from the Lithuanian Railways) to manage the narrow gauge railway.[39] It primarily runs services for tourism and entertainment.[39] It operates tourist trains ran by the TU2 diesel locomotives.[42]

Rail Baltica is an ongoing greenfield railway infrastructure project which will link all Baltic States, including Lithuania, Poland and, eventually, Finland. Being a part of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T), it is one of the priority projects of the European Union.[43] It will introduce standard-gauge high-speed rail with an operating speed of 249 km/h for passenger trains.[43] As of 2023, the Rail Baltica project completion is scheduled for 2030, with a start of services on some of the sections in 2028.[44]

In Lithuania, 392 km (244 mi) of new track will be constructed, including the reconstruction of the Vilnius–Kaunas Railway to support standard gauge.[45] High speed rail will reduce the Vilnius—Kaunas route time to 38 minutes.[16] At project completion, the following routes will become available (with projected travel times):[16]

• Vilnius—Warsaw (4:07)
• Vilnius—Riga (1:54)
• Vilnius—Tallinn (3:38)

As of 2021, the project is in progress with major construction ongoing in Lithuania. The standard gauge line between the Polish border and Kaunas has been built, with freight services already operating between Germany and Kaunas Intermodal Terminal as well as passenger train service between Kaunas and Białystok.[45] The construction works for the line between Kaunas and the Latvian border are expected to begin in 2021.[45]

• 
  Map of Rail Baltica with the main stations
• 
  Dual gauge track between Mockava and Šeštokai
• 
  Rail Baltica track in Rokai (Kaunas district)

A 2022 European Union proposal is for all new rail lines to be Standard Gauge and a rolling plan introduced to convert other gauges to European standard gauge.[46]

• — Latvia, same gauge (1520 mm)
• — Poland, dual gauge (1435 mm and 1520 mm)
• — Belarus, same gauge (1520 mm)
• — Kaliningrad Railway with Russia, same gauge (1520 mm)