Good video! I wanted to add some additional points that I think are worth noting. Most of this is based on news I’ve read, though some parts are speculative. It’s true that the people benefiting most from this new service are those living in towns closer to the borders of the countries. I doubt many passengers would take the full ride from Tallinn to Vilnius because it’s quite a long journey with better alternatives. That said, I think there will still be demand. For example, by the end of 2024, LTG Link reported that their Vilnius-Riga service they launched just a year earlier, exceeded expectations, with around 62,000 rides taken in its first year. That’s a promising result for a relatively new route. As you noted, two changes are very much inconvenient, so the operators are working to reduce it to one. The quickest solution would be to extend Lithuania’s LTG Link train to Valga, as that model is already certified to run on Estonian railways. As you mentioned, at the end of 2024 a successful test run was conducted, and there’s now a plan for the train to be rented and operated all the way to Valga by Vivi. The next logical step would be extending the route to Tallinn. Unfortunately, LTG Link currently lacks the capacity to do this. However, there’s good news: they're set to receive new long-distance and commuter trains from Stadler in 2025, with service beginning in 2026. Once these trains are available, it will likely open up the possibility of running a direct service from Vilnius to Tallinn. In the meantime, Estonia’s Stadler FLIRT units are expected to be certified to run on Latvian railways in the first half of 2025. This will probably mean passengers will need to make only one connection in Riga, with Estonia’s Elron trains running from Tallinn to Riga and Lithuania’s LTG Link trains running from Riga to Vilnius. Regarding speed, the Tallinn-Tartu mainline is undergoing upgrades to allow for speeds of 160 km/h and is also being electrified. Right now, travel speeds are low on large sections of the track due to ongoing work. It is projected to be finished in late summer of 2025 and travel times are expected to decrease by about an hour. Finally, it’s worth mentioning that each operator currently requires a separate ticket. This is obviously very inconvenient, but fortunately, they’re working on a unified ticket system. An Elron representative stated they aim to introduce this system in the first quarter of 2024. Wow, this turned into quite a long comment, but I hope someone finds it interesting 😅 Thanks for covering the topic! it’s an exciting development in wait for RailBaltica.
If it works out that after this summer (2025) travelers will one have to make one transfer in Riga, and that speeds in Estonia will be distinctly higher than today? Yes, that would make the whole trip attract more riders. Transfers are a real pain, especially if a delay can mean the next train you want is hours away (or even tomorrow). I've taken the train from Stockholm to Copenhagen a few times, which is a similar distance. Mostly 200 km/h and they're both like twice the size of Riga, so the trains tend to be full all day basically. I could totally see improved services (better trains, faster lines) really make the numbers of travelers on these trains in the Baltic pick up.
Such line should be used for sleeper trains. 8h bus journey would be terrible. Meanwhile sleeper trains would make people save time on taking hotel after long journey.
There used to be a Ukrainian Railways sleeper train running the Kyiv-Minsk-Vilnius-Riga route with plans to extend to Tallinn, but first the pandemic and then the war have permanently disabled this service.
Thank you for this informative video! I’m not sure I would have notices the changes regarding the schedulea without it. I love traveling by train! One additional aspect that motivates me recently to prioritize train travel over flying is the fact that trains are usuay much more climte friendly way to travel while flying is the worst. This is particularly the case when trains are fully electric and are operates when using renewable energy.
It's a shame the Baltics lack behind on rail but I'm super excited that there's interest in improving this field. This interest in more cooperation as well as Rail Baltica coming up will offer so many new possibilities to these countries. Can't wait to check Lithuania out for the first time as a resident of Tallinn!
Driving! I drive a Subaru SUV, the journey from Vilnius to Tallinn (601 km) takes 8 hours, the gas (benzinas) cost 70 euro. I love it! And I can smoke a cigarette anytime.
Doing Vilnius-Tallinn by train was already possible a year ago, just with 4 hour layover in Valga. I did Vilnius-Riga-Valga-Tallinn last February, leaving Vilnius at 6.30 and arriving to Tallinn at around 21.00. Now just Vivi started using Lithuanian train and Estonian train schedule got adjusted for this. By the way, student discount is applicable for Estonian train, and for Lithuanian one can use it if you buy Vilnius-Joniškis ticket separately.
Interesting. Because the LTG Link article from December 9th says “Until now, it has been impossible to travel by train from Vilnius to Tallinn in a single day.” So I don’t know 🤷🏼♂️
This hack of taking the student ticket in Vilnius-Joniškis is super smart. Surprised I had not figured it out before. Sometimes it might even be cheaper than taking the bus!! Thanks
So happy I found this channel! In May, I will be touring around the Baltic states for a week and looking at travel options avoiding a rental car. Given the current infrastructure and travel times, a stopover in Riga for 1/2 nights is much more appealing for travellers rather than the direct journey between Vilnius and Tallinn. Unfortunately, LTG Link frequency of service between Riga and Vilnius is not competitive compared to Flixbus/Lux Express on the same route (almost hourly frequency). However, it is a step in the right direction ahead of Rail Baltica in the next few years. Looking forward to seeing more sustainable travel options becoming available for travellers in the Baltics soon. Thanks for the explainer video, really excited to explore these countries!
Good video, and you're pretty much correct on everything, as usual. Main issue for now is lack of a single ticketing system, although, according to LTG, this will be sorted some time later this year, possibly over a couple of months or so. Also, It seems Latvian Railways will be renting an LTG train to provide service between Riga and Valga which will be the same Pesa 730M train that is used for Vilnius-Riga i.e. the same train will continue from Riga to Valga which means Vilnius-Riga-Valga will be on the same train. Estonian train would do Valga-Tallinn section. Once this is achieved, it will still not be perfect, but one ticket and one change of train would be enough which is closer to what I would consider a decent train service. As for advantages of a train vs bus, besides "ability to walk" and "more space" there is another one - less random motion and swinging on a train compared to a bus, for obvious reasons. This can cause motion sickness on buses to many people (including myself) and results in an overall poor comfort on a bus. That's one big reason why any kind of rail transport is always superior to pretty much any kind of bus transport. Either way, while this is by no means perfect, I'm happy that train companies (and seemingly governments) of the three Baltic countries are at least acknowledging that rail transport between the countries needs to improve and are taking steps towards it after decades of ignoring the problem.
The issue predates current Baltic governments, it comes from the way the Soviets planned their railways: prioritising West-East connections towards Moscow instead of a North-South intra-Baltic corridor. For this reason, when the 3 countries became independent, they inherited very poor connections between their capitals (single track, non-electrified, non-direct lines in poor conditions), and it has taken time to fix this as naturally national services have taken a priority over international ones. Also, Rail Baltica was meant to fix this once and forever, but it's so delayed that quick solutions have become necessary
There is an environment concious traveller community in Finland and propably in Baltics too who consider carbon footprint and dont fly, and prefer trains over busses due that reason. This is good news to them.
Indeed, I am currently an exchange student in Italy, and will be coming back to Tallinn by train and bus in about a week. When I came to Italy, I initially took a plane, just because the connections for train/bus from Tallinn to western Europe is so bad.
Better option is probably to switch to a bus in Riga. All in all, it makes sense to coordinate schedules, but maybe for local journeys just across the border and one or so stops further. Rail Baltica is the first step and I'm desperately waiting to taking it for the first time.
Actually, between Šiauliai and Riga, Vilnius or Tallinn, there are also direct buses :p Also between Jelgava and the others. From Tartu there's only direct connections to Riga and to Tallinn, with 1 change being required to go to Vilnius.
It’s the EU wide high-speed option that makes the difference. If you could travel Warsaw to Tallinn in 3hrs, or Berlin to Vilnius in similar then you’re out performing the coaches and offering more space than the planes.
I'd say one factor in this, although not huge, is that all of these operators are part of interrail, which LUX isn't. That means you could take trains from Poland all the way to Tallinn more efficiently (and Finland with the ferry)
Laba Diena.. My Wife is from Radviliskis and we think we might take a trip for a few nights in Tallinn. The line needs some upgrading to Latvian border from Siauliai as it was Freight only for years. If they can raise that line speed to 100-120kmh where possible,even the Vilnius-Ryga run will be more competitive. Also i guess LTG can release more of the Mesa built DMUs once the Stadlers arrive in service.
How’s Rail Baltica doing? I’d find the occasional update on its progress interesting, and hopefully exciting if it’s (somewhat) going according to plan!
Kind of depends on what country you ask about. Lithuania already has a connection now to Poland as part of it and they have progressed decently along the main route. The question about connecting Vilnius to the Rail Baltica line to my knowledge is still under discussion. Latvia has started to build the terminals in Riga and the airport but due to a government change and budget they have changed to only working on the main line to Estonia-Lithuania. Passengers will have to transfer to older Russian guage trains to get to Riga central and the airport at present. Unless they can find more money and in Estonia is has been making decent progress. Slimmed down from the original vision due to budget constraints but they hope to have the line to Parnu by 2028 and the station in Ulemiste (Tallinn) has been progressing well. Still overall some challenges and budget issues but to be expected with sucg a large project.
Да,там всё идёт по плану.Начинают расследовать кто украл сколько денег и кто сумел от ответственности уйти.Строить пока ещё только планируют если денег дадут.
I don't really understand how beneficial it would be to extend the Lithuanian train to Valga. I hope Elron trains get approved in Latvia, so there would be just a single transfer in Riga for this route
ELRON has been planning an Tartu-Riga line for ages, but it has been hard to for their Stadlers to get ceritified in Latvia which is why it has taken a while, but currently they are saying these trains should start somewhere in spring '25
How many Estonian train drivers can speak Latvian and how many Latvian train drivers can speak Estonian. For years, that was the main reason why such a train couldn't exist.
You are right. It will be more convenient for people in small towns. Speed will probably improve when Estonians run a train to Riga without the need to change. In my wet dreams, I also want to travel comfortably by train from Riga to Klaipeda.
Klaipeda to Riga would be incredible. Especially going through Palanga which I heard was considered to connect the two airports. Currently Klaipeda’s connection to Kaunas/Vilnius etc goes North first on old Russian freight lines that were laid through Kretinga anyway which is not too far from Palanga. As a Klaipeda resident being able to go to Talinn/Riga from here without needing to go to Vilnius would be a wet dream. Unfortunately I don’t see it happening in the next decade. Still happy for Rail Baltica progress for 2029 though, Let’s go Baltic brothers!!😊
@VeritasVinci7, you can go to Riga from klaipeda through palanga and liepaja. Take bus to palanga, from palaga go to liepaja. There is one trai that goes daily,in the morning from Liepaja to Riga. It takes 3 hours, otherwise there are busses from Liepaja to Riga. Logistics is not that good 😅, but it's there ! May be it will be improved. 😢
@@darbas57wow, I just checked and there is only 1 train from Liepāja to Riga and it departs at 04:55, what the hell?? How can this be considered a normal service? Cmon Vivi you need to do better
Im from Estonia Elva town. I think its great idea to make trains going at same time because when i went to latvia i had to wait latvian train many hours
Fiancée and I may take the train Riga to Tallinn or Tartu when it gets warmer. I come from Texas and im happy with any alternatives to car transport. Greyhound and Amtrak there have been some of the worst experiences i have had
@@Takosaga So many Americans online are ranting how awful are Greyhound and Amtrak so I was expecting the worst... and it was not. Greyhound bus was more or less the same as longer route buses in Europe, and Amtrak train was among the most comfortable I have ever taken.
@@jygeb I've taken a Greyhound bus from Chicago to New York. It was OK, met many interesting people from all over the world, had many arguments 😅! But I'd rather do it by train.At that time it was very cumbersome. It still is and quite expensive.
Fun fact: RailBaltica deadline was set as 2020 but it has been postponed to 2032 and the estimated preliminary cost of developing the RailBaltica project has increased from €5.8 bn to €23.8 bn in 2023 haha
Coming from the US (we are known for having subpar rail system) a 645 kilometer train ride from Jacksonville Florida through Georgia, South Carolina, and then up to Fayetteville North Carolina is a 10 hour train ride. I guess I feel disappointed that rail through the Baltics of a slightly shorter distance wouldn't be significantly less travel time. Though I would be accustomed to it taking that long. I think it's important to speed that up specifically due to the way rail used to go through the Soviet Union from outlying regions back towards the central hub which prevented independence from developing. Whereas increasing the ease of movement laterally between the Baltics increases the ability to conduct business and pleasure between those states
As of now the state of railways in each country is so different and very inconsistent, which makes cross-border travel a lot slower. Estonia is currently working on massive upgrades on rail infrastructure to both electrify and improve the speed of its main railway lines to 160km/h (and potentially 200km/h in the future). On the other hand I believe some of the rail lines between Latvia and Lithuania currently are still limited to a measly 80km/h with no upgrades in the near future unfortunately. Good news is that There is the Rail Baltica railway being built so when it’s completed in the next decade it should only take around 3 and a half hours from Tallinn to Vilnius.
@Taevas___you are not entirely right, Lithuania is currently electrifying and upgrading the Vilnius-Klaipėda corridor, which is the one used by this train up until Šiauliai (nearly all of the Lithuanian part of the Vilnius-Riga trip), so it should become more competitive too as these upgrades are finished.
Yes, I’d probably preffer busses to trains in case I need to get to Tallinn simply faster, and don’t care of Riga. But I love visiting both Riga and Tallinn anytime I can.
I love train travel, but lux is faster and most of the time much cheaper. This summer I went to Riga and back to Vilnius for 20 eu (im not a a student or have other discounts) , when train to just one side is more than 20 eu, and that makes me sad in a way that the private bus company is cheaper option than train, faster and not that bad in comfort.
im driving trains constantly to Vilnius Kaunas and would pick train always not bus. routine you get smth to eat grab coffe place coffe on small stool inside flat desk and all yourney it wont even move. there is no motion forward beck like in car or bus. you sit like in restaurant, you can buy drinks, snacks from train. and new one trains has more. comfort. now in Lithuania trains can go fast they where testing went 250km/h but ussualy you go 120km/h simply safety issue. they fixing this issue, you may see plenty of underpasses built , they need to built animal bridges and so on. remember rails used are same which cargo rolls meansit makes money. high speed they building rail which has european type tracks which we build cost money, if you roll cargo than its makes money, but the sec you send bullet train it emptys your pockets expensive to maintain. yes we will have that one which will cross poland and all baltics, its also military used so armor and tanks comes fast from germany. anyway it willbe used as cargo and for fast travel.people in europe use trains to travel as planes are too long too hard
If we compare to taking a bus like LuxExpress to Tallin from Vilnius It takes around the same amount of time Its 2 or 3 times more expensive than taking a bus You need to switch 2 while with a bus almost never 3 bus companies have routes beewten them so you have way more options when to leave and how much you want to pay The only good thing i see is that the train from Vilnius to Riga is more comfy If you care about comfort i guees train is better but then at that point just get a airbaltic flight
They should expand and operate more normal rail. The Rail Baltica is a dream that is designed to make all involved people rich. It will never recoup the construction cost with limited interest from passengers.
4 hours for what, 300 kilometers? It's just sad. You don't even need special high-speed rails, ordinary standard gauge can withstand 150-160 km/h like no big deal.
Actually, there is only one train change in route Vilnius - Tallinn. Vivi (Latvian rail operator) uses lithuanian train for route Riga - Valga. So you don't need change train in Riga.
@@LithuaniaExplainedI'm pretty sure that this is still in the planning stage as of now, but yes, Vivi wanted to rent the LTG Link train and run it to Valga to reduce the number of changes to one and provide a (frankly) better train. They even did a test where they ran this train to Valga recently.
Sorry really not sorry, but you made Latvia look bad right now on the first pic, we DO NOT use those old ussr trains ANYMORE! they are sent to the scrapyard for deconstruction. We have the NEWEST TRAINS in all of the Baltic states. The škoda new trains. Why did you make us look mad? Use the new škoda train pictures! // Your brālis Latvija 🇱🇻
It was my understanding that the new trains were electric. All of the information I could find said the Riga-Valga route used diesel trains. So it was my attempt at being accurate.
Good video! I wanted to add some additional points that I think are worth noting. Most of this is based on news I’ve read, though some parts are speculative.
It’s true that the people benefiting most from this new service are those living in towns closer to the borders of the countries. I doubt many passengers would take the full ride from Tallinn to Vilnius because it’s quite a long journey with better alternatives. That said, I think there will still be demand. For example, by the end of 2024, LTG Link reported that their Vilnius-Riga service they launched just a year earlier, exceeded expectations, with around 62,000 rides taken in its first year. That’s a promising result for a relatively new route.
As you noted, two changes are very much inconvenient, so the operators are working to reduce it to one. The quickest solution would be to extend Lithuania’s LTG Link train to Valga, as that model is already certified to run on Estonian railways. As you mentioned, at the end of 2024 a successful test run was conducted, and there’s now a plan for the train to be rented and operated all the way to Valga by Vivi.
The next logical step would be extending the route to Tallinn. Unfortunately, LTG Link currently lacks the capacity to do this. However, there’s good news: they're set to receive new long-distance and commuter trains from Stadler in 2025, with service beginning in 2026. Once these trains are available, it will likely open up the possibility of running a direct service from Vilnius to Tallinn.
In the meantime, Estonia’s Stadler FLIRT units are expected to be certified to run on Latvian railways in the first half of 2025. This will probably mean passengers will need to make only one connection in Riga, with Estonia’s Elron trains running from Tallinn to Riga and Lithuania’s LTG Link trains running from Riga to Vilnius.
Regarding speed, the Tallinn-Tartu mainline is undergoing upgrades to allow for speeds of 160 km/h and is also being electrified. Right now, travel speeds are low on large sections of the track due to ongoing work. It is projected to be finished in late summer of 2025 and travel times are expected to decrease by about an hour.
Finally, it’s worth mentioning that each operator currently requires a separate ticket. This is obviously very inconvenient, but fortunately, they’re working on a unified ticket system. An Elron representative stated they aim to introduce this system in the first quarter of 2024.
Wow, this turned into quite a long comment, but I hope someone finds it interesting 😅 Thanks for covering the topic! it’s an exciting development in wait for RailBaltica.
🤓
If it works out that after this summer (2025) travelers will one have to make one transfer in Riga, and that speeds in Estonia will be distinctly higher than today? Yes, that would make the whole trip attract more riders. Transfers are a real pain, especially if a delay can mean the next train you want is hours away (or even tomorrow).
I've taken the train from Stockholm to Copenhagen a few times, which is a similar distance. Mostly 200 km/h and they're both like twice the size of Riga, so the trains tend to be full all day basically. I could totally see improved services (better trains, faster lines) really make the numbers of travelers on these trains in the Baltic pick up.
Such line should be used for sleeper trains. 8h bus journey would be terrible. Meanwhile sleeper trains would make people save time on taking hotel after long journey.
thats a great idea
@@roberturbanczyk204 none of Baltic railway carriers apparently have rolling stock for it.
@@jygeb you can modernise old wide gauge trains into sleeper with low cost
@@jygeb even if Lithuania and Estonia had to buy new trains, it would be just few of them becouse most of line is single tracked.
There used to be a Ukrainian Railways sleeper train running the Kyiv-Minsk-Vilnius-Riga route with plans to extend to Tallinn, but first the pandemic and then the war have permanently disabled this service.
Thank you for this informative video! I’m not sure I would have notices the changes regarding the schedulea without it.
I love traveling by train!
One additional aspect that motivates me recently to prioritize train travel over flying is the fact that trains are usuay much more climte friendly way to travel while flying is the worst. This is particularly the case when trains are fully electric and are operates when using renewable energy.
It's a shame the Baltics lack behind on rail but I'm super excited that there's interest in improving this field. This interest in more cooperation as well as Rail Baltica coming up will offer so many new possibilities to these countries. Can't wait to check Lithuania out for the first time as a resident of Tallinn!
Latvian segment of Rail Baltica is going to be single track line from LT to EE border. To be honest I doubt they would even bother with passenger rail
I might do this just to prove a point at some point, as a Tallinn resident xd
come to Vilnius, you are welcomed
I think baltic states should make 3 long distance train connections instead of separating them
Driving! I drive a Subaru SUV, the journey from Vilnius to Tallinn (601 km) takes 8 hours, the gas (benzinas) cost 70 euro. I love it! And I can smoke a cigarette anytime.
Tallinn resident here.
If only it didn't take 11 hours or cost 55€ :))
And if only Elron ran the trains all the way to Riga as they planned...
There are still plans for Tartu-Riga train connection. It should open for service 2025.
@@margustooThat does still mean 2 chances between Tallinn and Vilnius :')
Doing Vilnius-Tallinn by train was already possible a year ago, just with 4 hour layover in Valga. I did Vilnius-Riga-Valga-Tallinn last February, leaving Vilnius at 6.30 and arriving to Tallinn at around 21.00.
Now just Vivi started using Lithuanian train and Estonian train schedule got adjusted for this.
By the way, student discount is applicable for Estonian train, and for Lithuanian one can use it if you buy Vilnius-Joniškis ticket separately.
Interesting. Because the LTG Link article from December 9th says “Until now, it has been impossible to travel by train from Vilnius to Tallinn in a single day.” So I don’t know 🤷🏼♂️
@LithuaniaExplained It was possible, I did it. 15 min transfer in Riga and 4 hour or so in Valga.
This hack of taking the student ticket in Vilnius-Joniškis is super smart. Surprised I had not figured it out before.
Sometimes it might even be cheaper than taking the bus!!
Thanks
So happy I found this channel! In May, I will be touring around the Baltic states for a week and looking at travel options avoiding a rental car. Given the current infrastructure and travel times, a stopover in Riga for 1/2 nights is much more appealing for travellers rather than the direct journey between Vilnius and Tallinn. Unfortunately, LTG Link frequency of service between Riga and Vilnius is not competitive compared to Flixbus/Lux Express on the same route (almost hourly frequency). However, it is a step in the right direction ahead of Rail Baltica in the next few years. Looking forward to seeing more sustainable travel options becoming available for travellers in the Baltics soon. Thanks for the explainer video, really excited to explore these countries!
Good video, and you're pretty much correct on everything, as usual. Main issue for now is lack of a single ticketing system, although, according to LTG, this will be sorted some time later this year, possibly over a couple of months or so. Also, It seems Latvian Railways will be renting an LTG train to provide service between Riga and Valga which will be the same Pesa 730M train that is used for Vilnius-Riga i.e. the same train will continue from Riga to Valga which means Vilnius-Riga-Valga will be on the same train. Estonian train would do Valga-Tallinn section. Once this is achieved, it will still not be perfect, but one ticket and one change of train would be enough which is closer to what I would consider a decent train service.
As for advantages of a train vs bus, besides "ability to walk" and "more space" there is another one - less random motion and swinging on a train compared to a bus, for obvious reasons. This can cause motion sickness on buses to many people (including myself) and results in an overall poor comfort on a bus. That's one big reason why any kind of rail transport is always superior to pretty much any kind of bus transport.
Either way, while this is by no means perfect, I'm happy that train companies (and seemingly governments) of the three Baltic countries are at least acknowledging that rail transport between the countries needs to improve and are taking steps towards it after decades of ignoring the problem.
The issue predates current Baltic governments, it comes from the way the Soviets planned their railways: prioritising West-East connections towards Moscow instead of a North-South intra-Baltic corridor. For this reason, when the 3 countries became independent, they inherited very poor connections between their capitals (single track, non-electrified, non-direct lines in poor conditions), and it has taken time to fix this as naturally national services have taken a priority over international ones.
Also, Rail Baltica was meant to fix this once and forever, but it's so delayed that quick solutions have become necessary
There is an environment concious traveller community in Finland and propably in Baltics too who consider carbon footprint and dont fly, and prefer trains over busses due that reason. This is good news to them.
Indeed, I am currently an exchange student in Italy, and will be coming back to Tallinn by train and bus in about a week.
When I came to Italy, I initially took a plane, just because the connections for train/bus from Tallinn to western Europe is so bad.
Better option is probably to switch to a bus in Riga.
All in all, it makes sense to coordinate schedules, but maybe for local journeys just across the border and one or so stops further. Rail Baltica is the first step and I'm desperately waiting to taking it for the first time.
Actually, between Šiauliai and Riga, Vilnius or Tallinn, there are also direct buses :p
Also between Jelgava and the others.
From Tartu there's only direct connections to Riga and to Tallinn, with 1 change being required to go to Vilnius.
It’s the EU wide high-speed option that makes the difference. If you could travel Warsaw to Tallinn in 3hrs, or Berlin to Vilnius in similar then you’re out performing the coaches and offering more space than the planes.
In 1991 I went by nighttrain from Tallinn via Valga to Riga and Vilnius. It was perfect…
I suppose there was no need to change trains at the border when they were still Soviet states. Better than making 1 or 2 changes now.
I'd say one factor in this, although not huge, is that all of these operators are part of interrail, which LUX isn't. That means you could take trains from Poland all the way to Tallinn more efficiently (and Finland with the ferry)
Laba Diena..
My Wife is from Radviliskis and we think we might take a trip for a few nights in Tallinn.
The line needs some upgrading to Latvian border from Siauliai as it was Freight only for years. If they can raise that line speed to 100-120kmh where possible,even the Vilnius-Ryga run will be more competitive. Also i guess LTG can release more of the Mesa built DMUs once the Stadlers arrive in service.
How’s Rail Baltica doing? I’d find the occasional update on its progress interesting, and hopefully exciting if it’s (somewhat) going according to plan!
The Estonians and Lithuanians are progressing.
The Latvians are being useless, mostly.
It is somewhat going as planned but highly over budget
It's cooked
Kind of depends on what country you ask about. Lithuania already has a connection now to Poland as part of it and they have progressed decently along the main route. The question about connecting Vilnius to the Rail Baltica line to my knowledge is still under discussion. Latvia has started to build the terminals in Riga and the airport but due to a government change and budget they have changed to only working on the main line to Estonia-Lithuania. Passengers will have to transfer to older Russian guage trains to get to Riga central and the airport at present. Unless they can find more money and in Estonia is has been making decent progress. Slimmed down from the original vision due to budget constraints but they hope to have the line to Parnu by 2028 and the station in Ulemiste (Tallinn) has been progressing well. Still overall some challenges and budget issues but to be expected with sucg a large project.
Да,там всё идёт по плану.Начинают расследовать кто украл сколько денег и кто сумел от ответственности уйти.Строить пока ещё только планируют если денег дадут.
I don't really understand how beneficial it would be to extend the Lithuanian train to Valga. I hope Elron trains get approved in Latvia, so there would be just a single transfer in Riga for this route
The obvious benefit would be no need to change trains in Riga. Instead of 2 changes (in Riga and in Valga) there will be only 1 in Valga.
There are talks for Vivi to rent a trainset from Elron to provide Riga-Tallinn service without a transfer in Valga
😍
if we can't even connect a few cities by train then europe is cooked
ELRON has been planning an Tartu-Riga line for ages, but it has been hard to for their Stadlers to get ceritified in Latvia which is why it has taken a while, but currently they are saying these trains should start somewhere in spring '25
How many Estonian train drivers can speak Latvian and how many Latvian train drivers can speak Estonian. For years, that was the main reason why such a train couldn't exist.
@@jur4x Sounds weird
@@jur4x All communication in rail is in russian. bc most train operators, dispatchers and railworkers are russins.
You are right. It will be more convenient for people in small towns. Speed will probably improve when Estonians run a train to Riga without the need to change. In my wet dreams, I also want to travel comfortably by train from Riga to Klaipeda.
Klaipeda to Riga would be incredible. Especially going through Palanga which I heard was considered to connect the two airports. Currently Klaipeda’s connection to Kaunas/Vilnius etc goes North first on old Russian freight lines that were laid through Kretinga anyway which is not too far from Palanga.
As a Klaipeda resident being able to go to Talinn/Riga from here without needing to go to Vilnius would be a wet dream. Unfortunately I don’t see it happening in the next decade. Still happy for Rail Baltica progress for 2029 though, Let’s go Baltic brothers!!😊
@VeritasVinci7, you can go to Riga from klaipeda through palanga and liepaja. Take bus to palanga, from palaga go to liepaja. There is one trai that goes daily,in the morning from Liepaja to Riga. It takes 3 hours, otherwise there are busses from Liepaja to Riga. Logistics is not that good 😅, but it's there ! May be it will be improved. 😢
@@darbas57wow, I just checked and there is only 1 train from Liepāja to Riga and it departs at 04:55, what the hell?? How can this be considered a normal service? Cmon Vivi you need to do better
@@osasunaitor take the bus. Train is weird 😐.
Im from Estonia Elva town. I think its great idea to make trains going at same time because when i went to latvia i had to wait latvian train many hours
Elron is actually supposed to start running trains from tallinn to riga soon
Fiancée and I may take the train Riga to Tallinn or Tartu when it gets warmer. I come from Texas and im happy with any alternatives to car transport. Greyhound and Amtrak there have been some of the worst experiences i have had
@@Takosaga So many Americans online are ranting how awful are Greyhound and Amtrak so I was expecting the worst... and it was not.
Greyhound bus was more or less the same as longer route buses in Europe, and Amtrak train was among the most comfortable I have ever taken.
@@jygeb I've taken a Greyhound bus from Chicago to New York. It was OK, met many interesting people from all over the world, had many arguments 😅! But I'd rather do it by train.At that time it was very cumbersome. It still is and quite expensive.
Fun fact: RailBaltica deadline was set as 2020 but it has been postponed to 2032 and the estimated preliminary cost of developing the RailBaltica project has increased from €5.8 bn to €23.8 bn in 2023 haha
To be fair, that 5.8B figure did seem overly optimistic. Like "Not sure they've done cost analysis properly" optimistic
looks like trial before rail baltic
I prefer train connections to flights because my health and fear issues don’t let me feel safe for a flight.
Coming from the US (we are known for having subpar rail system) a 645 kilometer train ride from Jacksonville Florida through Georgia, South Carolina, and then up to Fayetteville North Carolina is a 10 hour train ride.
I guess I feel disappointed that rail through the Baltics of a slightly shorter distance wouldn't be significantly less travel time. Though I would be accustomed to it taking that long.
I think it's important to speed that up specifically due to the way rail used to go through the Soviet Union from outlying regions back towards the central hub which prevented independence from developing.
Whereas increasing the ease of movement laterally between the Baltics increases the ability to conduct business and pleasure between those states
As of now the state of railways in each country is so different and very inconsistent, which makes cross-border travel a lot slower. Estonia is currently working on massive upgrades on rail infrastructure to both electrify and improve the speed of its main railway lines to 160km/h (and potentially 200km/h in the future). On the other hand I believe some of the rail lines between Latvia and Lithuania currently are still limited to a measly 80km/h with no upgrades in the near future unfortunately.
Good news is that There is the Rail Baltica railway being built so when it’s completed in the next decade it should only take around 3 and a half hours from Tallinn to Vilnius.
@Taevas___you are not entirely right, Lithuania is currently electrifying and upgrading the Vilnius-Klaipėda corridor, which is the one used by this train up until Šiauliai (nearly all of the Lithuanian part of the Vilnius-Riga trip), so it should become more competitive too as these upgrades are finished.
@@osasunaitor Oh that’s good. I was never found any information on that. Maybe I wasn’t looking in the right place I’m not sure 🤷♂️
@Taevas___ you can find it in the LTG Infra website, apparently it's over half completed already
Yes, I’d probably preffer busses to trains in case I need to get to Tallinn simply faster, and don’t care of Riga. But I love visiting both Riga and Tallinn anytime I can.
I love train travel, but lux is faster and most of the time much cheaper. This summer I went to Riga and back to Vilnius for 20 eu (im not a a student or have other discounts) , when train to just one side is more than 20 eu, and that makes me sad in a way that the private bus company is cheaper option than train, faster and not that bad in comfort.
0:39 - Estiškas traukinys gražesnis už latvišką. 😮
im driving trains constantly to Vilnius Kaunas and would pick train always not bus. routine you get smth to eat grab coffe place coffe on small stool inside flat desk and all yourney it wont even move. there is no motion forward beck like in car or bus. you sit like in restaurant, you can buy drinks, snacks from train. and new one trains has more. comfort. now in Lithuania trains can go fast they where testing went 250km/h but ussualy you go 120km/h simply safety issue. they fixing this issue, you may see plenty of underpasses built , they need to built animal bridges and so on. remember rails used are same which cargo rolls meansit makes money. high speed they building rail which has european type tracks which we build cost money, if you roll cargo than its makes money, but the sec you send bullet train it emptys your pockets expensive to maintain. yes we will have that one which will cross poland and all baltics, its also military used so armor and tanks comes fast from germany. anyway it willbe used as cargo and for fast travel.people in europe use trains to travel as planes are too long too hard
If we compare to taking a bus like LuxExpress to Tallin from Vilnius
It takes around the same amount of time
Its 2 or 3 times more expensive than taking a bus
You need to switch 2 while with a bus almost never
3 bus companies have routes beewten them so you have way more options when to leave and how much you want to pay
The only good thing i see is that the train from Vilnius to Riga is more comfy
If you care about comfort i guees train is better but then at that point just get a airbaltic flight
we try this soon!
They should expand and operate more normal rail. The Rail Baltica is a dream that is designed to make all involved people rich. It will never recoup the construction cost with limited interest from passengers.
4 hours for what, 300 kilometers? It's just sad. You don't even need special high-speed rails, ordinary standard gauge can withstand 150-160 km/h like no big deal.
Vilnius to Riga in 4h is not a bad deal.
a bus is worse than a plane, whereas a train is better than a journey by car
Great, another instance where a bus is faster and easier than train lmao
But going by train is much cheaper than bus or plane
Далеко ли до Таллина :)
Actually, there is only one train change in route Vilnius - Tallinn.
Vivi (Latvian rail operator) uses lithuanian train for route Riga - Valga. So you don't need change train in Riga.
Do you have a website or source for this information?
What?
How can one be sure about this? It would be a great benefit to know you won't miss the connection in riga.
I'll ask my friend from Valga to check xd
@@LithuaniaExplainedI'm pretty sure that this is still in the planning stage as of now, but yes, Vivi wanted to rent the LTG Link train and run it to Valga to reduce the number of changes to one and provide a (frankly) better train. They even did a test where they ran this train to Valga recently.
It’s pointless. Takes way too long.
Too far, too slow, 1 change is already too much.
Meeeee
Sorry really not sorry, but you made Latvia look bad right now on the first pic, we DO NOT use those old ussr trains ANYMORE! they are sent to the scrapyard for deconstruction. We have the NEWEST TRAINS in all of the Baltic states. The škoda new trains. Why did you make us look mad? Use the new škoda train pictures!
// Your brālis Latvija 🇱🇻
It was my understanding that the new trains were electric. All of the information I could find said the Riga-Valga route used diesel trains. So it was my attempt at being accurate.
The Riga-Valga route still uses the old Soviet DMU’s no?
@@markussvirats but you... don't, on this route? I did this trip in Februrary and Latvian section was served by an old DR1A.
Still was a soviet one when I did the route in September. Not complaining though it was very nice cruising :)