Linas Jegelevičius
The much-touted Vilnius-Riga train route, relaunched at the end of 2023, some say, needs to be adjusted, adding additional stops, at least in Kėdainiai, an industrial city in central Lithuania.
This is what the municipalities being bypassed now are clamouring for, arguing that each new stop will extend the trip time only up to 4-5 minutes, but the benefit of the inclusion will be tangible – boost the local economies and make the municipalities much more attractive.
“To me, this situation – I mean that the train crosses Kėdainiai without stopping in it – is unperceivable. We are located in the centre of the state and our economy is sizable, yet the route planners decided not to foresee a stop in Kėdainiai. Very regrettable. Especially that, in the Government, we have everyone talking about the importance of the regions and how to make them more attractive. However, when it comes to real decisions, they are different,” Valentinas Tamulis, mayor of the Kėdainiai municipality, told BNN.
Previously, a direct train between Vilnius and Riga ran until January 2004. From September 2018 until March 2020, the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Vilnius and Riga were connected by a Ukrainian railway train running between Kyiv and the Latvian capital. According to “Lietuvos geležinkeliai” (Lithuanian railways, LTG), Vilnius and Riga were also occasionally connected by longer train routes from other national carriers.
Unhappy about the situation, Kėdainiai reached out to the Transport ministry and LTG,
the national railway authority, but, according to the mayor, their answers are not promising.
“They argue that the addition of extra stops will prolong the journey and et cetera. Meanwhile, the Seimas’ Committee on Economics turned a much keener ear to our request, so the fight is not over yet,” V. Tamulis emphasised. He does not rule out that a change may come with Lithuania’s new Cabinet in power at the end of the year.
The train departs daily from Vilnius every day at 6 am. 30 min., making stops in Kaišiadorys at 7 am 14 min., Šiauliai at 8:51 am, Joniškis at 9.30 am. The train arrives in Jelgava at 10:06 am and in Riga Central Station at 10:43 am. From Riga to Vilnius the train leaves every day at 3:28 pm.
It takes just over four hours to get from Vilnius to Riga by train, similar to a car trip.
Pressed with the demands to adjust the route, LTG insists that it will remain intact. For now.
First of all, it says, it is an international route, the goal of which is for Lithuanians to reach Latvia, and Latvians to Lithuania. Secondly, there is no lack of intercity routes in Lithuania, so passengers who want to go to Riga can opt for a trip with transfers. Third, the changes would lengthen the route.
“Each additional stop would increase the journey time by 4-5 minutes. Therefore, adding just a few additional stops would increase the duration of the journey, making the sustainable transport link itself less competitive and attractive to passengers, especially those traveling between the initial and final route of the station. Passengers from other cities on the route are invited to choose regular local transport flights for trips in Lithuania or to arrive at the international routes the station and continue the journey to Riga by train”, Kotryna Dzikaraitė-Misiūnė, communications partner of LTG Cargo, is quoted as saying.
Although she admits that there are fewer passengers now than at the beginning, this process is natural, taking into account seasonality and, of course, the fact that people are always more enthusiastic in the first days than after a certain time.
“Its significance for Lithuania is beyond doubt,” she emphasised.
But the demanders of the extra stops are not giving up, especially that the Seimas’ Committee on Economics feels like addressing positively their proposals.
Approached by BNN, Mindaugas Skritulskas, parliamentarian, says that it would be “logical” to have the train’s stop in Kėdainiai.
“Extra four of five minutes do not seem like a big deal to me. They would effectively change nothing. Meanwhile, the benefits for the Kėdainiai municipality would be tangible. Besides, the train stops in some smaller municipalities, like Kaišiadorys, for example, so considering the impact and the size of Kėdainiai on the regional economy, such a stop seems reasonable to me,” the MP said.
According to him, the Committee did not adopt any decision, but
“recommends” analysing all the possibilities to satisfy Kėdainiai’s request.
Skritulskas notes that the new interstate railway route is deservedly praised, yet, its relaunch came with the two Baltic neighbouring states being at hand’s reach of their 34th independence birthdays.
“Of course, there were the other railways-related issues, like the attention for RailBaltica, the financing for it, but I wish the Lithuanian train between Vilnius and Riga had started running much earlier,” the legislator said, admitting that he did not have a chance to try the train yet.
He, however, rejoices that the route provides more accessibility of the neighbouring country, Latvia.
“I wish we also had direct trains to Berlin and the other European capitals,” M.Skritulskas said.
With the attention to the Vilnius-Riga train, some are raising questions why it is not possible to resume train connections with Druskininkai or to extend the tracks to Palanga, a Lithuanian gem resort on the Baltic Sea.
The first passenger train on reopened route to Riga departed from Vilnius on December 27.
Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė and Transport Minister Marius Skuodis also took the first train to the Latvian capital, Riga, where they met their Latvian counterparts, Prime Minister Evika Siliņa and Transport Minister Kaspars Briškens.
According to Šimonytė, the Vilnius-Riga train will serve as a complementary means for travelling to the Latvian capital, as rail travel is a “European habit”.
“Many of us have probably tried different ways of travelling between Vilnius and Riga – we flew by plane, drove by car, took the bus. Now these options will be complemented by perhaps the most sustainable way of travelling,” Šimonytė told LRT.lt after arriving in Riga.
Meanwhile, Lithuanian Transport Minister Skuodis hopes that,
in the future, this route will be extended to the Estonian capital.
“We will need to extend the train from Riga to Tallinn. We really want to do that and we will need further steps by the three countries,” he has said.
Latvia and Estonia are said to be currently negotiating a link between Riga and the Estonian city of Tartu, to which the Vilnius-Riga train timetable could be adapted, the minister added.
According to LTG CEO Egidijus Lazauskas, the route between Vilnius and Riga will be subsidised by the Lithuanian state, while in Latvia it will be operated commercially.
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