Railways in
Lithuania
A diesel multiple unit in the livery of LTG Link introduced in 2020.
The unit is a type 730ML built by Pesa in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
The first railway in Lithuania opened in the 1860s between Daugavpils (Latvia) and Vilnius, part of a planned through route between St Petersburg (Russia) and Warsaw (Poland). At that time, the entire route was effectively under Russian control, so the line was built to the Russian gauge of 1524mm.
During both the First and Second World Wars, Lithuania came under German occupation. Between the wars, it was an independent state but, after the Second World War, Lithuania again came within the Russian sphere of influence. The country declared its independence in 1990, foreshadowing the breakup of the Soviet Union.
During the First World War, the Germans regauged most of the main lines to standard (1435mm) gauge. However, unlike the situation in neighbouring Latvia, these remained standard gauge in the period between the wars. Only when Lithuania came under Soviet influence following the Second World War were all the main lines converted back to Russian gauge.
There are freight only international connections with Latvia. In 1992 a new international connection with Poland was opened, a standard gauge railway from Trakiszki, Poland, to Šeštokai, where gauge transhipment facilities were provided. The standard gauge was extended by dual-gauging the existing line as far as Kaunas in 2021. Through passenger train services to Warszawa, Poland, and beyond, have been implemented. International connections with Belarus for freight and with Russia (including the Kaliningrad exclave) for freight and passenger services were closed in 2020 under Covid-19 precautions, and following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 were not reopened. Around 2025, tracks were definitively removed on these connections to prevent their being used in the event of any hostile action by Russia.
Detail planning and construction is under way on a projected new standard (1435mm) gauge passenger and freight railway which will connect Lithuania with the standard gauge network of Poland and the rest of western and central Europe. As noted above, part of the route already exists as far as Kaunas. Extensions to Latvia, and via Latvia to Estonia, are expected to open by around 2030.
© 2004-2026 Glyn Williams
Photo image: Robertas Šalčiūnas