All Lithuania articles
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NewsLTG Cargo to buy its first electric locomotives
LITHUANIA: National freight operator LTG Cargo has announced a €100m plan to purchase its first electric locomotives. They will be used to haul freight trains of up to 5 700 tonnes on the 376 km main line between Vilnius and the port of Klaipėda which is ...
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NewsLTG Link orders inter-city and battery trains to transform journey quality
LITHUANIA: National passenger operator LTG Link has awarded Stadler a contract to supply electric inter-city and battery regional multiple-units, in the Swiss manufacturer’s first contract in Lithuania. The contract signed on June 21 includes a €226·5m base order for Stadler Polska to supply nine Flirt EMUs ...
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NewsRail Baltica Academy to provide project insights for all
EUROPE: The Rail Baltica Academy is to hold its third series of online public lectures from May 22, aiming to provide a broad audience including industry professionals, policymakers, students and future users with insights gained from the cross-border standard gauge line project. The lecture programme is ...
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NewsBroad gauge railways seek closer European integration
EUROPE: Ukrainian national railway Ukrzaliznytsia has signed a memorandum of intent to co-operate with the FREE Rail programme, which aims to develop an operating model that is based on EU rail standards and best practice while being aligned with the specific needs of 1 520 mm ...
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NewsVilnius Railway Node design tender announced
LITHUANIA: Infrastructure manager LTG Infra launched design procurement for Rail Baltica’s Vilnius Railway Node on February 13. The procurement covers the design of Vilnius station, which will become the country’s main hub for Rail Baltica international passenger services, the regional stations at Vilnius Airport and Lentvaris, ...
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NewsBaltic States discuss Vilnius – Riga – Tallinn passenger service and gauge conversion
EUROPE: Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are to explore options to launch a passenger service between their capitals using existing 1 520 mm gauge railways, ahead of the completion of the future Rail Baltica 1 435 mm gauge line. The lack of through services between the Baltic ...
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NewsContainerised coal overcomes the break-of-gauge
EUROPE: Innofreight containers are being transferred from broad to standard gauge trains as part of a through journey for the first time. Russia’s attack on Ukraine has forced Poland to seek alternatives to Russian coal, but Polish ports have limited capacity to handle the required volumes. ...
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NewsVTG Rail targets Baltic freight opportunities
LITHUANIA: VTG Rail Logistics has increased its presence in the Baltic region, rebranding VTG Project Logistics as VTG Rail Logistics Baltics to act as a full-service rail forwarder with ‘advanced tailor-made solutions’ and an international reach. ‘The ongoing Rail Baltica corridor project will connect five EU ...
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NewsFleet renewal and ridership doubling planned in Lithuanian passenger rail contract
LITHUANIA: Procurement of electric trains and service enhancements which aim to more than double ridership are included in a long-term operating agreement signed by the Ministry of Transport & Communications and the national railway’s passenger division LTG Link. The public service obligation operating agreement running for ...
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News€353m Rail Baltica grant agreement signed
EUROPE: A grant agreement which will see the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility provide €353·9m for the Rail Baltica project has been signed by the European Climate, Infrastructure & Environment Executive Agency, ministries from the three countries and tri-national implementation agency RB Rail. This will fund the ...
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In depthViewpoint: Institutional fragmentation has undermined Rail Baltica
On paper Rail Baltica is a perfect match for the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility programme. But three issues need to be addressed, argues Kaspars Briškens, who recently stepped down as Head of Strategy & Development at the standard gauge railway project.
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NewsAmber Train links the Baltic States to western Europe
EUROPE: A trial Amber Train service between the Baltic States left the Estonian port of Muuga on September 13, arriving the following day at Kaunas in Lithuanian where its load of semi-trailers was transferred to 1 435 mm gauge wagons for onward transport to destinations including ...
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NewsRail Baltica shadow operator appointed
EUROPE: A joint venture of the German national railway’s DB Engineering & Consulting business, Spanish national operator RENFE Operadora and consultancy Ineco is to act as shadow operator for the Rail Baltica project. The €8m contract was signed by Rail Baltica project promoter RB Rail and ...
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NewsLTG Cargo signs Kazakh co-operation agreements
INTERNATIONAL: The Lithuanian national railway’s freight business LTG Cargo has signed its first co-operation agreements in Kazakhstan, as part of its strategy of expanding, diversifying and developing routes between Asia and Europe which avoid Russia. A co-operation agreement with the KTZ Express intermodal subsidiary of Kazakhstan’s ...
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NewsLTG Cargo Ukraine reopens to offer freight routes via Poland
UKRAINE: The LTG Cargo Ukraine subsidiary of Lithuania’s national railway has restarted its activities, noting that there has been a significant increase in demand for the export of grain and other products from Ukraine. LTG Cargo Ukraine temporarily suspended operations in March following the Russian invasion. ...
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NewsRail Baltica electrification procurement begins
EUROPE: Rail Baltica project promoter RB Rail has begun procurement of the electrification systems for the future standard gauge line between Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, saying it will be the largest railway electrification scheme in Europe to be implemented as a single project. The energy ...
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NewsRail Baltica route to the Polish border selected
LITHUANIA: The Ministry of Transport & Communications has selected its preferred route for the Polish border to Kaunas (Jiesia) section of the future 1 435 mm gauge Rail Baltica corridor. Four options had been studied by a joint venture of Sweco Lietuva and DB Engineering & ...
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NewsBusiness opportunities as Rail Baltica looks 150 years ahead
EUROPE: ‘What will this look like in 150 years?’ is a question being asked by Rail Baltica project promoter RB Rail, which sees the greenfield construction project as offering opportunities to take a very long-term view of where rail technology is heading, and to apply best ...
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NewsLithuania rethinks freight flows to bypass Belarus
EUROPE: Lithuania’s national freight operator LTG Cargo has sent a pilot container train to Ukraine via Poland, avoiding Belarus because of that country’s support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. LTG Cargo said the return working would be the first time in its history that freight ...
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NewsInvasion of Ukraine ‘has increased the geopolitical relevance of Rail Baltica’
EUROPE: ‘The Russian invasion of Ukraine reaffirms the need to connect the Baltic states to the rest of Europe’, said Catherine Trautmann, the European Commission’s co-ordinator for the North Sea – Baltic TEN-T corridor, on April 13, when Rail Baltica project promoter RB Rail set out ...