[FI/EE/LV/LT/PL] Helsinki - Warszawa via the Baltic States

[AlbertBeale]

Hi, I'd appreciate if this post stays in the International Transport section - and not Trip Reports.

Well, I took the chance and rode the all-new direct international train from Vilnius to Riga.
That train was only recently inaugurated - on December 27, 2023.
With this train it is now possible to reach Latvia and Estonia by rail.
Before the pandemic a rail connection between Lithuania and Latvia only existed via Russia.

If you mean recent years pre-pandemic - that's true. But historically, for literally generations until the 1990s, there were through services Tallinn-Riga-Vilnius (some at least of which continued as a through service to Warsaw). I used the direct Tallinn-Warsaw connection myself in the years after the breakup of the USSR; the connection existed during pre-Soviet, Soviet, and (for a while) post-Soviet eras. But this service linking the three Baltic states stopped after the three countries joined the EU during the 1990s.

 

[Cloud Strife]

But this service linking the three Baltic states stopped after the three countries joined the EU during the 1990s.

Just a small point: they didn't join until 2004. What killed the rail service were the improvements to the Via Baltica in the 1990s, especially the building of various bypasses. The train simply wasn't competitive against buses, especially as some corridors like Tallinn-Riga quickly embraced modern coaches.

 

[doc7austin]

Yes, I think I was already sleep-walking last night, when I was writing my text.

Riga and Vilnius was connected from Sept 2018 to February 2020 by the Ukrainian Railways sleeper train "Four Capitals Express" Kyiv-Minsk-Vilnius-Riga.
The pandemic killed that train.

And yes, one could ride the Russian sleeper train Kaliningrad-St. Petersburg train from Vilnius to Daugavpils. And from Daugavpils to Riga one could connect to the "Latvias Express" train Moscow-Riga. I remember due to the pandemic Latvia and Lithuania did not allow passengers entering/exiting the Russian transit trains on their territory.

However, the Kaliningrad-St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad-Moscow trains still operate today. They also stop in Vilnius, but it's just a technical stop.

 

[dutchflyer]

Did this trip by train in the classic Russky/Soviet style with platskart and spalny=sleeper in my first trip across the 3 then very new formed Baltic states-when we even still had to pay DEM for a combined entry visa and when all 3 had their own newly formed valuta. That connection indeed did not last very long-I kind of remember there were maybe 3-4 pax in the whole sleeper and all were foreigners taking the chance to visit a then easy to enter piece of old Soviet ''ostalgia''.
Nice report-good to see its possible again on the rails.
And yes- even with many coaches starting in Germany or even further west, they jhave grabbed all traffic from/via PL=POland and onward toard the ferry to HELsinki. Just read one of these links no even goes on a ferry to FInland

 

[jamesontheroad]

Thanks for the video and photos. I hope to take the train north to south in February or March.

 

[AlbertBeale]

Just a small point: they didn't join until 2004. What killed the rail service were the improvements to the Via Baltica in the 1990s, especially the building of various bypasses. The train simply wasn't competitive against buses, especially as some corridors like Tallinn-Riga quickly embraced modern coaches.

Yes - sorry - in the early years post-USSR the Baltic states quickly set up trading agreements with the EU and then got an Association status (and hence came under a lot of EU influence) - but formal accession wasn't until the 2000s, as you say. However, one point is that the EU were happy to help fund road improvements, but not rail improvements, which relates to the point I was making. Early EU support and "guidance" - even pre-membership - was relevant to the switch from rail.

 

[duesselmartin]

thank you for those impressions. How did the PESA trains fair? I often find them rather noisy and pleasant for longer journey.
Good to see that trans-Baltic is possible now.

 

[doc7austin]

My opinion:

The trends are shifting.
But in many former Warsaw Pact states we could see the following behaviour by its people in the 1990s and 2000s.

Cars and new buses are cool.
Trains are old and Soviet.

That's why the railways were literally thrown under the bus.

 

[AlbertBeale]

My opinion:

The trends are shifting.
But in many former Warsaw Pact states we could see the following behaviour by its people in the 1990s and 2000s.

Cars and new buses are cool.
Trains are old and Soviet.

That's why the railways were literally thrown under the bus.

That's true. But not just by the people - this trend was encouraged by the corporate interests and ideology common at the centre of the EU system.

 

[doc7austin]

As I stated in my video -> the new LTG Link Vilnius - Riga is an absolute novum for the Baltic States.
In former times a direct connection between Vilnius and Riga was in many years possible by taking a long distance sleeper train, which served this route (e.g. Kyiv-Riga or Riga-Truskavets).

But the idea of an Intercity-type daytime express train is sth. new.

Passenger trains in the Baltics mainly catered to commuters (around Riga, around Tallinn, around Vilnius/Kaunas).

For Intercity trips the society basically accepted bus travel as the preferred public transport option - or flying Air Baltic.

So, I was travelling from Riga, Latvia to Tallinn, Estonia by train.
There is no direct train connection available.
First I needed to ride a DR1A diesel train (operated by vivi) from Riga to the Latvian/Estonian border town of Valga.




In Valga I caught a Stadler Flirt diesel train (operated by Elron) to Tallinn.




All in all, the journey between Riga and Tallinn encompasses the passenger sitting for more than 6.5 hours on regional trains.
Also there are no online connections available in Valga.

Enjoy !

 

[AlbertBeale]

As I stated in my video -> the new LTG Link Vilnius - Riga is an absolute novum for the Baltic States.
In former times a direct connection between Vilnius and Riga was in many years possible by taking a long distance sleeper train, which served this route (e.g. Kyiv-Riga or Riga-Truskavets).

But the idea of an Intercity-type daytime express train is sth. new.

NB it did used to be possible to get a daytime through service the whole way Tallinn-Riga-Vilnius. (Though it was pretty slow!)

 

[doc7austin]

Currently it is possible to travel from Vilnius (departure at 06:30) to Tallinn (arrival: 21:06) in one day.
Though, that itinerary would involve two changes (17 min in Riga and 3.5 hours in Valga).
This is only works in South-North direction, not the other way around.

I am adding some photos:

First ->

Train: Vivi 874
Route via: Sigulda, Cesis, Valmiera, Lugazi
Railway lines used: Riga - Pskov (Russia) line
Border Latvia/Estonia: Valga (Gr)
Train operator: Vivi Latvija (Pasazieru vilciens)
Scheduled Departure Time from Riga: 11h00 Eastern European Time
Scheduled Arrival Time in Valga: 13h59 EET
Scheduled Travel time (Riga - Valga): 2 hours and 59 minutes
Railway distance (Riga - Valga): 170 km
Diesel multiple unit type: DR1A
Diesel multiple unit registration: DR1A-246.6 and DR1A-198.3
Built by: RVR Rigas Vagonbuves Rupnica, Soviet Union, in 1982


Riga Central Station:


















Border line + marker: Latvia and Estonia:





Valga, border station of Estonia:

 

[AlbertBeale]

Thanks for the pics - brought back some memories of when I was last at Riga station. Though in my case it was a rather different time of year and I bought ice cream during the station stop...

 

[jamesontheroad]

Thanks for all the contributions to this thread.

My original query still stands but an expensive winter of other commitments means I'm delaying the trip a bit. I had planned to travel Umeå - Vaasa - Tampere - Helsinki - Tallinn - Riga - Vilnius - Mockava - ? - Kraków - Vienna - Rome - ? - Sicily, but the new Nightjet pricing debacle means I'm not going to be able to do those two back to back segments through Vienna to Rome.

Since I need to curtail my spending a bit on this one, I'm thinking of keeping the second half of the trip in Poland and Germany, and then looping back through Denmark to Sweden. But the precise details are a bit vague just now.

 

[doc7austin]

Part 2:





We are taking the Elron train from Valga to Tallinn.
Because the connection times in Valga between Vivi and Elron are anything than convenient, I've decided to stay one night in Valga.

The border between Latvia and Estonia is cutting right through the both sister towns of Valka (LV) and Valga (EE).







The station itself was finished by 1889 - with the opening of the Riga-Pskov railway.
However, the station building was completely destroyed during the Great Patriotic War.
German PoWs had to reconstruct the building in 1949.





Valga is served by 6 trains a day:
- 3 Elron express trains to Tallinn via Tartu
- 1 Elron local train to Tartu
- 2 Vivi international trains to Riga, Latvia





Elron has modernized its fleet. Today, 38 Stadler flirt diesel and electric multiple units cover the entire Estonian rail network. None of them crosses any border.





First Class ticket costs EUR 24. Second Class EUR 19.
A First Class tickets comes with a free seat reservation and seating in a 2-2 configuration.





Second Class features a tighter 2-3 configuration. Albeit the wider Russian broad gauge of 1,520 makes this config more comfortable.





The Elron network is heavily focused on commuter traffic around Tallinn.



Scheduled Departure Time from Valga: 11h52 Eastern European Time
Scheduled Arrival Time in Tallinn: 15h26 EET
Scheduled Travel time (Valga - Tallinn): 3 hours and 34 minutes
Railway distance (Valga - Tallinn): 276 km






Only one toilet is available for this 4-car long train.





Diesel motors are located in the middle of the train.





Stopping half-way in Tartu:





Arrival in Tallinn Balti Jaam:









Enjoy !