A train line running from Tallinn to Vilnius via Tartu and Riga will be launched on Monday, the regional newspaper Vooremaa has reported.
The last time that it was possible to travel directly by train from Tallinn to Latvia and Lithuania was in 1998, when the Baltic Express line was available. Once the service ceased, there were failed attempts to relaunch it. In November of last year, however, operators in all three countries agreed on harmonising their schedules so as to enable travel among the three countries once again.
The new connection will involve two transfers. The services will be offered from January 6, and they will offer further harmonisation of schedules for passengers from southern and central Estonia. It remains uncertain, however, how many people will be interested in this. People starting out in Jogeva will be able to board a train that will depart at 12:11 and travel to Valga, arriving in the border town at 1:54 PM. From there, passengers can transfer to a train bound for Riga. It will depart at 2:11 PM.
Latvia’s rail infrastructure is such that it takes around 2.5 hours to travel 150 kilometres. After a quick transfer in Riga, passengers an board a train to Vilnius that departs at 4:55 PM, arriving a few minutes after 9:00 PM. It is true that exploration of the capital cities will have to be done during the next day because of the late arrivals. This will necessitate overnight accommodations.
The return journey will start in Vilnius at 7:05 AM, arriving in Riga four hours later. The Valga train will depart at 11:16 AM and arrive at 1:51 PM. A short wait in the border town will lead to a train run by the Estonian state-owned passenger train operator Elron. It will depart at 2:10 PM, and passengers will arrive in Jogeva at 3:50 PM.
In both directions, the trip from one capital to the other will take around nine hours. Elron believes that there are historical economic ties among the three countries, so the new train line using the same infrastructure should further improve the situation in comparison to existing options.
Elron is also preparing a direct line from Tartu to Riga that is to be launched in the second half of 2025. Critics of this idea can be told that plenty of train enthusiasts enjoy their journey. From Vilnius, passengers can travel all over Europe, including Warsaw, Krakow and other European cities.
For the time being, the trips will involve two transfers, which means that passengers will have to buy their tickets from each operator’s Website or aboard the train. Work is being done to create a unified ticketing solution for the entire route.
Source: BNS
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