Starting from 27 December 2023, a new daily passenger train service started on the route Vilnius – Kaišiadorys – Siauliai – Joniškis – Jel- gava – Riga and in the opposite direction. The new route immediately aroused great interest among passengers, who managed to purchase more than 2000 tickets on the Vilnius-Riga route just a few days before the first train departure.

Onboard the first train of the passenger trans- port company LTG Link (part of the LTG Group) were Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania Ingrida Šimonytė and Minister of Transport and Communications Marius Skuodis, who upon arrival from Vilnius to Riga were met by Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia Evika Siliņa and Minister of Transport Kaspars Briškens.

The ceremony was also attended by the heads of the Lithuanian Railways JSC (AB “Lietuvos geležinkeliai“ – LTG Group) and the “Latvian Railways” SJSC (VAS “Latvijas dzelzceļš” – LDz). “Rail services are experiencing a renaissance across Europe. In our region, the importance of the railway as the main mode of transport also becomes obvious. Together with the entire LTG Group team, we are constantly looking for the solutions to achieve progress in the field of mobility, and this new direction is one of the examples. From today, the capital of Latvia will be accessible even more environmentally, simply and, which is no less importantly, on a daily basis. We hope that this destination will be discovered by as many train passengers as possible – to travel safely on vacation or to work with comfort and make new discoveries,” said LTG Group CEO Egidijus Lazauskas.

The trip from Vilnius to Riga is convenient for all categories of passengers, including the people with individual needs and disabilities. It takes on average 4 hours 15 minutes, and the ticket prices are low, so the new service is competitive as compared to the road transport.

The train passengers will also be able to transport bicycles (with a pre-purchase service for 10 euros) and hand luggage.

Like on domestic routes in Lithuania, it will be possible to come to Riga with pets: it is enough to have a valid European animal passport and comply with sanitary and hygienic requirements. Small pets carried in special bags will be transported free of charge, while larger pets will be transported for a flat fee of 5 euros. Pas- sengers will be able to order snacks and drinks on the train.

The Lithuanian and Latvian train drivers change each other at the Jelgava station when boarding/disembarking of passengers is in progress, which saves the en-route time. When traveling through the territory of Lithuania, the train has two conductors, while on the route Jelgava – Riga they are joined by another conductor who speaks Latvian: in Lithuania, customers will be served in Lithuanian and English languages, and in Latvia (on the route Jelgava – Riga) – in Latvian.

From Vilnius the train departs daily at 06:30 am and arrives at Riga Central Station at 10:43 am. From Riga to Vilnius the train departs daily at 15:28, arriving in Vilnius at 19:51.

This route is primarily aimed at ensuring sustainable mobility in international passenger traffic, and its possible extension to Tallinn depends on mutual agreements between the Latvian and Estonian railway administrations.