OVERLAND FROM WARSAW TO RIGA

Due to time constraints I had to fly from London to Warsaw – a journey that was almost ruined due to failures of the railway infrastructure in the UK. Upon arrival in Farringdon, I found out that there were no Elizabeth line trains beyond Paddington for at least an hour due to signal failures. Then at Paddington, for the same reason there were no Heathrow Express trains for at least an hour. The only other rail alternative was to go to Earls Court for the very slow Piccadilly Line service, which was also subject to severe delays. So as to not miss the flight, I had to fork-out about £100 for the taxi to Heathrow. After checking-in, I then found out that the flight had just been delayed by an hour. After all that, I was pleased to find that during the next 2+ weeks all my trains, buses and trams in Poland, Lithuania and Latvia ran on time. I attended the European Passenger Confederation (EPF) conference in Warsaw, where the introduction to the conference explained how several other delegates had suffered delays getting to Brussels Airport and had also missed their flights due to problems on the Belgian Rail Network. At the end of the conference our Polish colleagues took us on a very interesting tour of the Warsaw Public Transport system.

Warsaw has a very comprehensive public transport network, which has seen considerable investment and expansion in recent years. Trams, buses, metro and suburban rail are very well integrated. There are 2 metro lines with a further one now planned. Most of the trams are fairly new, with less and less of the older “soviet style” trams in service. Contruction is due to start on a new orbital rail link around the West of the City. This will link in with heavy rail at the brand new re-built and expanded suburban station at Warsaw Zachodnia station west of the City Centre.

I then took the once daily PKP Intercity service to the Lithuanian border station at Mockava, where you have to change onto a modern Lithuanian DMU due to different gauges in the former Soviet Union countries. This is also the border that separates the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad from Belarus and Russia. Before you reach this border station on the “Suwalki Gap”, your mobile phone will ping with a message warning you not to go anywhere the border area which is heavily fortified and militarised Polish train is a proper Intercity service with a restaurant car as far Suwalki where the train reverses. The line is being fully modernised and electrified as part of the Rail Baltica project, which will eventually provide a fast train service between the 4 capital cities of Warsaw, Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn.

Most trains in Lithuania are modern DMUS and EMUS and a few Loco-Hauled trains for “Seaside Specials” in the summer season. As well as construction of the new Rail Baltica high-speed line the rest of the network is being steadily modernised and electrified. Vilnius has a good public transport network using buses and trolleybuses and a flat fare of 1 Euro. Although I did not have time to visit, there is a small railway museum attached to the station. A new direct train service between Vilnius and Riga was finally launched in 2024, although this was not much use as I planned to take the train west to the coast at Klaipeda. It was easy to do day trips from Vilnius to Kaunas and Trakai, when I noticed stored in the sidings maybe a hundred or so former Soviet diesel engines. The one part of my journey that was not so comfortable was from Klaipeda to Riga in Latvia as there was no rail alternative. Information at the bus station suggested around 6 to 8 daily departures on a long-distance coach. To my disappointment, when the time came, it was a rather cramped 4 and a half-hour journey in a mini-bus, at least there was one 15-minute break along the way.

Arriving in Riga, the first thing I noticed was that it was a larger city than Vilnius and had more rather derelict and run-down buildings from the Soviet era. The second thing I noticed was signs of the new Rail Baltica Line being built next to the main station. The city is well served by a comprehensive tram and bus network and is famous for a lot of “modernist architecture” built around the beginning of the 20th century. There is also a Railway Museum worth visiting on the opposite side of the river from the main station. Compared to Lithuania, Latvia has only just begun to take delivery of modern rolling stock. Many of the local train services are still provided by modernised Soviet-style Diesel Multiple Units. During my stay in Riga, I made 2 separate day trips – one to the coast on a new EMU to Jurmala and another on a DMU to Sigulda to one of the National Parks.

On the way to Riga airport for my return flight to London Gatwick I noticed further signs of construction for the new Rail Baltica line. Here it will also serve the airport via a link from Riga City.