Lithuania is a small Baltic republic located in the northeast of the European Union. It is located on the Baltic coast, near Latvia, Belarus and the Kaliningrad region. The capital of Lithuania is the city of Vilnius.
The area of Lithuania is 65, 300 square meters. km, and the length is 280 km in the meridional and 370 km in the latitudinal direction. The population is small - only 3 million people. However, this is the largest indicator among the Baltic states. The number of residents is rapidly declining. The population density is 49 people / km 2. The country's GDP is $ 82.5 billion, and GDP per capita is $ 28.4 thousand per year. Lithuania is a member of the UN, EU and NATO. The railway network of Lithuania is relatively small.
Geography of Lithuania
Lithuania is located on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, in the western part of Eurasia. The coastline is 99 km. The terrain is flat, covered with forests and fields. The climate is moderately humid, mild, with cool winters and warm summers.
Lithuanian economy
The Lithuanian economy can be called quite successful. Here, market relations are actively developing. The inflation rate in the country is low (about 1.2%). The national currency used is the euro.
Lithuania has few natural resources of its own and industry and energy are poorly developed. There is a deficit in the balance of services. But, thanks to being in the EU, the country can develop in these conditions. 4/5 of Lithuania's GDP is provided by exports and imports.
Transport system
Lithuania has developed rail, air and water transport. Air transport is represented by four international airports: Kaunas, Vilnius, Siauliai and Palanga.
Sea transport is represented by the port of Klaipeda, which connects Lithuania with most of the major cities on the Baltic Sea.
Lithuanian railway transport
The railway network went to Lithuania from the former Soviet Union. It has a wider track than in Western Europe (1520 mm versus 1435 mm).
The most significant event in the history of railway transport in this country was the launch of the Viking project, in which, in addition to Lithuania, Ukraine and Belarus are also involved. Such a railway connection made it possible to connect the ports of the Baltic, Black, Mediterranean and Caspian Seas.
The Lithuanian section of the Pan-European Rail Railica is now under construction. And the most important in the country's railway system is the section of the Vilnius-Klaipeda railway.
Feature of the Lithuanian railway system
Lithuania has a railway network with a total length of 1950 kilometers. The wide Soviet gauge occupies 1749 kilometers. Moreover, only 122 km of the track are electrified. The European type of railways and narrow gauge railways are much less widespread.
The Lithuanian Railways representative office of Lietuvos Geležinkeliai manages the railway transport. The main focus is on passenger transportation. However, the company hopes to preserve the transportation of goods by the Lithuanian railway, despite competition from the Russian railway.
Due to the small area, suburban rail links prevail. There are 4 depots:
- Locomotive LT-1 Vilnius, LT2 Radviliškis,
- motor-carriage Naujoyi-Vilnia,
- narrow gauge Panevezys.
The latter serves only the tourist and seasonal suburban trains of the Aukstait narrow gauge railway. Such trains run in the summer.
Depot train fleet LT-1 Vilnius
Depot LT-1 Vilnius serves both main diesel locomotives and diesel trains, and rail buses. Diesel trains are represented by one-car and three-car trains, as well as analogues of the Soviet model, obviously older. Both those and others are painted in red-gray tones. Among the new compounds there are also Russian-made products.
Soviet-type diesel trains, there are 10 units, the new Russian RA2 - 4 units. There are also 7 recently purchased 730ML three-car trains.
Depot LT-2 Radviliškis train fleet consists of only two 620M suburban trains.
Depot train park Naujoji Vilnius
Of the compositions of the new sample, the park includes 11 pieces of EJ575. Also, old Soviet electric trains ER9M are attributed to this depot. Gradually they are replaced by new ones, and one became a museum exhibit. Some of them are likely to be transferred to Ukraine. The coloring of all trains is also red and gray.
Total railway units
A total of 15 Lithuanian 620M rail buses, 4 RA2 rail buses, seven three-car 730 ML trains, 11 two-story EJ575 trains, 10 diesel trains DR1A and 2 Soviet electric trains of Riga production ER9M run on Lithuanian railways.
Comfort level
Russians traveling on new diesel trains in Lithuania write about the high level of convenience and comfort in cars. Very comfortable chairs located at a sufficient distance from each other, folding tables, clean bathrooms, a coffee machine and working Internet.
The movement of the train is smooth and quiet, the buildup of cars is not felt.
In first-class cars, it’s even more spacious, the size of the tables is larger. They serve sandwiches, water, tea.
