hkchemsir
Traveller
3 comments
Posted 10 years ago
Hi Peter,
Happy New Year 2014.
I just come across some forum, it said that the Rail Baltic is under construction.
Do you know when it will be completed?
My family are planning to visit the Baltic countries in the coming summer. Can you give me some advice that travelling by train or bus thought these 3 countries?
Thanks.
Gavin
nltrainer
Traveller
1404 comments
no-and anyway, though some sections are now being treated/rebuilt, it will take many, many more years before the whole thing is finished, if at all. there simply is not that much demand for the large streams that heavy rail needs. The main section is in fact in PL-and this is out of use for the time being.
BUS is the main form of travel and has much faster and frequent links, also between the countries and into PL-DE(berlin) as trains. Try LUX-express or eurolines or ecolines. AirBaltic is the main low-cost airline into Riga and Vilnius, also RYAN flies.
In all 3 trains only link the capital with some major towns, infrequent. Unfit for cross-country trips.
BUT in EE=Estonia the whole network was radically reformed on 1/1/14,-new company, brand new trains, brand new times, but no new links, brand new ticketing system. EE is proud to be fully internet-linked, so all trains are with wifi. Other 2 countries mainly run old Soviet dizel-stock-renovated. Neither InterRail nor EUrail is valid in any. Fares are still fairly cheap for wesetrn standards. There is no reservation needed nor possible for domestic. EE and LV now use € as money, LI(thuania) may change over next year and still has litas.