It will be another year that a Christmas train will take to the tracks in Lithuania. Lithuanian Railways will launch decorated trainsets that will run on three routes, one of which leads towards Poland
The Christmas train will go on the tracks for the third time and passengers will be able to use it until 7 January 2024. The specially decorated trainsets will run on the routes Vilnius-Claipeda, Vilnius-Kaunas, Vilnius-Troki and Vilnius-Mockava. The latter station is located near the border with Poland, and the depot is connected to a PKP Intercity train already going to Poland
This year we can say with certainty that the Christmas trains, which are very popular with passengers, are already becoming a tradition. (…) As every year, as part of the initiative, we will invite you to travel on trains decorated with Eastern Express motifs or Christmas stories,” says Dovilė Aleksandravičienė, Business Development and Marketing Director of LTG Link
Trains on the route to Mockava station will run until 26 December, slightly longer decorated trainsets will run on inland routes. It is likely that the Christmas train will be diverted to the new Vilnius-Riga route on 27 December
Introduced last year, the new route, which appeared after a break of almost ten years, was very popular. Polish residents coming to Vilnius usually spend at least two days here, during which they visit the most popular tourist attractions and taste the local cuisine. Poles are also interested in new attractions that have not yet been discovered for them, e.g. Robert Makłowicz, a well-known Polish culinary and travel journalist, who visited Vilnius last year, visited the Paupia district, the Senatorial Passage and Lukiszki Prison. In nine months of this year, Vilnius has already been visited by approx. 80 thousand tourists from Poland. The possibility to come to Vilnius by train significantly contributes to the promotion of inbound tourism and helps to use the existing tourism potential of the neighbouring country,” says V. Daubarienė, Head of Tourism Department of Go Vilnius
The Lithuanian national carrier reports that in the last two years, festive trains have transported more than 74,000 people. Travellers are attracted by the unusual decoration of the trainsets, which are decorated with patterns and lighting inspired by the decor of trains from the early 20th century. The trains will be decorated with maroon elements and vintage items (suitcases) and plants with Christmas themes. The latter will be taken care of by florist and decorator M. Petruškevičius
The cost of travelling on the Christmas train is the same as on standard trains. Trains can be found at www.ltglink.lt. When looking for a connection on a particular route, the search engine will display a designation in the form of a Christmas tree – this way it will be possible to choose a seat in the section with a Christmas tree. Tickets for the Christmas trains must be bought in advance. They will not be available for purchase from the conductor
The Christmas train on the Vilnius-Kaunas route will travel three times in one direction and three times in the other direction. From Vilnius to Klaipėda it will go once in one direction and once in the other, similarly on the route towards the Polish border
photo: Leonardas Borotinskas
source: Lithuanian Railways(www.ltglink.lt)
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