Imagine if trains were nice in the US. Riding Amtrack feels like riding in a 20 year old Pepsi can
Even in a place like Warsaw, Poland the trains are better even though it was completely leveled during World War 2, then under an Communist government that proceeded to nuke the economy for the next 60 years, and still has better trains.
Trains are generally a lot cheaper then the price of fuel for a car, nice and comfortable, and actually on time.
@nothacking @_finger_ Same deal for your cousins over the border in Lithuania.
Here’s some extra details, so our American friends can compare the train services in a less wealthy EU country to Amtrak. (Keep in mind this is nowhere near the level of service you’ll find in countries such as France or Germany.)
You can get a second class ticket on a modern LTGLink train from Vilnius to Kaunas for just €8. That gets you:
“Electrical outlets near some seats, space for bicycles, [on-board toilets], animal-friendly area, air conditioning, non-smoking area. Possibility to buy soft drinks and snacks on Kaunas and Klaipeda routes. When buying a ticket on the Klaipeda route, it is possible to choose a place and seating direction.”
Or in first class (just €11.10 for Vilnius to Kaunas, roughly equivalent to US$12.17) you get this:
“Passengers have free coffee, soft drinks, and snacks. More spacious seating, wider tables, electrical sockets at the seats, fewer seats and passengers around, choice of seat and seat when buying a ticket, space for bicycles, [on-board toilets], air conditioning, silence area, luggage area, non-smoking area.”
Here’s the on-board menu: https://ltglink.lt/en/menu-on-vilnius-klaipeda-vilnius-route
Yes, you can order a hot or cold sandwich, a cappuccino, Belgian waffles, noodles, donuts, Oreos, chips, a Snickers bar, or whatever other snack you want. The train staff bring it to your seat.
The seats are comfortable, like a first-class plane seat but with more leg room. You can use free wi-fi, and charge your phone at your seat.
Services on the Vilnius–Kaunas line run roughly every hour from 4:55am to 9:25pm, and more frequently during peak times during the day.
There’s a train station at Vilnius airport. Just about every trolleybus and bus in Vilnius runs to the main train station, stopping just metres from the front door, and there’s also a coach terminal connecting to smaller towns and villages.
So you can catch a trolleybus from the national Parliament building, a coach from a small village, or a train from the airport, then easily transfer at the main train station to an intercity service to Kaunas or Klaipeda.
And I’d like to remind you that Lithuania’s train system is considered *bad* by European standards.