Warsaw - Vilnius train service 2021...

Until 2005 there was a direct overnight sleeper train from Warsaw to Vilnius called the Balti 3 times a week, but Polish Railways sadly withdrew this train.  There remained a comfortable daily daytime train linking Warsaw with Kaunas & Vilnius, with a simple change of trains at Sestokai on the Polish/Lithuanian frontier, where Polish standard gauge met Lithuanian 5' track gauge.  This service then got temporarily cancelled in 2013 while the Rail Baltica project dug up the tracks. 

However, in June 2016 a cross-border Bialystok-Kaunas train started running over the new standard gauge Rail Baltica line, initially only at weekends, but in 2021 this becomes daily.  Using this, you can now once more travel by train between Warsaw and Vilnius in comfort as shown below.  The Rail Baltica project will ultimately provide a 200km/h standard gauge railway linking Warsaw, Lithuania, Latvia & Estonia.

On other pages:   Vilnius - Riga    Riga - Tallinn

* = Until 13 March, you leave at 14:05 from Warsaw Centralna.  From 14 March, the Intercity switches to Warsaw Gdanska, leaving 13:59 as shown.

** = Until 13 March, connection leaves Bialystok at 13:50 arriving Warsaw Centralna at 16:10.

*** = A regular train service links Kaunas & Vilnius in 1h30, check times at www.traukiniobilietas.lt.  It may be necessary to stay overnight in Kaunas.

Check Warsaw-Bialystok times for your date of travel at www.intercity.pl.  Check Bialystok-Kaunas & Kaunas-Vilnius times at www.traukiniobilietas.lt.

Remember that Lithuanian time is 1 hour ahead of Polish time.  This service does not pass through any part of Belarus!

How to buy tickets...

• You can pre-book the Warsaw-Bialystok trains at www.intercity.pl and print your own ticket.

• You can easily buy the Bialystok-Kaunas ticket at the station in Bialystok, tickets always available, or you can buy online to save time at the Lithuanian Railways website www.traukiniobilietas.lt.  Change LT to EN for English at top right.  You print your own ticket.

• You can easily buy a Kaunas-Vilnius ticket at the station in Kaunas or you can buy online to save time at www.traukiniobilietas.lt.  Change LT to EN for English at top right.  You print your own ticket.

The bus alternative...

The alternative to this comfortable train service is 10 hours in a bus.  Several bus companies operate between Warsaw & Vilnius including Ecolines and Infobus, you can easily check times and prices and buy tickets for both companies at Omio.com (formerly GoEuro.com).

What are the trains like?

1. Warsaw to Bialystok by Intercity train...

The Intercity train is modern & air-conditioned with 1st & 2nd class seats, a bistro-bar & free WiFi.  All tickets come with a reserved seat.  If you want to be pedantic, these photos show an Intercity train of the Stadler type, those on the Warsaw-Bialystok route are the Pesa type, but interiors are almost identical - if you get photos of the Pesa train on this route, please let me know!

Intercity train at Krakow Glowny...		2nd class, most seats unidirectional, some tables for 4.

1st class seats...  Photos courtesy of DiscoverByRail.com.		Bistro-bar, run by caterers WARS...

2. Bialystok to Kaunas by regional train...

The Bialystok to Kaunas train is a modern and air-conditioned regional train.  It's 2nd class only and there's no catering, so bring your own food & drink.

At Bialystok station, the all-electric Intercity train from Warsaw has arrived on the right, the connecting train to Kaunas in Lithuania is on the left.  Courtesy of Joerg Schmidt.

The Bialystok to Kaunas train (above) is modern and air-conditioned.  It's 2nd class only, there's no catering so bring your own food & drink.  Photos courtesy of @zugreiseblog

3. Kaunas to Vilnius by Lithuanian train...

The Kaunas to Vilnius train is modern, air-conditioned and double-deck.  There's no catering, so bring your own food & drink.

Above left, 1st class seats on the upper deck.  Photos courtesy of @zugreiseblog

Vilnius station.  Photo courtesy of Yuk Wah Chu

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