What Is Putin’s Attitude To Rail Baltica?
Rail Baltica is a railway that the EU is building between Warsaw in Poland and Helsinki in Finland.
This is the first paragraph of the railway’s Wikipedia entry, which gives an outline of the route.
Rail Baltica is an under-construction rail infrastructure project that is intended to integrate the Baltic states in the European rail network. The project envisages a continuous rail link for passenger and freight services with stations from Tallinn (Estonia) to Warsaw (Poland), via Pärnu (Estonia), Riga (Latvia) and Kaunas (Lithuania), with two branches extending from the main line towards Riga International Airport and Vilnius (Lithuania). Its total length in the Baltic states is 870 kilometres (540 mi), with 213 kilometres (132 mi) in Estonia, 265 kilometres (165 mi) in Latvia, and 392 kilometres (244 mi) in Lithuania.
The second paragraph explains the history of the railway gauge in the area
Rail Baltica will build the first large-scale mainline standard gauge railway in the region. Rail networks in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania mainly use Russian gauge (1,520 mm). These countries’ first railways were built in the second half of the 19th century as part of the Russian Empire rail network. While some railways were built or converted to narrow or standard gauge in the Interwar period between World War I and World War II in the independent or German-occupied Baltic states, these were later converted back to Russian gauge under Soviet occupation rule after 1945.
The Russians do seem to be protective of their gauge.
The third paragraph gives the current status of the project.
As of 2025, the completion of the phase 1 single-track railway from Tallinn through Latvia (Riga) to the Lithuania-Poland border is scheduled for 2030, with completion of the double track railway to follow dependent on funding. Rail Baltica is one of the priority projects of the European Union (EU). It is part of the North Sea–Baltic Corridor of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T) and it is also intended as a catalyst for building the economic corridor in Northeastern Europe. It has also been proposed to extend Rail Baltica to include an undersea railway tunnel between Tallinn and Helsinki. By 2024, the estimated cost of the project had increased from €5.8 billion in 2017 to €23.8 billion (at 2023 prices).
These are some characteristics of the railway.
Terminals: Warsaw and Helsinki.
Countries Served: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland
Intermediate Stations: 8.
Electrification: 25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead line.
Operating Speed: Passenger – 145 mph.
Freight – 75 mph.
Signalling: ERTMS – L2
Putin’s Attitude To Rail Baltica
Although, I can’t talk to Putin about this, I’m sure Google AI can give us a good idea.
I asked Google AI,”What Is Putin’s Attitude To Rail Baltica?” and received this answer.
Vladimir Putin’s attitude toward Rail Baltica is one of deep hostility, viewing the 500-mile high-speed railway as a strategic, military, and infrastructural threat to Russian influence in the region.
The project, which aims to integrate the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) with the European rail network, is seen by Moscow as an effort to sever ties with the former Soviet bloc and solidify NATO’s presence on Russia’s border.
Key Aspects of Putin’s Opposition:
Military Threat Assessment: The Kremlin views Rail Baltica not just as a civilian project, but as a crucial logistical tool for NATO to swiftly transport troops and equipment to the Baltic region, strengthening the “eastern flank” that Russia challenges.
Destabilizing Russian Sphere of Influence: Moscow perceives the integration of the Baltic States into the European infrastructure system as a direct challenge to its influence and an “imperial project” aiming to detach them further from the post-Soviet space, which Putin seeks to keep within Russia’s sphere of influence.
“Putin-Proofing” the Baltics: The project is explicitly recognized by Baltic officials as a way to “Putin-proof” their countries against Russian aggression by reinforcing their security and economic autonomy, a move the Kremlin strongly opposes.
Infrastructure Isolation: The project enables the Baltic States to shift away from the Russian gauge track (1520mm) to the European standard (1435mm), decreasing their dependency on Russian logistical infrastructure.
While the Russian state has not issued daily commentary on the railway, its overarching aggressive posture toward the Baltics, including threats to Lithuania over transit to the exclave of Kaliningrad and the use of hybrid operations in the region, indicates a fundamental opposition to projects that deepen Western integration, such as Rail Baltica.
Klaipėda – Kyiv Rail Freight Plan
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
These two paragraphs give more details.
Lithuania’s national train operator LTG Group and Ukrainian Railways have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop an intermodal freight service from the Baltic port of Klaipėda to Kyiv via Poland.
Test runs are planned for this year, ahead of regular services.
I have some thoughts.
The Route
This Google Map shows the route.
Note.
- Russia is in the North-East corner of the map, with Moscow clearly marked.
- Lithuania is in the North-West corner of the map.
- Klaipėda is on the Lithuanian coast.
- South-West of Lithuania is the Kaliningrad enclave, which is part of Russia.
- South of the Kaliningrad enclave is Poland, where Gdansk, Warsaw and Krakow are clearly marked.
- Belarus is in the middle of the map, with Minsk clearly marked.
- Ukraine is South of Russia and Belarus and East of Poland.
- Dnipro, Kharkiv, Kyiv and Lyiv in Ukraine are clearly marked.
It looks to me, that a possible route would be along the Eastern Polish Border avoiding both Belarus and the Kaliningrad enclave.
The Gauges
This Google Map shows the gauges between Klaipėda and Kyiv.
Note.
- Black tracks are Standard gauge of 1435 mm.
- Red tracks are Russian gauge of 1520 mm.
- Klaipėda is on the Lithuanian coast in the North-West corner of the map.
- Kviv is in the South-East corner of the map.
It looks to me, that although Lithuania and Ukraine are Russian gauge, the routes through Poland could be standard gauge.
So there may be a need for some rolling stock, that can run on both Russian and Polish gauges.
This article on Railway Gazette is entitled Ukrainian Railways Produces Cross-Border Grain Wagon.
These two paragraphs describe the wagons.
National railway Ukrzaliznytsia has used mostly domestic components to produce a grain hopper wagon which can operate on both the former USSR’s 1 520 mm broad gauge and the 1 435 mm standard gauge of neighbouring EU countries.
The Type 19-8005-U wagon has a capacity of 70 tonnes and 104 m3, with five loading and six unloading hatches. It is designed for operation at up to 120 km/h.
The wagon certainly looks professional in the pictures.
I don’t think that dual-gauge wagons for containers will be a serious engineering problem for the Ukrainians.
Rail Baltica
The Wikipedia entry for Rail Baltica has this introduction.
Rail Baltica is an under-construction rail infrastructure project that is intended to integrate the Baltic states in the European rail network. Its purpose is to provide passenger and freight service between participating countries and improve rail connections between Central and Northern Europe, specifically the area southeast of the Baltic Sea.
Note.
- As it is an EU-funded project, it is being built as standard gauge.
- It is being built with operating speeds of 145 mph for passengers and 75 mph for freight trains.
- There will be comprehensive connections to airports, freight terminals and major conurbations.
This page on the Rail Baltica web site has an interactive map of Rail Baltica.
It is thought that Putin is not pleased about Rail Baltica, as his extensive fleet of rail transporters for tanks and other military vehicles, are now built for the wrong gauge to invade the Baltic States.
Putin And Dual-Gauge Tracks And Wagons
As they could be used to bring war-related imports to Kyiv, I suspect Vlad the Genocider is against them.
How Will Ukraine Protect The Trains?
Consider.
- Being West of Kyiv will help.
- I suspect the UK have a few ideas for camouflage.
- Will a few brave Ukrainians ride the trains, with a sophisticated train protection missile?
- Drones probably won’t be as effective as ground attack aircraft at attacking trains.
I do suspect though that the Ukrainians have a plan.
Conclusion
This is going to be an interesting development.
Containerised Coal Overcomes The Break-Of-Gauge
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Railway Gazette.
Innofreight containers are being transferred from broad to standard gauge trains as part of a through journey for the first time.
Russia’s attack on Ukraine has forced Poland to seek alternatives to Russian coal, but Polish ports have limited capacity to handle the required volumes.
As a result, coal is being imported via the Lithuanian port of Klaipėda. LTG Cargo’s 1 520 mm gauge trains are loaded with 60 Innofreight MonTainer XXL bulk goods containers of coal for transport to Kaunas or Šeštokai, where the containers are transferred to 15 standard gauge InnoWagons for onward transport to Braniewo in Poland.
It sounds like a simple solution, with advantages.
Innofreight says that this is faster than discharging the coal from one train and reloading it onto another, and also avoids creating dust.
On their home page, Innofreight describe themselves like this.
The focus of our corporate activity is the development of innovative wagons, containers and unloading systems for and in cooperation with our customers.
Certainly after the war in Ukraine is finished, there should be a large market for dual-gauge systems like that being used to get coal to Poland.
Amber Train Links The Baltic States To Western Europe
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.
These paragraphs outline the freight link.
A trial Amber Train service between the Baltic States left the Estonian port of Muuga on September 13, arriving the following day at Kaunas in Lithuanian where its load of semi-trailers was transferred to 1 435 mm gauge wagons for onward transport to destinations including France and the Netherlands.
The 1 520 mm gauge wagons returned to Muuga with trailers for onward sea transport to Finland.
This Google Map shows the Estonian port of Muuga Harbour.
Note.
- Muuga Harbour is the largest cargo port in Estonia, located on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, 17 kilometres (11 mi) northeast of the capital Tallinn
- It is one of the few ice-free ports in northernmost Europe and one of the most modern ports in the Baltic Sea region.
- Enlarging the picture shows a lot of rail lines.
It looks like Muuga Harbour is an ideal Northern terminus for the Amber Train freight service.
This Google Map shows the area of the Kaunus Intermodal Terminal.
Note.
- The railway runs diagonally across the map.
- Estonia is to the North-East.
- Poland is to the South-West.
This map shows how the different gauges are used in the North-East of the previous map.
Note.
- Standard gauge tracks are shown in black.
- Russian gauge tracks are shown in red.
- The standard gauge track ends in the North-East corner of the map.
Trucks would probably moved between trains on parallel tracks in this freight terminal.
It appears to be a very simple way to run piggy-back trains of trucks between The Baltic States and Finland and Central and Western Europe.
Rail Baltica
According to Wikipedia, the location for the Kaunas Intermodal Terminal was chosen as it is compatible with the route of Rail Baltica, which will create a new standard gauge route between Kaunas and Tallinn in Estonia.
The Amber Train
The Amber Train has an impressive web site, where this is said on the home page.
Amber Train is a joint project of the national railways of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. It is an excellent example of cooperation, that offers road and railway clients convenient and efficient freight logistics.
Amber Train is an intermodal train, which runs on the route Šeštokai / Kaunas – Riga – Talinn, thus connecting the three Baltic States by railways and opening new business opportunities for freight shippers.
Exclusivity of the project is the connection of Western and North Europe, using the unique Šeštokai and Kaunas intermodal terminals, which enable the transshipment of freight from the European gauge to the 1520 mm gauge and vice versa.
The train is planned to run 2 times per week (with a future perspective to run up to 4 times per week), delivery time is 24 hours. Train length – up to 43 container wagons.
It is planned, that already in 2021 customers will be offered the opportunity to transport semi-trailers by railways via all three Baltic States. For this purpose, special “pocket” wagons are already in production.
Operations are managed by AB LTG Cargo (Part of Lithuanian Railways group), Latvia’s LDZ Loģistika and Estonia’s Operail.
It appears to be a well-thought out service.
A few years ago, I was on the roads of North-East Poland, about a hundred miles South of Kaunas.
These roads were crowded with large trucks going between The Baltic States and Finland and Central and Western Europe.
I suspect that once the Amber Train is fully established, a proportion of these trucks will go by rail.
The Anonymous Widower 