LG loco ER20 023 seen at Kédainiai working Train 15, the 07.30 Vilnius - Klaipėda on February 26.
CHARLES HINTON
LITHUANIAN rail passenger operator LTG Link is using previously freight-only Siemens ‘Eurorunner’ six axle Class ER20 diesel locos to work passenger trains between Vilnius and Klaipėda.
However, the line is being electrified and few trains are running at all with most services currently DMUs. Loco hauled trains are currently limited to Sundays only, when train 15 – the 07.30 from Vilnius – and train 18 – the 12.45 from Klaipeda – are worked by a loco and former Soviet Railways coaches. It is likely a Fridaysonly loco-hauled train pair will also operate from later in 2023.
LTG Link started using the ER20 diesel locos, owned by parent company state railway Lietuvos Geležinkeliai, in mid-2021 due to the loss of potash freight traffic from Belarus which initially was taken over by competitor rail freight operator Gargzu Gelezinkelis and has since ceased altogether following Belarus aiding the Russian invasion of Ukraine.