2026 timetable for Vilnius-Warsaw was introduced in December 2025 and there are a couple of good news:
My trip
I went from Vilnius to Warsaw on the 12th of January and back to Vilnius on the 16th of January, both on the PKP's Wigry service which launched in December 2025 as international service connecting Poland and Lithuania. General impression is that the service (applies to Hancza service as well) is better than before (I took Hańcza service in December 2022) due to shorter travel times, better trains with both LTG and PKP, fewer stops in Poland, especially between Bialystok and Warsaw, faster PKP electric locomotive (EU160 Griffin) on Bialystok-Warsaw section which allows the train to reach 160 km/h as opposed to older EP07 loco which could only go 125 km/h.
Trains and locomotives
Problems
Quite a few problems, in fact. More than there should be. Some of the below might seem like nitpicking than real problems but that's what I noticed and wish it would be fixed one way or another in order to improve general experience.
Final thoughts and recommendations
A few photos taken during both trips Vilnius-Warsaw and back.
LTG Link Pesa 730ML-004 which was used on Vilnius-Mockava service, and PKP Wigry train (pulled by 111Db-001 which isn't seen in this photo) on the right which will take me from Mockava to Warsaw and then continue to Szczecin
2nd class interior LTG's Pesa 730ML. It's not a bad train even for longer journeys. It helps that 2nd class seats are pretty wide and have ample legroom, much more than on the PKP train 2nd class in fact
The kind of food you can expect on the LTG train. There is a choice of sandwiches (heated up on the train), tea/cooffee, instant porridge, noodles and other snacks. It's not what I would describe as being good dining experience on a train but it's sufficient and does the job when hunger and thirst hits
One of the compartments of the PKP train. I generally prefer airline style seating but if the compartment isn't full it might be a better deal in terms of comfort and privacy
Airline style seating in the PKP carriage from Mockava to Warsaw. The carriage seemed freshly renovated but heating was not working for some reason
Legroom in the PKP coach is acceptable but not great
Pesa SU160 Gama (111Db-001) diesel-electric locomotive in Bialystok station. I quite like how they used timber for the roofing
Newag Griffin (EU160-018) electric locomotive which pulled train from Warsaw to Bialystok
Vending machine on PKP Wigry train. That's all food options you can have on this service which I find a bit disappointing
This is all for now.
- Two Vilnius-Warsaw services (with a train change in Mockava) instead of one before the change. Vilnius-Mockava section with LTG Link and Mockava-Krakow (IC142 Hańcza) and Mockava-Szczecin (IC146 Wigry) with PKP Intercity
- New service Vilnius-Suwalki (change of train in Mockava) with LTG Link+PKP Intercity (IC140 Jaćwing)
- Travel time shortened on Vilnius-Warsaw by about 50 minutes to approx 7h and 30min
My trip
I went from Vilnius to Warsaw on the 12th of January and back to Vilnius on the 16th of January, both on the PKP's Wigry service which launched in December 2025 as international service connecting Poland and Lithuania. General impression is that the service (applies to Hancza service as well) is better than before (I took Hańcza service in December 2022) due to shorter travel times, better trains with both LTG and PKP, fewer stops in Poland, especially between Bialystok and Warsaw, faster PKP electric locomotive (EU160 Griffin) on Bialystok-Warsaw section which allows the train to reach 160 km/h as opposed to older EP07 loco which could only go 125 km/h.
Trains and locomotives
- Pesa 730ML DMU on Vilnius-Mockava section
- Loco-hauled train on Mockava-Warsaw section. PKP use diesel-electric Pesa Gama SU160 on Mockava-Bialystok and Newag Griffin EU160 electric loco on Bialystok-Warsaw (and on to Szczecin).
Problems
Quite a few problems, in fact. More than there should be. Some of the below might seem like nitpicking than real problems but that's what I noticed and wish it would be fixed one way or another in order to improve general experience.
- Travel time. 7h 30min travel time is still quite long despite being cut significantly from the original ~9 hours in 2022.
- Service reliability and delays. It doesn't help that trains, especially on the PKP side, are often delayed. I was lucky enough not to experience major delays (maybe +10 minutes or so each way) but my friends who travelled around the same time just a few days apart had their trains delayed by ~1 hour each way resulting in late arrivals to destination which is just bad. Significant delays seem to be a rather common occurrence with PKP Intercity trains, it seems.
- Seat reservation. It's only possible to reserve seats in the PKP train but not LTG Link train which is free seating. It is ok when a train is not busy but when it is, it can be a bit of a hassle to get desired seats, especially for groups of travelers.
- Lack of 1st class tickets. It's not possible to buy a through 1st class ticket despite both LTG and PKP trains having 1st class seats and selling 1st class tickets within their respective sections. It seems to be some kind of ticketing system compatibility issue that they couldn't resolve and just decided not to do 1st class tickets at all which is a pity. Of course there are workarounds such as buying two separate tickets on LTG and PKP services but it's going to be very expensive and just not how it should work, so I won't count it as a real solution.
- Lack of dining carriage. There is no dining carriage or other catering offering on the PKP's Wigry train besides the vending machines which can sell coffee and a few very basic snacks like chocolate bars, mineral water etc. I found this rather strange since Szczecin-Mockava is an 11+ hour service and not having anything better than those sad vending machines is just unacceptable in my opinion.
- Area spanning roughly from Mockava to Bialystok feels like some kind of no mans land: railway is going in zigzags, track quality is mediocre at best, speeds are very low (60-90 km/h) and it just feels very remote and far from any civilization. It's not a problem per se but I thought it's worth mentioning, It's romantic in a way.
- Change in Mockava. The need to change trains is inevitable, since Polish and Lithuanian railway gauges differ (1,435 mm vs 1,520 mm) but 1,435 mm track goes all the way to Kaunas and yet trains won't run on the 1435 mm track between Kaunas and Mockava since... there is no railway signaling in this section for the 1,435 mm track (only for 1,520 mm one) which was built in 2015. It's difficult to understand how something like this could have happened but incompetence, corruption and plain stupidity of the planners are likely culprits. If PKP trains would run all the way to Kaunas instead of Mockava it could be a much better service than it is now. Also, Mockava is literally in the middle of nowhere and has virtually no facilities of any kind making this change in the middle of a forest even less attractive.
- Heating on PKP trains. I may have been unlucky and I don't know how often this happens but my carriage on the PKP train was not heated at all. It's no joke when outside temperature is -13C. I had to wear full winter clothing and was still feeling cold until having realised that other carriages had heating so I just moved there. There was no communication (or I wasn't aware) by the train crew which is not good at all.
- 15.90 Eur ticket price for Vilnius-Warsaw (can be purchased either on PKP Intercity or LTG Link websites). Price seems to be somewhat varying based on demand but buying at least a week in advance pretty much guarantees this price
- Track quality and speed on Bialystok-Warsaw section. It really feels like Bialystok is the first sign of civilisation travelling towards Warsaw from Lithuania side, at least as far as railways are. Train went smooth, fast (~150-155 km/h most of the time) and it felt that it could easily go even faster, perhaps ~200 km/h?
- LTG Link Pesa 730ML is actually quite a spacious and comfortable train. Wider 1,520 mm track gauge as well as loading gauge help as train itself is wide allowing for wider 2nd class seats than it normally would be on Standard gauge trains. Legroom is great, train crew seemed professional and helpful. Food offering was ok with some hot sandwiches, tea/coffee, porridge and other stuff which won't win Michellin awards but is certainly good enough for a service like this.
Final thoughts and recommendations
- Would I recommend Vilnius-Warsaw service? Yes, but not to everyone. Certainly not to business travelers or those who value shorter travel time above all. This category is better off flying. As for the rest, it really depends on personal preferences and other factors including season, weather etc. I myself would use it again but I would also drive depending on the situation. Driving between Vilnius and Warsaw has improved significantly in the recent years and it's no longer a pain it once was, so car probably wins against a train in many situations, unfortunately. Having said that, it's great that this service exists and is slowly improving. I hope it will continue improving.
- What can be done to improve Lithuania-Poland connection on current infrastructure? First, Mockava-Kaunas needs to get signalling installed, so that trains from Poland direction could go all the way to Kaunas which would cut travel time by ~30-40 minutes. Also, LTG should buy some hybrid/bimode DMU/BEMU/EMU trainsets (like British Rail Class 755 FLIRTs) that would allow to save time in Suwalki and Bialystok eliminating the need to change locomotives saving additional ~40-50 minutes of travel time. It's realistic to have Kaunas-Warsaw travel time of ~5h instead of current ~6.5h. That would actually make this service far more attractive in terms of travel time AND comfort/convenience. For some reason LTG don't have any plans to procure such trains and I guess we'll be relying on whatever PKP has to offer. It's just that this service is far more important to Lithuania than it will ever be to Poland, hence I really don't get why LTG isn't investing more into it.
- Rail Baltica. The official timeline of RB completion is still 2030 but it's clear that there is no chance in the world that it will be completed by that time and perhaps not even before 2040. Elk-Bialystok section of Rail Baltica will also take more time than previously thought so it's probably safe to say that current route and infrastructure will have to do up until ~2035 and perhaps even later, so it would be really great to see improvements that I just pointed out and reduce travel time by further ~1.5h. It is possible to have a (somewhat) civilized, fairly fast and convenient connection on existing rails and I wish to see more being done in that regard instead of just touting Rail Baltica which will supposedly 'solve' all problems. It could be that it will, but the main problem is it won't be before ~2040 and we need to travel between Vilnius and Warsaw right now and can't wait for another 15 years.
A few photos taken during both trips Vilnius-Warsaw and back.
LTG Link Pesa 730ML-004 which was used on Vilnius-Mockava service, and PKP Wigry train (pulled by 111Db-001 which isn't seen in this photo) on the right which will take me from Mockava to Warsaw and then continue to Szczecin
2nd class interior LTG's Pesa 730ML. It's not a bad train even for longer journeys. It helps that 2nd class seats are pretty wide and have ample legroom, much more than on the PKP train 2nd class in fact
The kind of food you can expect on the LTG train. There is a choice of sandwiches (heated up on the train), tea/cooffee, instant porridge, noodles and other snacks. It's not what I would describe as being good dining experience on a train but it's sufficient and does the job when hunger and thirst hits
One of the compartments of the PKP train. I generally prefer airline style seating but if the compartment isn't full it might be a better deal in terms of comfort and privacy
Airline style seating in the PKP carriage from Mockava to Warsaw. The carriage seemed freshly renovated but heating was not working for some reason
Legroom in the PKP coach is acceptable but not great
Pesa SU160 Gama (111Db-001) diesel-electric locomotive in Bialystok station. I quite like how they used timber for the roofing
Newag Griffin (EU160-018) electric locomotive which pulled train from Warsaw to Bialystok
Vending machine on PKP Wigry train. That's all food options you can have on this service which I find a bit disappointing
This is all for now.
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