The very first Stadler FLIRT 840 BEMU (0841 001) was shown to public on the 14th of February in Kaunas, the 2nd largest city in Lithuania. The national passenger train operator LTG Link will operate these new trains on Kaunas-Šiauliai and Vilnius-Marcinkonys routes starting some time in the 2nd half of this year. In total 6 BEMU trains have been ordered for now with an option of many more. BEMUs will only have 2nd class in either 2+2 or 3+2 layout depending on the location on the train. There are some non-standard seats which effectively offer 1+2 layout, reduced mobility seats etc. Bicycle spaces are adjustable and can be between 5 and 30+ bicycles depending on season. No 1st class seats will be offered and no bistro area like in the EMU version of these trains which will run on Vilnius-Klaipėda route.
My personal take
The new train actually looks pretty good, interior seems very spacious and even 3+2 layout areas in parts of the train don't feel too cramped or tight. I was told by some LTG project manager that the train is 3.6 m wide which is the maximum allowed width on Lithuanian railways and this seems pretty extreme as far as train widths go. It did feel that way too, a bit like a house on steel wheels rather than a train. The general impression and feel was good, so the only thing I'm looking forward to is trying this train out in real service which I hope to do some time later this year.
I did have a chat with the LTG project manager responsible for the procurement process of these trains who was present at the event and he emphasized that passenger comfort was their main priority. According to him, it's how LTG hope to attract Lithuanians to train travel. Personally, I'm not sure if this is the only or even the main issue. I would probably pay more attention to timetabling and things like clock facing (takt) schedules, capacity and general convenience than pure train comfort but I can't really fault LTG for trying to make trains more comfortable. And these trains do feel comfy alright. Apparently the seats, even in 3+2 layout areas, are identical to other 2nd class seats and even 1st class seats in the EMU version of this train which LTG also purchased (minus the double armrests of course). So yeah, looking forward to ride this thing soon.
Potential issues and disappointments
It seems these trains are not multi-voltage, so they only support 25kV AC but not 3kV DC which is used in Latvia. This means they will never go to Latvia which they probably could otherwise if LTG would have ordered such an option and perhaps built a charging station in Joniškis so that these trains could go between Kaunas and Riga for example. A bit of a shame and lack of forward thinking.
For some reason LTG only plan to build only one charging station (in Varėna). I really hope they can build more charging stations and purchase more of these trains so that they can cover all remaining non-electrified parts of the network. I did ask one of the LTG people present at the event if they would buy more trains and his response was "yes [bla bla bla] but it's all about the money" which is understandable but still a bit disappointing. It's obvious that 6 BEMU and 9 EMU trains won't make the transformation that LTG are promising. It will be an improvement for sure but to actually transform train travel in Lithuania they need at least another batch of as many trains to actually change things.
Now some photos and a video made by LTG themselves
LTG Link promotional post-event video where you can see the train interior and exterior
Some technical info on the train
Full trainset with an ER20 visible behind it which seemingly pulled the BEMU into the position. I suppose this means it's still not going by its own traction. Wonder why.
One of the ends of the train
Bogies
One of the table seat areas. The seats are good, I tried them and it feels like something I could sit in for many hours, so that's good
Door area
Accessible toilet room is pretty massive, perhaps even unnecessarily so? Either way, it won't be too small, that's for sure
The battery and electrical equipment car which can only be passed by passengers but nothing else is there
The battery car from the outside
3 table seats in the 3+2 layout area. Sat on one of these and it felt ok (I'm quite tall and not a small guy in general). Photo is taken by Džiugas
Snack/drinks vending machine and coffee machine area. EMU version of the same train has a bistro area with some kitchen equipment and a counter for sales
So that's that. Testing of these trains is well underway and we should expect some kind of trial passenger service later this year. My guess is that they will be put fully in service only with the 2026 December timetable. I'm curious to see the new timetables too because they should be changing quite a bit with these new trains.
My personal take
The new train actually looks pretty good, interior seems very spacious and even 3+2 layout areas in parts of the train don't feel too cramped or tight. I was told by some LTG project manager that the train is 3.6 m wide which is the maximum allowed width on Lithuanian railways and this seems pretty extreme as far as train widths go. It did feel that way too, a bit like a house on steel wheels rather than a train. The general impression and feel was good, so the only thing I'm looking forward to is trying this train out in real service which I hope to do some time later this year.
I did have a chat with the LTG project manager responsible for the procurement process of these trains who was present at the event and he emphasized that passenger comfort was their main priority. According to him, it's how LTG hope to attract Lithuanians to train travel. Personally, I'm not sure if this is the only or even the main issue. I would probably pay more attention to timetabling and things like clock facing (takt) schedules, capacity and general convenience than pure train comfort but I can't really fault LTG for trying to make trains more comfortable. And these trains do feel comfy alright. Apparently the seats, even in 3+2 layout areas, are identical to other 2nd class seats and even 1st class seats in the EMU version of this train which LTG also purchased (minus the double armrests of course). So yeah, looking forward to ride this thing soon.
Potential issues and disappointments
It seems these trains are not multi-voltage, so they only support 25kV AC but not 3kV DC which is used in Latvia. This means they will never go to Latvia which they probably could otherwise if LTG would have ordered such an option and perhaps built a charging station in Joniškis so that these trains could go between Kaunas and Riga for example. A bit of a shame and lack of forward thinking.
For some reason LTG only plan to build only one charging station (in Varėna). I really hope they can build more charging stations and purchase more of these trains so that they can cover all remaining non-electrified parts of the network. I did ask one of the LTG people present at the event if they would buy more trains and his response was "yes [bla bla bla] but it's all about the money" which is understandable but still a bit disappointing. It's obvious that 6 BEMU and 9 EMU trains won't make the transformation that LTG are promising. It will be an improvement for sure but to actually transform train travel in Lithuania they need at least another batch of as many trains to actually change things.
Now some photos and a video made by LTG themselves
LTG Link promotional post-event video where you can see the train interior and exterior
Some technical info on the train
Full trainset with an ER20 visible behind it which seemingly pulled the BEMU into the position. I suppose this means it's still not going by its own traction. Wonder why.
One of the ends of the train
Bogies
One of the table seat areas. The seats are good, I tried them and it feels like something I could sit in for many hours, so that's good
Door area
Accessible toilet room is pretty massive, perhaps even unnecessarily so? Either way, it won't be too small, that's for sure
The battery and electrical equipment car which can only be passed by passengers but nothing else is there
The battery car from the outside
3 table seats in the 3+2 layout area. Sat on one of these and it felt ok (I'm quite tall and not a small guy in general). Photo is taken by Džiugas
Snack/drinks vending machine and coffee machine area. EMU version of the same train has a bistro area with some kitchen equipment and a counter for sales
So that's that. Testing of these trains is well underway and we should expect some kind of trial passenger service later this year. My guess is that they will be put fully in service only with the 2026 December timetable. I'm curious to see the new timetables too because they should be changing quite a bit with these new trains.
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