Kaunas railway station () is a

Lithuanian Railways LTG Group, officially Lietuvos geležinkeliai ('), known as LTG is the national state-owned railway company of Lithuania. It operates most of the railway network in the country. It has several subsidiary companies, but the main ones are: LTG ...

central passenger

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

. It is located at the eastern edge of Central Kaunas,

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. Kaunas railway station was included into the Registry of Immovable Cultural Heritage Sites of the Republic of Lithuania in 2003.

History

After the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

lost the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

, the importance of tactical modern inventions, such as

railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to roa ...

, became evident. In February 1851 the Government of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

made a decision to build the

Saint Petersburg–Warsaw Railway In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Ortho ...

line. Starting from 1858 the line connecting

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

and

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

was being built. In the territory of Lithuania, the construction of the railway section

Daugavpils Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...

–

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

–

Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...

including the branch

Lentvaris Lentvaris (; ) is a city in eastern Lithuania, 9 km east of Trakai. It is a transportation hub, as several road and rail routes cross here. Lake Lentvaris is nearby. History The town is situated in ethnographically Baltic Lithuanian ...

–

Kybartai Kybartai is a town in Marijampolė County, Vilkaviškis District Municipality in south-western Lithuania. It is located west of Vilkaviškis and is on the border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. History Kybartai was founded during the reign of ...

(

Virbalis Virbalis (, , ''Virbalen'', ) is a list of cities in Lithuania, city in the Vilkaviškis district municipality, Lithuania. It is located west of Vilkaviškis. History It is frequently mentioned in historical as well in modern literature. In 15 ...

) was started in spring 1859. The first railway stations in Lithuania were constructed on this line (21 stations): the super class stations in Lentvaris and Virbalis, as well as the first class stations in

and Vilnius. Due to the hilly and unfavorable for the direct rail passage terrain around Kaunas' centre, the

Kaunas Railway Tunnel Kaunas railway tunnel () is one of the two railway tunnels existing in Lithuania and the only railway tunnel operating in the Baltic states. Passenger trains are operating between Vilnius and Kaunas through this tunnel. The length of the tunnel ...

and largest in Lithuania railway

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

over the

Nemunas Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its southern channel. It drains ...

river were constructed. On the 15 August 1861 the first train left Kaunas and reached Lentvaris.
Lithuanian Railways. The History of the Tunnel. Retrieved on 15 December 2010. Kaunas railway station was officially opened on 21 February 1862. In 1944, the station was bombed by the withdrawing Wehrmacht, German army.
Kaunas: Dates and Facts. Under the Rule of Tsarist Russia. Retrieved on 15 December 2010. The present-day Kaunas railway station was built in 1948 on the foundation of the old station and designed by architect Petr Ashastin. Its architecture was based on the principles of classicism: strict symmetry, separate and large-scale inner spaces, horizontally continued shape, massive walls and centrally oriented stairs. The station was reconstructed between 2005 and 9 April 2008.

International Passenger Trains

Direct weekend trains to Białystok, Białystok (Poland) are operated by Polish railway company

Polregio Polregio (formerly ''Przewozy Regionalne'') is a train operator in Poland, responsible for local and interregional passenger transportation. Each day it runs approximately 3,000 regional trains. In 2002 it carried 215 million passengers. T ...

. These run on the non-electrified single track

standard-gauge railway A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

built as a first stage of the

Rail Baltica 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 ra ...

project. As of 2019, this line terminates in a dedicated double-sided platform on the south-east side of the station.

References

{{commons category, Kaunas train station Buildings and structures in Kaunas Transport in Kaunas Railway stations in Lithuania opened in 1862 Railway stations in Lithuania opened in 1859