Passenger and cargo train traffic between the Lithuanian cities of Vilnius and Klaipėda will be suspended from Monday, October 14, to Saturday because of repairs to the Tauciai railway bridge in the Siauliai District, Lithuanian Railways (LTG) has announced. The bridge is nearly 100 years old.
“Traffic on the shortened Vilnius-Siauliai line will be intensified throughout the week, with 6 to 12 trains per day, depending on the day of the week,” the state-owned rail company said in its news release. “There will be more trains on weekends.”
Cargo trains will be rerouted through Pagegiai, which may result in overall travel times extending by as much as 24 hours in comparison to normal transport.
The bridge will be lifted up to replace its bearings and to lay concrete on new load support points, LTG said.
“The repairs will also include replacement of sleepers, installation of reinforced concrete slabs, replacement of pier façades, repair of embankment slopes at the piers, clearance and strengthening of the riverbed adjacent to the bridge, and doing other things that will extend the lifespan of the bridge by up to 50 years,” the news release explained.
The contractor for the bridge project will be Leonhard Weiss Lithuania, and its CEO, Michail Lipkin, says that efforts will be made to complete the work and to resume train services as soon as possible.
The Tauciai rail bridge was built in 1925 and is listed on Lithuania’s Register of Cultural Heritage.
Source: BNS
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