Train passengers arriving in Lithuania by rail from Poland may be in for a pink treat this summer.
Lithuania’s national railway operator LTG Link and tourism agency Go Vilnius have launched the “Pink Soup Train” on the Mockava-Vilnius route, part of the connection from Warsaw linking Lithuania with Poland and onward European networks.
Previous editions of the Pink Soup Train have operated on routes linking Vilnius with neighbouring Baltic capitals.
The train carriage is inspired by the bright pink Šaltibarščiai, a summer staple traditionally made with beetroot, kefir, cucumber, dill and eggs in Lithuania and the wider baltic region.
The chilled soup has become so culturally synonymous with summer that Vilnius dedicates an entire festival to it each year, complete with pink parades, themed costumes, waiter races and mass communal lunches.
While the train was launched in time for this year’s Vilnius Pink Soup Fest, which ran from 29 to 31 May, it will continue running until 30 August.
“The idea was to make the journey itself feel like the beginning of Vilnius’ visit,” says Eglė Girdzijauskaitė, head of communications at Go Vilnius, the official tourism and business development agency of the City of Vilnius. “It’s not just about getting to Vilnius – it’s about how you arrive. With the Pink Soup Train, we’re turning a simple train ride into something memorable, playful, and distinctly local.”
The themed train is part of broader efforts to promote rail tourism to Lithuania via Vllnius, whose UNESCO-listed Old Town, café culture and creative neighbourhoods have become increasingly popular with regional and international visitors.
Approximate rail travel times to Vilnius are around 18 hours from Berlin, 25 hours from Amsterdam, 27 hours from Paris, and 29 hours from London, depending on connections and overnight stops. The journey continues with PKP Intercity to Mockava on the Polish-Lithuanian border, where passengers transfer to a pink LTG Link train for the final stretch to Vilnius – the point where the Pink Soup Train experience begins.