![]() ![]() We continue from Suwalki to the northeast, heading for the border with Lithuania. This is a great surprise for me as I've never ridden behind one in passenger service before. ![]() Upon arrival in Suwalki, all but two coaches are cut off, and one of the PKP's Soviet-built "Gagarin" ST44 locomotives is tied to the front. The train has come from Warsaw and is quite full. I manage to photograph a southbound train before our northbound train arrives. It's a pretty quiet place, with a few apparently-chartered Wars sleeping cars sitting on sidings. Train #77101-1142 Augustow-Sestokai (Lithuania) (95 km): After spending the morning walking around Augustow, which is a nice town on a beautiful lake, we make our way to the station, quite distant from the town center. We spend the night in Augustow and visit a friend of Paul's who runs a summer English camp there. We buy tickets to Augustow and sit down for the approximately 30 minute ride. ![]() We aren't there yet when we see the bus pulling away, but Paul manages to flag it down. No passengers board along the way, although the non-tourists are deposited at various stops and farm crossings as the journey progresses.Īrriving in Kalinowo, Paul and I set off in the rain to the village center to find the PKS bus stop. The line is mildly interesting, but the very fact that this service still runs makes it worth riding. The mix seems to be 25% normal riders and 75% tourists. The railcar sets off with a full passenger load, including a few standees. We buy our tickets and quickly board the train, which consists of a single diesel railcar. (Apparently even last year the train was only running to Kalinowo!) The timetable again proves its worth as a piece of "fiction" when we find there is no train to Turowo, only to Kalinowo (about 7 km short). Train #1815-1600 Elk Waskotorowy-Kalinowo (Turowo) (31 km): The last train of the day is chosen to provide an opportunity to ride the once-daily train to Turowo shown in the timetable. Branches formerly radiated from Korsze station, but now it is just a stop on a through route. ![]() This choice has been cut to one now, the northernmost line via Korsze. Just a few years ago you could travel from Olsztyn to Elk via three different lines. Actually, Paul and I do have one folding jump seat which we take turns using. So, we make our way to the next platform, where we find standing places in the full train consisting of compartment coaches. Train #51933-1209 Olsztyn Glowny-Elk (167 km): According to the PKP timetable, this train should use the set of equipment we came in from Torun, but a PKP employee on the platform indicates otherwise. The track speed is quite good, but the train loses time along the way, arriving about 15 minutes late in Olsztyn. The ride to Olsztyn alternates between sun and rain. I quite like these cars as the ride is quiet, but the windows don't open far, and there is not much overhead space for luggage on the top deck. The consist is made up of four of the PKP's newer type of bi-level coach, non-articulated cars that feature a blue-and-yellow paint scheme, and is pulled by an EU07 electric. We run and jump on just before it leaves. I poke around a bit and find the train hidden in a small bay platform (3a?) behind a kiosk. Train #30037-0933 Torun Glowny-Olsztyn Glowny (163 km): The Torun station departures poster shows this train to be leaving from platform 3, but we walk over and find no train. I don't have any notes on the consist, but it was a standard set of compartment coaches pulled by an EU07 electric. Train #52100 "Wieniawski"-0836 Bydgoszcz Lesna-Torun Glowny (47 km): The first leg of the trip uses this fast train, which is headed for Warsaw. I planned a route that, while not the most direct, would include some interesting lines. So when fellow teacher Paul Kochmanski proposed visiting a friend in Lithuania, I decided that tagging along might be interesting. Having free time from school, I'd been contemplating a trip. ![]()
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