Baltic States Unite in Train Purchase — Estonia First to Experiment with 60 Million Euro Toys

The Baltic states have announced a revolutionary cooperation model — they will jointly purchase up to 20 regional trains for the Rail Baltica project. While in Liepāja we pride ourselves on our tram running on real tracks and stopping at Rose Square exactly where it should, Baltic transport operators have decided to risk it with completely new technologies.

The most amusing part is that Estonia will be the experimental zone — they'll get the first five trains for 60–75 million euros, and then the other countries will spend three years watching to see if they actually run. Latvia plans to purchase up to five trains, but only if the Estonian experiment doesn't end with trains sitting at stations like expensive pieces of metal.

As one Liepāja railway worker said: "We already have a tram that goes 200 meters per minute and never breaks down. Why do we need something that goes 200 kilometers per hour and might break down?" He's right, of course — our tram at Rose Square has always been more reliable than any Rail Baltica dream.

The train will have 200 seats, first and second class cars, as well as spaces for bicycles. It's almost like a Liepāja bus, just 15 million euros more expensive and with less charming passengers. But the main thing — these trains will be technically identical in all countries, just with different paint jobs. So if something breaks down, everyone will be equally helpless.