Key takeaways
- 750mm, not metre gauge: the line belongs to the Eastern European narrow-gauge standard and looks correspondingly delicate.
- Around 68 kilometres between Panevėžys and Rubikiai are the surviving remnant of a much larger network.
- Standard traction is diesel – Soviet narrow-gauge locomotives define the look, not the steam engine.
- The whole railway is a protected heritage site, including stations, track and rolling stock.
- Operation is seasonal and sparse. The trip isn't worth it without checking the timetable first.
Contents
- 1.Fact file
- 2.Business areas
- 3.Structure & brands
- 4.History at a glance
- 5.How to recognise the company
- 6.Strengths and weaknesses
- 7.A heritage monument that runs
- 8.750mm isn’t just “narrow gauge”
- 9.Which rolling stock runs here
- 10.How to plan your visit
- 11.Photographing a 750mm line
- 12.Who runs the railway
- 13.Verdict
- 14.Frequently asked questions
Fact file
| Type of organisation | a non-profit public body under Lithuanian law, supplemented by volunteer work |
|---|---|
| Gauge | 750mm – the standard Eastern European narrow gauge |
| Route | Panevėžys – Anykščiai – Rubikiai, around 68 kilometres |
| Region | Aukštaitija, north-east Lithuania |
| Type of operation | diesel-hauled heritage and tourist services, steam only on rare occasions |
| Protected status | protected as a technical cultural heritage monument – route, structures and rolling stock |
| Tourist hub | Anykščiai, with a historic station building and exhibition |
| Notable feature | handcar/draisine rides on some sections alongside the train services |
| Official website | siaurukas.eu |
Business areas
Structure & brands
History at a glance
How to recognise Panevėžys–Rubikiai Narrow-Gauge Railway
Does the train really belong to Panevėžys–Rubikiai Narrow-Gauge Railway?
- Narrow track – 750mm looks noticeably more delicate in the landscape than metre gauge; coaches and locomotives are visibly smaller
- Soviet styling – boxy diesel locomotives with a central cab and a narrow body
- Green coach bodies – narrow-gauge coaches of Eastern European design with end doors
- Timber stations – the station buildings date from before the age of the motor car and form part of the protected heritage
- Handcars on the track – light vehicles run between the trains that you won't find anywhere in regular service
- No overhead wire – the line is entirely unelectrified, which makes composing shots considerably easier
Strengths and weaknesses
What the company stands for
- An unusual gauge that's barely still seen in operation west of the Baltic
- Soviet-built rolling stock in its original setting rather than a museum shed
- No overhead line – a clear view of the train and the landscape
- Very low speeds make it easy to follow the train and get multiple shots
- Heritage protection secures the condition of track, stations and rolling stock for the long term
Where it falls short
- Short season and few services – without planning ahead you'll be stood at an empty line
- Getting there from Central Europe takes effort; there's no through rail connection
- Reliable information on the rolling stock roster is practically unavailable in German or English
- Steam operation is the exception, not the rule – if you're after steam alone, this isn't the place
- Paths near the line are partly unpaved; without your own transport you're not very mobile
Updated: August 2026 – In north-east Lithuania there’s a track that’s 750 millimetres wide and still runs for 68 kilometres. The Panevėžys–Rubikiai narrow-gauge railway is the last operational remnant of a network that once served this entire region. What’s unusual isn’t just the gauge but the protected status: here the whole site is a listed heritage monument, not just a single vehicle.
Document rare rolling stock before you forget it
Type, location and date logged in seconds – add the running number later.
A heritage monument that runs
Heritage railways are usually society projects on a closed line. Here it’s the other way round: the line itself is the protected object. Track, station buildings, ancillary structures and rolling stock are treated as a single technical cultural heritage monument. That’s why you don’t see a refurbished excursion railway here but a site that has essentially stayed as regular operation left it.
For you at the lineside that has a direct consequence: nothing has been straightened out for tourism. Timber buildings, old platform edges, narrow points – the surroundings are part of the subject, not just backdrop.
It’s important to draw the line upwards: this railway is not part of the state railway. Regular services in Lithuania run on Russian broad gauge with Lietuvos geležinkeliai and have no operational connection to the narrow-gauge network. If you want to see both in one day, plan them as two separate items – the systems only meet at a few transfer points, and there’s no through train.
750mm isn’t just “narrow gauge”
The term narrow gauge says little on its own without the actual figure. This overview places what you’ll see if you’re coming from a Central European heritage railway.
| Gauge | Typical region | Look on camera | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 750mm | Eastern Europe, former Soviet Union | very narrow rolling stock, short coaches | Panevėžys–Rubikiai |
| 760mm | Austria, the Balkans | almost identical, different vehicle tradition | Waldviertel narrow-gauge railways |
| 1000mm | Central Europe, the Alps | almost standard-gauge appearance | Harz narrow-gauge railways |
| 1435mm | Europe’s main network | the reference scale | any main line |
The practical difference is how it reads on camera. A 750mm train looks small in open country and quickly loses itself in the landscape. So you either get much closer than you would with standard gauge, or you go deliberately far away and use the landscape itself as the real subject. If you want to see the comparison directly, look to the Harz: at the Brocken, metre-gauge trains run that look noticeably bulkier in the same kind of shot than anything moving through Aukštaitija.
The length of the line is also unusual. 68 kilometres is a lot for a heritage railway – most Central European preserved lines run to ten or twenty. That changes your planning: you can’t just walk back and forth between two stations here, but need to commit to one section of the route. How to prepare usable maps for that is covered in the article on offline maps for spotting.
Which rolling stock runs here
Standard traction is diesel. The line is defined by Soviet-built narrow-gauge diesel locomotives, above all the TU2 class, built in the 1950s for 750mm networks, where it replaced steam operation. Alongside these are coaches of Eastern European manufacture with end doors, plus service and handcar vehicles.
On individual running numbers I’m deliberately vague: which machines are operational changes, and there’s barely any reliable German- or English-language information on it. Stick to type and livery – that’s the information that will still hold true in two years’ time. How to note down such an observation so it stays identifiable later is described in the guide to keeping a sightings log.
If you want to understand the family resemblance among Soviet diesel designs, the standard-gauge M62 family is the larger counterpart from the same design school. On German narrow-gauge networks, the Class 996 fills a comparable role as a diesel-hauled workhorse.
No overhead wire makes everything easier
The line is entirely unelectrified. No masts, no crossbeams, no shadow bands across the train. Use that: viewpoints that would be useless on an electrified main line because of the overhead equipment work here without any trouble. The lower profile of the train also lets you shoot slightly from above without any equipment intruding into the frame.
How to plan your visit
Fix the day of travel first
Operation is seasonal and sparse. Confirm the day of travel before you book accommodation or transport.
Choose Anykščiai as your base
Services, the exhibition and the handcar offering all come together there. Both branches of the line are reachable from here.
Prepare offline maps
Paths near the line are partly unpaved and poorly signposted. Download the area in advance.
Plan two spots per train
At low speed you can catch the same train twice over a short distance, if you know the line.
Build in a weather buffer
A single day of travel with no fallback date is a high risk given how far away this is.
How long will you be travelling?
A rough guide only. Binding times are found only in the railway's current seasonal timetable.
Keep your narrow-gauge sightings organised
Type, location and date stay usable, even if the running number is only added later.
Photographing a 750mm line
A predictable timetable is your biggest advantage, and the low number of trains your biggest risk. Unlike at a main station, you don’t get a second chance in ten minutes. Check the light angle in advance – how to do that is covered in the article on planning sun position at a photo spot.
A spot is worth it when …
- it's reachable from a public path
- the landscape doesn't swallow up the small train
- you know the direction of travel for certain
Check first if …
- access crosses agricultural land
- you want to stand at a level crossing
- the timetable was changed that day
Never …
- stand on the track or in a curve, even briefly
- ignore handcar movements between the trains
- use a station building as a vantage point
An empty track isn't a safe track
On this line, handcars and service vehicles move alongside the trains, and there's no published timetable for them. Stay clear of the track area, even if nothing comes for hours. What this means legally is summarised in the article on trespassing on the track.
Who runs the railway
The operator is a non-profit body under Lithuanian law that brings together the heritage conservation mandate and tourist operation. Unlike many German heritage railways, there’s no purely society-based structure behind it, but a publicly run organisation – though the volunteer share still stays high, especially for maintenance and events.
If you find heritage railway operation interesting from this angle, it’s worth looking across the border: the Waldviertlerbahn in Austria shows almost the same gauge in a different operating and rolling stock tradition, the Waldeisenbahn Muskau represents the German variant of narrow industrial railways, and the Harz narrow-gauge railways show what a metre-gauge network looks like when it survives as a genuine transport operator. If you want to get involved yourself, the article on railway societies covers ways in.
The question of how long such operations can keep going is the same everywhere. Soviet-built rolling stock can no longer be ordered from a catalogue; spare parts are made in-house or not at all. That’s exactly why heritage status is more than an honorary title: it secures the basis on which running trains can continue at all. Whether that holds long-term depends on funding decisions with no reliable public forecast – if you want to see this railway, see it now, and don’t count on some later year.
Verdict
This railway isn’t a destination for a spontaneous visit. It’s a destination for people who want to see genuine 750mm operation and are prepared to plan their travel and their day around it. Do that, and you get something that’s practically gone from regular service west of the Baltic.
Heritage protection is the real trump card here: it keeps not just the locomotives alive, but the stations, the track and the landscape in between.
Verdict in brief
68 kilometres of protected narrow gauge with Soviet-era diesel traction: technically rare, thinly scheduled for visitors – worthwhile only with a travel day checked in advance.
Hold on to what still runs here
750mm operation is disappearing quietly. Your sightings are documentation, not just statistics.
Summary
- If you want to see narrow-gauge Soviet-era technology in daily use, north-east Lithuania offers one of the last chances to do so.
- Heritage protection isn't just a label here – it's the reason the track and stations were never modernised.
- Anykščiai is the practical base: services, the exhibition and the handcar offering all come together there.
- Expect only a few trains a day, and plan the route on foot or by bike rather than around timetable connections.
Frequently asked questions
What gauge is the railway?
750 millimetres. This gauge was the standard for narrow-gauge railways in the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union, and it appears from Lithuania to Central Asia. In Central Europe, by contrast, 1000mm and 760mm dominate. The difference is immediately visible on the ground: coach bodies, locomotives and platform edges all look noticeably smaller than on metre-gauge railways.
How long is the surviving line?
Around 68 kilometres between Panevėžys and Rubikiai, via Anykščiai. This is the last operational section of a network that once served large parts of north-east Lithuania. The rest was dismantled after 1990. You can find the historic extent of the network on old maps – how to read such route maps is covered in the article on reading railway route maps.
Does a steam locomotive run here?
Not in regular service. Trains are hauled by Soviet-built narrow-gauge diesel locomotives; the TU2 class is the defining vehicle. Steam operation appears at most at the odd special event. If you're after a purely steam-worked line, you're better served by Central European heritage railways.
What does the heritage protection actually mean in practice?
It covers not just individual vehicles but the site as a whole: track, station buildings, ancillary structures and rolling stock. That's why the line was never modernised but kept in its historic condition instead. For visitors that means you're not looking at a reconstructed museum but a preserved operational railway.
How do I get there as a Central European visitor?
Not by a through rail service. Lithuania runs on broad gauge and is only now getting a better connection via the European-gauge line currently under construction; domestic services are run by Lietuvos geležinkeliai. In practice you travel via Vilnius or Kaunas and cover the last leg to Anykščiai by road. How to plan long-distance rail-focused trips is covered in the article on Interrail for railfans.
When does the railway run?
Operation is strongly seasonal and concentrated in the warmer months, supplemented by charter services. Exact departure times change every season and are published in advance. So plan the day of travel first and your journey there second, not the other way round – with only a few trains a day, that decision shapes the whole visit.
What's the story with the handcars?
On some sections of the line, handcar (draisine) rides are offered – trips on light, muscle- or motor-powered track vehicles. That's interesting for photographers, since such vehicles are otherwise all but extinct in regular service. It also means: between the trains there can be movements on the track even if you know of no published timetable for them.
Is it worth comparing this with German narrow-gauge railways?
Yes, and it's instructive. The Waldeisenbahn Muskau also runs on 600 to 750mm gauge and shows how differently the same gauge can be implemented. The Harz narrow-gauge railways, by contrast, represent metre gauge in daily service – a completely different operating model.
Can I walk along the track?
No. Even on a listed heritage railway, the track and its structures aren't footpaths. Stick to public paths, platforms and areas open to visitors. The article on keeping a safe distance from the track explains why this isn't just a formality.
How do I log sightings sensibly if I don't know the rolling stock?
Note down what you can identify for certain: type, livery, number of coaches, location and direction. You can match up the exact running number later – guessing it never works. A systematic approach to this is described in the guide to keeping a sightings log.
Log vehicles from Panevėžys–Rubikiai Narrow-Gauge Railway
Company, vehicle, location and date logged in seconds – and visible to the community.
Typical vehicles
More companies
Lietuvos geležinkeliai (LG)
The Lithuanian state railway runs on 1520 mm broad gauge, making it technically closer to Central Asia than to Warsaw. At the same time, Rail Baltica is building a standard-gauge axis right across the country – two systems in the same state.
Heritage railwayHarzer Schmalspurbahnen (HSB)
The Harzer Schmalspurbahnen run one of Europe's largest connected metre-gauge networks – and steam runs to a timetable on it. The Brockenbahn, Harzquerbahn and Selketalbahn are three very different railways under one roof.
Heritage railwayWaldeisenbahn Muskau
The Waldeisenbahn Muskau isn't a reconstructed park railway but the surviving remnant of a genuine industrial railway network on 600 mm gauge. Its branches run through the Muskau Heath to destinations that would be worth visiting even without the railway – and it's still worked with steam and diesel today.
Heritage railwayWaldviertlerbahn
The Waldviertler narrow-gauge railways are Austria's largest surviving 760 mm network: two branches from Gmünd, genuine route length rather than a demonstration stretch, and with the Class 399 a steam locomotive design built specifically for this network. Operation and management, however, differ between the two branches.
Related guides from the blog
- Reading a Railway Line Map: Kursbuchstrecke, KBS and Operating Points
- Safety Distance at the Track: The Rules That Save Lives
- Keeping a Sighting Logbook: From Scraps of Paper to a Real Database
- Interrail for railfans: planning a European tour with a camera
- Offline maps for spotting: reaching the right spot without a signal
