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The Union of Supporters of the Lithuanian Narrow Gauge Railway - activities |
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SOS
NARROW RAILWAY OF LITHUANIA Dear Colleagues, help us preserve the “Narrow Railway” of Lithuania. Today – January 5,
2001 at 2.00 p.m. – the enthusiasts of European and World railways
face the real danger that the unique railway line of Lithuania (and the
Baltic states) shall be closed and demolished. This line has functioned
for more than 100 years. It is well known to European railways enthusiasts.
At the present time, 2 lines of the “Narrow Railway” – Panevezys –
Anyksciai (57 km.) and Anyksciai – Rubikiai (12 km.) line in ruins. The
“Narrow Railway” is a
fine example of railway technology. The complex of the “Narrow Railway”
consists of various pieces (railway, bridges, buildings, squares). The
buildings of the larger stations include urban architecture of great value.
The station in the town of Anyksciai, the water tower, cobbled square, the
bridge over the river of Sventoji all form architecture of rare beauty . The
Ministry of Transport and the railway authority of Lithuania plan to take
a final decision on the closure of the “Narrow Railway” within a
number of weeks. These authorities have agreed to finance the maintenance
of this narrow railway for a little longer. However, at the same time they
are interested in possibility of securing support from the International
Federation of Railway Clubs to protect this unique railway. We
invite all our colleagues from European states to present proposals. We
should be very grateful if you could submit letters of support (supporting
the idea of maintaining this railway line). Proposals and letters of
support should be forwarded to:Fax No:+370 2/ 60 36 08. The
Union of Supporters of the Lithuanian Narrow Gauge Railway |
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FEDECRAIL – A View from Lithuania. 2001-04-04 Latest events in Lithuania concerning the efforts to save the narrow gauge railway have definitely confirmed that FEDECRAIL is an association of railway enthusiasts and at the same time a serious force, whose opinion is respected. After the restoration of Lithuania’s independence in 1990, this historical narrow gauge railway was assigned to Lithuanian Railways and became an integral part of this company. The
narrow gauge railway was built at the beginning of last century. It is 750
mm gauge, 175 km (110 miles) long and is the largest operating narrow
gauge railway in Baltic States. At present, while Lithuania is in process of getting ready to join the European Union and NATO, deep economic and social reforms are taking place. These reforms have also affected Lithuanian Railways company, “Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai” (LG).LG is in the process of reorganizing its activities and restructuring the company following the directives given by the European Union (starting with EC 91/440). At present LG is a “Special Purpose Joint Stock Company”. In accordance with the laws of Republic of Lithuania, joint stock companies are enterprises seeking profit in their activities. It is natural that the management of the company is reviewing the strategies of its operations, and divesting unprofitable activities or transferring these activities to third parties. Some statistics: in the year 2000 the Lithuanian narrow gauge railway received an income of 28,000 Litas (US$7,000) for transport of passengers while the operating expenses, including the personnel and infrastructure, amounted to approx. 1.8 million Litas (US$ 450,000). It is obvious, even to a layman, that under these circumstances the railroad can not survive as an economic entity. This was the scenario under which Lithuanian Railway company at the beginning of this year decided to close Lithuanian narrow gauge railways, a unique object of technical / cultural heritage, which is listed in the directory of protected cultural treasures. Lithuania is not a large country, it has about 3.7 million inhabitants and, therefore, it is natural that the group of people interested in the railway transportation history and its preservation is not extensive. About
1997 several railway enthusiasts formed a club “HOBIS”. Diverse and
separate activities are also carried out by model railway collectors and
researchers of railroad history. In the summer of the year 2000 it became
evident that the situation with the narrow railway was difficult and that
the disposition of LG management regarding its preservation was shifting.
At that time several railway enthusiasts, together with individuals
involved in cultural activities and some political figures, founded the
“the Union of Supporters of the Lithuanian Narrow Gauge Railway ”.
Professor Leonas Lingaitis, a scientist and a great railway enthusiast was
elected as president. Part of the membership of “HOBIS” club joined
this association. The
idea to use the experience of our colleagues in
Europe trying to solve different problems came
in the fall of last year. Moreover,
the events in January of this year (when LG General Manager, Jonas
Birziskis took the decision to close the narrow gauge railway), hastened
this process resulting in a formal request, a call for help,
which was sent to NERT (New Europe Railway Heritage Trust) and
FEDECRAIL and it was the right thing to do. Putting aside all other commitments, the President of FEDECRAIL, Mr. David T. Morgan, theChair-man of NERT, Mr. Stephen Wiggs and NERT Consultants, Messrs. Frank Cooper and Gordon Rushton hurried to Lithuania. Our sincere thanks to them! I believe that this trip gave them a clearer picture of the situation. In addition, the Lithuanian governmental institutions also understood that this problem is not only
local. Lithuanian press and Lithuanian National TV have widely
acknowledged this visit and, I believe, it contributed to the softening of
the position of LG regarding the narrow gauge railway. 1 million Litas (US$
250,000) were promised for the year 2001 and 0.5 million Litas (US$
125,000) for 2002 with a condition that a “public entity”, which would
govern narrow gauge railway, be formed. Lithuania, same as many European and other countries in the world, has a common problem: bureaucrats, who take decisions very slowly. At this time we have a vicious circle: the Ministry of Transportation, the Ministry of Culture, the District of Panevezys and the Municipalities of the regions crossed by the narrow gauge railway can not agree which of them should be the founder of this “public entity”. Under
these circumstances and leaving his important responsibilities in the
United Kingdom, Mr. David T. Morgan, President of FEDECRAIL, visited
Lithuania for the second time within approximately one month, to review
the situation and offer his assistance. This sincere FEDECRAIL assistance
in the person of its President is very much appreciated by the railway
enthusiasts in Lithuania and inspires them to actively continue the fight
to preserve the narrow gauge railway. The last visit of FEDECRAIL’s President brings some hope that with our joint effort the proposed good ideas will be realized. During Mr. Morgan’s last visit, we were able to arrange a meeting with the advisor to the Economic Committee of the Lithuanian Parliament. We believe, he received much needed information and the general impression was positive. While I was accompanying Mr. Morgan to the airport for his return trip, this gentleman set-up a very short meeting between the manager of the narrow gauge railway, the deputy director of the district of Panevezys and the chairman of the Economic Committee of the Lithuanian Parliament, Mr. Uspackih. When updated on the situation of the narrow gauge railway, Mr. Uspackih was surprised and told that he had received completely different information from Lithuanian Railways. On April 11, the Economic Committee will have a meeting to discuss the questions relating to the preservation of the narrow gauge railway. Members of the the Union of Supporters of the Lithuanian Narrow Gauge Railway and FEDECRAIL representatives were invited to this meeting. Perhaps, while you are reading these lines, some decisions will be taken – we hope that they will be positive. Lastly,
in the name of the president of our association, Professor L. Lingaitis, I
wish to thank the leaders of FEDECRAIL and NERT and their members for the
support given us. We wish you all the success in your efforts to preserve
historical railways, which are cultural treasures not of a single nation ,
but of the entire Europe. Zilvinas Urbutis the Union of Supporters of the Lithuanian Narrow Gauge Railway 2001
FEDECRAIL PRESIDENT'S REPORT Last year's Annual Meeting and Conference held in Bad Breisig was the best attended to date, largely thanks to the help and support of our colleagues in VDMT who combined it with their Spring meeting. We were also well looked after by our hosts on the Brohltalbahn, who ran such an interesting operation that I decided to join it personally as a full member....... .......I
have also been active in promoting FEDECRAIL further east.
In areas which formerly comprised part of the Soviet bloc, railways
formed a vital role as a means of transport and were heavily subsidised.
With the development of market led economies, car ownership has rocketed
and passenger traffic on trains has declined. At
the same time, the collapse of traditional industries has produced high
rates of unemployment and the new democratic
governments often do not have the wherewithal to continue funding lines
which can often incur high losses. A
way of life is rapidly disappearing from the landscape. Those
wishing to keep these lines alive have increasingly been receiving
guidance and assistance from our colleagues in the New Europe Railway
Heritage Trust (NERHT) whose chairman, Stephen Wiggs, has done much to co-ordinate
advise and fund visits in both directions. Two years ago, much of this was
focused on Russia but now it seems to be the Baltic States which are
receiving much of this attention. Last
September, Stephen led a team of consultants to Latvia where a local group
were campaigning to rescue a section of a narrowguage system from Gulbene
to Aluksne. Encouraging progress seems to have been made in formulating
plans for the establishment of a museum railway with support from the
relevant authorities. The story in Lithuania appears to have taken a markedly different course. In January, the Lithuanian Government announced the closure of the last operational section of the metreguage system to take place on 25th March 2001. In February, I flew to Vilnius with Stephen Wiggs and two NERHT consultants. After travelling the full length of the line, we met with the mayors of the municipalities affected, the district governor, the local members of Parliament, senior State Railway officials and the vice-Minister of Transport to explain how the line might be kept open as a tourist attraction. With 70 employees retained to operate the 56 km line, it might not be totally impossible to reduce costs and a combination of marketing and rescheduling of trains, which currently run two return trips 4 days a week (07.00 hrs is not necessarily the preferred hour of departure for all tourists!) could generate heavier passenger loadings. The best we can hope for is probably a 6 month reprieve to give the local Supporters' Union an opportunity to produce a realistic business plan, but while the first three parties were supportive, the last two were clearly graduates of the Soviet college of thinking with Honours Degree in how to say "Nyet". We shall see. The whole exercise was, I think, a useful one, if only because the FEDECRAIL delegation made the front page of most of the national and provincial newspapers and furthermore featured third in the national television news........ ........DAVID MORGAN TD FEDECRAIL President Letter to Lithuanian parlament Victor Uspaskich Esq Chairman of the Committee on Economics (Infrastructure and Energy) Lithuanian Parliament 53 Gedimino ave. LT 2002 Vilnius LITHUANIA Also sent via fax no: 00 370 2 39 63
99
Dear
Sir First,
please excuse me in my writing in English to you, but I have not yet
learnt Lithuanian. As
President of FEDECRAIL, which represents museum and tourist railways in 21
countries throughout Europe, I feel that I should express our concern over
the proposed closure of the narrow guage line between Panevezys-Anyksciai-Rubikiai. I
understand that your committee will shortly be considering proposals for
the future of the line and I would like to urge it to support the
retention and re-opening of the railway.
The narrow guage network at one time extended over 460 km within
the Baltic States and once formed part of a system that straddled several
states through Europe, helping to unify us into a homogenous unit. Historic
railways are becoming an increasingly important part of national cultural
heritage but the international aspect of the history is gaining a higher
profile, as interest in the preservation of our industrial archaeology
continues to grow. This fact
is recognised by the interest now taken not only by government and other
Baltic States such as Latvia and Sweden, but by the European Union in the
form of grants to railways in Belgium, Britain, France and Germany. Furthermore,
we believe that the restoration of such lines can act as the engine for
regeneration of the economy of a district if they are allowed to realise
their tourist potential, as has been done in East Lancashire (Britain),
Rostock (East Germany) and Baie de la Somme (France).
I understand that the County of Panevezys suffers a higher rate of
unemployment than elsewhere in the country, as a result of some major
industry closures. I would expect the development of the railway as a tourist
attraction would ultimately reverse this decline. I hope that you will not allow this major asset to be
destroyed. As
I have already indicated to the province’s governor, I am more than
happy to give such help and advice as I can and indeed would attend your
committee to give evidence and answer questions if that would assist. Yours
faithfully David T Morgan TD President******** The Committee of the
Seimas (Parlament) recommended the Government to find financial sources
for maintenance of narrow-gauge railways network Vilnius,
9th of April (BNS). The Committee of the Economy of the Seimas
(Parlament) recommended the Government to declare a complex and network of
narrow-gauge railways as cultural monument and to find financial sources
for maintenance of narrow-gauge line Panevezys – Rubikiai in years
2000-2001. The
last narrow-gauge railway line Panevezys - Rubikiai had been closed on 25th
of March by the direction of Director of “Lietuvos gelezinkeliai (“Lithuanian
railways”) Mr.Jonas Birziskis. Recently
only narrow-gauge line from Panevezys to Anyksciai had been in operation,
and the section Anyksciai – Rubikiai had been limited due to poor
quality of railways sleepers. Because
of maintenance of the line and care of non-used sections, “Lietuvos
gelezinkeliai” has got a lost of 1,7 mln. litas in year 2000. The
Committee of Economy had been informed that different Lithuanian and
international organisations became anxious about suspension of traffic on
narrow-gauge railways line. Mr.
David T.Morgan, the President of European museums and railway tourism
Federation applied with letter to Mr.Viktoras Uspaskich, the Chief of the
Committee of Economy with expression of concerns about remaining of narrow-gauge
line. With reference to West European examples, the President of the
Federation mentioned about revive of traffic in narrow-gauge railways and
preparation them for tourism needs, which would force a development of
economy in local area. By
the opinion of the Department of Tourism, development of tourism service
is mostly hampered by weak service quality and not developed tourism
service infrastructure. The
expression of concerns to the Committee of Economy also was made by Union
of preservation of narrow-gauge railways. By the opinion of the Union, the
Government should have to give for narrow-gauges at least the minimum
subsidies, while the network is not
able to ear money itself. The
specialists of preservation of cultural values recognize, that the complex
of narrow-gauge railways is: “the only one and unique example of
Lithuanian historical transport and technology, reflecting to
technological progress at the turn of XIX-XX centuries”. In
1996 narrow-gauge railways where added into the list of register of
cultural values as complex of buildings and constructions with historical,
technical, technological, architectural and environmental value. The network of
narrow-gauges contents of 56 separate parts: 3 narrow-gauge lines:
Panevezys – Birzai, Joniskëlis – Linkuva, Panevezys – Rubikiai,
railway stations and constructions, bridges, viaducts, other engineering
buildings. Total length of narrow-gauge line – 179 km, the first line
had been opened in 1895. In
1998 the municipality of Panevezys and local administrations of Panevezys
and Anyksciai have signed agreement of cooperation, and declared about
intentions, with common forces, to search for financial sources for
preservation of narrow-gauge network and to develop tourism business in
North Lithuania. By
the opinion of the Committee of Economy, on the basis of reorganization of
narrow-gauges it could be useful to establish a public institution, as
operator of narrow)gauge network. The establishers of public institution, by opinion of the Committee of Economy, could be the Ministries of Communications and Culture, the district of Paneveþys, the municipality of Panevezys, the local administrations of Panevezys and Anyksciai. ******** PRESS RELEASE June
1, 2001 Vilnius The Union of Supporters of the Lithuanian Narrow Gauge Railway welcome the creation of a new public entity, which will be responsible for the maintenance and operation of Lithuanian Narrow Gauge Railway. Founding members of this public entity are the Ministries of Transportation and Culture of the Republic of Lithuania together with the local district administrations of the districts of Panevezys and Utena. The Union of Supporters of the Lithuanian Narrow Gauge Railway and “FEDECRAIL” , NERT hope that a policy of transparency and openness will be paramount in the distribution and use of the funds allocated for the preservation of Lithuanian Narrow Gauge Railway. Furthermore, both organizations strongly feel that the candidate to lead this new public entity must be subject to an open review and that a business plan including disclosures of projected disbursements of the funds allocated must also be made public. In the countries of the European Union, the leaders of such public entities are usually individuals of irreproachable reputation, knowledgeable in railroad related matters or railroad enthusiasts with long standing experience. “NERHT”
(New Europe Railway Heritage Trust) in a meeting in London
on June 16, will discuss the situation of Lithuanian Narrow Gauge Railway.
It is expected that in the next few weeks the founders of the new
Lithuanian public entity will
announce their plans for future action. Prof. L.P. Lingaitis, President The Union of Supporters of the Lithuanian Narrow Gauge Railway.
Fedecrail
+ New Europe Railway Heritage Trust ‘SIAURUKAS’
NARROW-GAUGE RAILWAY CAMPAIGN NOTES
of LOBBYING MEETINGS 27.8.01 Participants
Index All meetings:- Zilvanis Urbutis, Secretary, Siaurukas Railway Supporters Union David Morgan, Fedecrail President Peter Ovenstone,
Fedecrail Conference Organiser Meeting
1. :
Vilnius Gedimino University Prof. Leonas P. Lingaitis (Dean of Transport Engineering Faculty) Chairman of Siaurukas
Railway Supporters Union (Preservation Society) Meeting
2. :
Ministry of Transport and Communications, Vilnius Valerijus Ponomariovas, Vice-Minister of Transport Alminas Maciulis, Vice-Minister of Transport Rimantas Sankauskas, Governor of Panevezys County * Zita Kukuraitiene, Deputy Governor, Panevezys County Darius Gudelis, Mayor of Anyksciai * Kristina Udriene,
Regional Development Department, Panevezys County (Interpreter)
* Meeting
3. :
British Embassy, Vilnius Christopher Robbins,
British Ambassador Meeting
4. :
Panevezys NG Railway Workshops + County Offices Rimantas Sankauskas, Governor of Panevezys County Zita Kukuraitiene, Deputy Governor of Panvezys County Gediminas Stonys, New General Manager, NG Railway Zydrunas Kvedaras New Chief Engineer/Operating Manager, NG Railway Kristina Udriene,
Regional Development Department, Panevezys County PRO/2/9/01 (Rev 9/9/01) LITHUANIA.01 Fedecrail + NERHT
: Lithuanian N.G.
Railway Meetings 27.8.01
Page (2) Meeting
No. 1. :
N.G. Railway Supporters Union, Gedimino University Update report on
developments since visits earlier in the year of David Morgan and the
NERHT team (Stephen Wiggs, Gordon Rushton, Frank Cooper, Richard Tapper). Business
Plan - Confirmed that the Business Plan for the renewed operation of
the railway by the new company has been completed but the Supporters Union
have not had sight of a copy. Government approval provides for Litas 1 M support funding
for 2001 and Litas 500,000 support funding for 2002 but nothing has yet
been paid to the new company. The
partners represented on the new company are: (a) Ministry of Transport (b) Ministry of Culture (c) Panevezys County (d)
Anyksciai
District Agreed that at
today’s subsequent meetings DTM will ask for sight of a copy of the
Business Plan - it will be
more difficult to say “no” to eminent foreign experts than to the
local support group. This can
be raised at the Ministry of Transport meeting with objective of receiving
a copy of the new plan when we meet the new General Manager in Panevezys.
If the request is declined, we should ask the Manager / Panevezys
local authority officials to outline the proposals in the plan. Supporters
Union Involvement in New Company - Prof. Lingaitis explained that the
Supporters Union had been extremely reluctant to take an active role (in
particular, to seek a representative on the Board of the new company).
The Union were concerned that their position could be weakened if
they were part of the ‘new partnership’ as if it failed they would be
seen to have been “a party to the failure”. DTM and PRO recommended
very strongly that they should change this policy and that, as a
matter of priority, the Supporters Union should press for representation
on the Board. NERHT and Fedecrail would be willing to support them in
pressing the authorities to grant this.
Only by having someone on the Board would the Supporters Union
be:- (a) Kept fully informed about what is happening and (b)
Able
to exercise any effective influence on future developments. DTM and PRO advised
that taking a fully pro-active role would enhance
rather than endanger the position of the Union.
If indeed the new company did not succeed, active involvement
should give the Union access to enough information to know “what went
wrong and why” and make any fresh proposals to save the railway based on
knowledge rather than guesswork. Fedecrail + NERHT
: Lithuanian N.G.
Railway Meetings 27.8.01
Page (3) Meeting
No.2. :
Ministry of Transport, Vilnius Presentation and
discussion with two Vice-Ministers of Transport and local authority
representatives with a photographer and reporter from The
Baltic Times (English
language free newspaper distributed in all 3 Baltic states).
Preceded by “pre-meeting” with the local authority
representatives - their
primary concern for the meeting being to persuade the Government to
release to the new company the agreed L 1,000,000 subsidy. (PRO
notes not taken during the meeting - following has been compiled from
memory) Business
Plan - Officials
confirmed that the plan had been completed and no objection was raised to
our request for a copy to be released to DTM to enable Fedecrail / NERHT
to offer comments and advice on the proposals.
This would be done at Panevezys. Economic
Regeneration - Emphasised
in discussion that reopening of the railway should not be regarded simply
as a ‘transport’ or even a ‘cultural’ project but need to be
regarded as a part of a strategy to regenerate the economy of an area of
industrial decline and thus warrants funding from economic regeneration
budgets. This strategy had
proven to be successful with heritage railway projects in several other
parts of Europe. Fedecrail
Baltic States Conference Visit -
Extended an invitation to the Ministers and other officials to attend the
Fedecrail Conference business sessions in Riga. The principle theme will
be the ‘economic regeneration’ issue outlined above and speakers will
give examples of how this has operated successfully in other parts of
Europe. Explained our proposal
that a visit to the railway should be made as part of the 2002 conference
programme. This seemed to
make a positive impression and may be helpful in giving a specific
“target” for returning the railway to operating condition..
PRO emphasised that a rail journey along at least part of the line
will be essential for a conference visit to be viable - a visit
just to look at an “out of action” track and workshop would not be
enough to warrant 5 + hours
of return travel from / to Riga. Meeting
No.3. :
British Embassy, Vilnius Christopher Robbins,
the British Ambassador had come into the office on August Bank Holiday
specifically to meet us. He
was already aware of the railway and its historical significance having
participated in the 100th. anniversary celebration event in
1999. Local Perceptions - As a fundamental point, he advised that a major ‘hearts and minds exercise’ would be needed to win over local opinion to the significance and value both culturally and economically of the n.g. railway. Railways in Lithuania are now seen almost solely as a means of transporting heavy freight as passenger traffic has transferred Fedecrail + NERHT : Lithuanian N.G. Railway Meetings 27.8.01
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