Lithuanian national rail freight operator LTG Cargo has introduced two new novelties in the past week. For one, the company is running a pilot for the more sustainable biofuel HVO. And in a completely different development, it has participated in a military exercise, transporting military equipment and troops for the first time.
LTG Cargo provided transportation services for the Lithuanian Armed Forces for the first time. It moved military equipment and soldiers by rail from the city of Panevėžys to Pabradė, on the border with Belarus. Lithuania has a military base there.
“We understand the role of the Lithuanian railway infrastructure in ensuring military mobility and preparation for the country’s defense – it is a special element that ensures the redeployment of forces”, commented Egidijus Lazauskas, CEO of the LTG Group.
“LTG Cargo has accumulated experience in project transportation, transporting military equipment and soldiers of NATO allies both in Lithuania and on international routes.”
The King’s Strike
During the so-called “King’s Strike 2025” exercise, LTG Cargo transported military equipment, but there were also passenger wagons attached to the train. Some of the participating soldiers travelled on board the train.
The exercise has provided LTG Cargo with valuable experience, its CEO Eglė Šimė said. Šimė added that the railways are important transport lines for the arrival of NATO troops to the Baltic region, particularly due to their ability to transport large amounts of equipment and personnel quickly.
The view that the railways are a vital part of military mobility is shared by Ben Hodges, former American general of US Army Europe. Hodges shared his views on the role of rail in military mobility in an earlier interview with RailFreight.com.
Biofuel HVO
Besides the military exercise, LTG Cargo embarked on a sustainability adventure. Two of the company’s locomotives will run on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) for the coming 18 months. HVO is widely seen as a more environmentally friendly alternative to diesel, with claimed emission reductions of around 90%.
LTG Cargo is already running a shunting locomotive on HVO, and a Siemens mainline locomotive will join the pilot in a few months.
The operator hails HVO100, the type of HVO that it will be testing, as completely free from fossil fuels. It is supposed to be completely sourced from renewable raw materials, such as cooking oil and animal fats.
There is some doubt about the true level of sustainability offered by HVO. Research has suggested that European imports of HVO outpace the availability of materials needed for its production, suggesting that much HVO is still being produced with less environmentally friendly resources.