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Since July 2019, there is an e-Visa valid for Kaliningrad, available to Austrians amongst others. The application website mentions two possible rail border crossings, one in Mamonovo and one in Sovetsk. RZD mentions restrictions on their website concerning rail travel to Kaliningrad and Leningrad oblasts when on e-Visa, and warns of some specific checkpoints where the e-Visa is invalid (Buslovskaya, Vyborg, Ivangorod, Nesterov).

Does anybody know whether there is a train connection crossing the Sovetsk border checkpoint currently, and if it actually is possible to take it with the e-Visa?

I was not able to find one with RZD or other train providers in Russia, but I have found that there seem to have been connections from Klaipeda at some point.

Alternatively, if there are none, is it possible to take one of the trains on the Vilnius-Kaliningrad route via the Kybartai checkpoint? It is not listed as allowed by KDMID, but not disallowed by RZD either.

A friend of mine took the train via Kybartai in June 2019, with the European Games exception, and could cross successfully, with the guards taking their time to check his ticket, and mentioning something about "Futbol".

Train from EU to Kaliningrad seems very related, but from the time before e-Visas were introduced.

Crazydre
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JakeDot
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2 Answers2

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No, you cannot enter Kaliningrad by train, as the only operational railway checkpoint (Chernyshevskoye) is not listed as an approved port of entry.

RZD has no say in this, and so no authority to allow or prohibit it.

So you need to enter by air or bus/car

Crazydre
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E-visa isn't valid for trains, unfortunately. Official reason - no mobile scanners available, as the border check is done right on the train. Which doesn't make a lot of sense, as basically the same system was operational during the FIFA World Cup 2018.

There are plenty of bus options available. And even a unique option to cross the border on foot. :-D Cheers from Kaliningrad. Let me know if you need any help with information on visiting Kaliningrad.

p.s. Maybe the upcoming UEFA Euro 2020 will make some positive changes in this matter. Or recently announced plans to expand this e-visa scheme for all Russian Territory in 2021.

Nick Kharchenko
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