RVR ER2Т-7116 of Pasažieru vilciens en route between Šķirotava (Riga) and Salaspils, 2016

Rail transport in Latvia is done on 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) Russian gauge. The main railway company is the state-owned Latvijas dzelzceļš (LDz), with its subsidiary Pasažieru vilciens (PV) providing passenger services.

Historically Latvia had lot of different rail gauges, most notably 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge and 750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in) narrow gauge. These were gradually replaced by the Russian gauge after the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states.

The Rail Baltica project aims to connect Latvia and the other Baltic states to the European standard gauge by approximately 2030. Ten regional stations are planned in the section from Bauska to Salacgrīva.[1]

Although PV has been a monopolist in passenger train, in February 2022 the Road Transport Administration of the Ministry of Transport of Latvia announced the first market survey on potential private rail passenger service providers.[2]

Future expansion

Rail Baltica is an ongoing greenfield railway infrastructure project which will link all Baltic States, including Latvia, Poland and, eventually, Finland. Being a part of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T), it is one of the priority projects of the European Union.[3] It will introduce standard-gauge high-speed rail with an operating speed of 249 km/h for passenger trains.[3] As of 2023, the Rail Baltica project completion is scheduled for 2030, with a start of services on some of the sections in 2028.[4]

Conversion to Standard Gauge

In 2022 the European Union proposed to convert all non-standard gauges in Europe to standard gauge. The Latvian government believes it would require major EU funding to implement. [5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Integrated rail plan for Rīga and regions being drawn up". eng.Lsm.lv. 2020-02-19. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  2. ↑ "There is a market survey conducted for the provision of rail passenger transport starting from 2025 in Latvia | Satiksmes ministrija". www.sam.gov.lv. 2022-02-16. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  3. 1 2 "Rail Baltica – Project of the Century". Rail Baltica. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  4. ↑ Rail Baltica – Project of the Century" on the Rail Baltica official website, accessed on 26 April 2023.
  5. ↑ "Latvia is not ready for a full transition to the 1435 mm Eurogauge". 13 January 2023.
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