Russia has closed several railway checkpoints on the borders with Finland, Estonia, and Latvia as of 1 July 2026, The Baltic Times reports. The official notice indicated no end date or reason for the closure. The order applies to the Lyttä, Värtsilä, and Svetogorsk (Enso) checkpoints on Russia’s border with Finland, the Pechory (Petseri) checkpoint…
Completing the construction of the Rail Baltica railway in all three Baltic States by 2030 is “mathematically impossible,” Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs stated, LETA reported. Speaking in an interview with TV3, Kulbergs said that Estonian political leaders were living in a “dream world” regarding the project’s timetable, suggesting that they had been given incomplete…
The three Baltic States lack sufficient funding to complete the first phase of the Rail Baltica railway project, LSM reports. The total cost of the first phase is estimated at EUR 15bn, and only slightly more than EUR 5bn of funding has been pledged so far. Marko Kivila, CEO of the project’s central coordinating entity,…
Latvia’s new prime minister, Andris Kulbergs, suggested “scaling down” the Rail Baltica railway project, ERR reported. Speaking at a joint press conference with Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal in Tallinn, Kulbergs said that he was looking at a potential solution to the project’s funding gap that would be “out of the box.” He said that…
The Baltic States will procure up to 20 regional trains for the Rail Baltica railway, ERR reports. Estonia will buy 5-7 trains, Latvia up to 5 trains, and Lithuania up to 8 trains, which will operate on domestic routes only, at least initially. The trains will have around 200 seats and will run at maximum…
Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has doubled rail freight tariffs to Estonia, Latvia, and Finland as of 1 June 2026, ERR reports. The double rate will apply to freight transported via Belarus to Latvia and Estonia as well. Freight to Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave or Lithuania is exempt, however. Estonian logistics expert Raivo Vare pointed out…
Passenger traffic by land and sea transport increased in Latvia in 2025, according to the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP), LSM reported. The number of passengers on land transport totalled 192.4 million in 2025, which was up 0.6% from 191.2 million in 2024. The number of passengers on regular bus lines amounted to 97.6 million (down…
The volume of freight transported by road increased, while the volume of rail freight decreased in Latvia in 2025, according to the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP), LSM reports. The total volume of freight transported by land amounted to 89.8 million tonnes in 2025, which was up 0.6% from 89.3 million tonnes in 2024. The volume…
A report of the Latvian government’s internal review commission on the progress of the Rail Baltica railway project has revealed that the state-owned company, Eiropas Dzelzcela Linijas, failed to consult independent experts on important decisions, LETA and LSM reported. The commission report analysed two suspended construction projects on a railway bridge across the Daugava river…
