Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics criticised Transport Minister Kaspars Briskens for his communication on the development of the country’s national air carrier, airBaltic, and the Rail Baltica railway project, LSM reports. Rinkevics said that the minister’s communication had been a “complete failure.” Speaking after her meeting with the President, Prime Minister Evika Silina said that she…
The volume of freight carried by road increased in Latvia, while the volume of rail, sea, and air freight decreased in the first half of 2024, according to the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP), LSM reports. Freight carried by land transport totalled 40.9mn tonnes in six months, which was 2.0% less than a year earlier. Road freight…
The number of passengers using land and air transport increased in Latvia, while the number of ferry passengers declined in the first half of 2024, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP), LSM reports. Passengers using land transport totalled 94.7 million in six months, which was up 1.6% from the same period of 2023….
The European Commission will allocate an additional EUR 1.2bn of EU funds for the construction of the Rail Baltica railway, the project’s coordinator, RB Rail, announced, LSM reports. Of the sum, around EUR 370mn will go to Estonia, EUR 346mn to Latvia, and EUR 458mn to Lithuania. Together with national co-financing, total available funding will…
The number of passengers using train transport in Latvia totalled 8,989,953 in the first half of 2024, which was 767,317 (9.3%) more than in the same period of 2023, according to the country’s state-owned passenger train operator, Pasazieru Vilciens (Vivi), LSM reported. Electric trains on suburban routes carried 8,024,544 passengers, which was 89% of the…
Estonian Finance Minister Mart Võrklaev suggested floating the company coordinating the Rail Baltica railway project, RB Rail, on the stock exchange to raise more funds amidst rising construction costs, ERR reports. Construction costs in Estonia alone are estimated at EUR 3.1bn, with EUR 1.2bn secured from EU funding. Võrklaev said that the government expected to have…
Czech company Skoda Vagonka pledges to deliver the remaining seven new electric trains to Latvia by the end of July 2024, LETA reports. The company assured that production was proceeding on schedule. Latvian passenger train operator Pasazieru Vilciens (Vivi) has so far received 25 of the 32 new electric trains ordered from Skoda Vagonka. Vivi…
The Latvian government made a decision in 2015 to include international railway stations at Riga Central Station and Riga International Airport (RIX) in the Rail Baltica project, according to the Ministry of Transport, LETA reports. The then government approved a plan to build the project’s most complex objects first so that they would be available…
The ruling coalition in Latvia will review contracts and rising costs of the Rail Baltica railway project before approving any related payments, LETA reports. Following an audit of the project, the Ministry of Transport has turned to the Prosecution Office. The audit estimated that the total cost of the project had risen to EUR 23.8bn….