The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has rejected a motion of no confidence submitted by the opposition National Alliance against Transport Minister Kaspars Briskens, LSM reports. Altogether 48 MPs voted against the motion, 43 in favour, and none abstained. The opposition’s criticism was related to problems at state-owned postal company Latvijas Pasts, national air carrier airBaltic,…
The Estonian government will allocate EUR 2mn for state-owned rail operator Elron to open a regular passenger train connection between Tartu in southern Estonia and the Latvian capital, Riga, ERR reports. The support would allow Elron to open the new passenger service in spring 2025. Piret Hartman, Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, said that the…
Estonia’s Tallinn city government has approved a new budget strategy, under which the city plans to invest EUR 100mn in public transport, including EUR 40mn of EU funds, over 2025-2028, ERR reports. Tallinn mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski said that the city will replace its trolleybus fleet with gas-fuelled buses and trams. Also, the city will build…
A new passenger train connection between Estonia’s second-largest city, Tartu, and the Latvian capital, Riga, will not open in October 2024 as planned, ERR reports. Märt Ehrenpreis, CTO of Estonia’s state-owned passenger train operator, Elron, said that certification of new Stadler FLIRT trains for operating on Latvian railways was taking longer than expected. Also, Elron…
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 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…
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…
Estonian bus operator Lux Express has opened a night-time bus service between Estonia’s second-largest city, Tartu, and the Latvian capital, Riga, BNS reports. The daily bus departs from Tartu at 11:15pm and arrives at Riga International Airport at 4:20am. In addition, Lux Express has a morning and an evening departure from Tartu to Riga, and…
