Lithuania: Passenger train operator LTG Link appoints new CEO

Lithuania’s state-owned railway company, Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai (LTG), has appointed Kristina Meide as CEO of its passenger train operator, LTG Link, for a five-year term, BNS reports. Meide will replace interim CEO Gediminas Seckus. LTG Link’s previous CEO, Linas Bauzys, was appointed CEO of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (IAE) in September 2023. Prior to her…

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Latvia: Vivi council resigns over electric train crisis

Members of the supervisory council of Latvia’s state-owned passenger train operator, Pasazieru Vilciens (Vivi), have resigned, LSM reports. The company has come under heavy criticism because of recurring problems with new electric trains delivered by the Czech manufacturer, Skoda Vagonka. Vivi’s council chairman, Sandis Steins, insisted that responsibility for the problems was beyond the council’s…

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Latvia: Technical defects in Vivi’s new electric trains cause disruptions

Defects in new electric trains of Latvia’s state-owned carrier, Pasazieru Vilciens (Vivi), disrupted the daily commute of hundreds of passengers in the first week of 2024, LSM reported. The technical problems resulted in running cancellations and delays of many departures. Transport Minister Kaspars Briskens assured that most of the defects were “relatively trivial.” However, some…

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Baltic: Plans for passenger train connections between Baltic capitals

Passenger rail service from Estonia’s second-largest city, Tartu, to the Latvian capital, Riga, could begin in the second half of 2025, according to Estonian passenger rail operator Elron, LETA reports. Latvia’s passenger train operator, Pasazieru Vilciens (Vivi), has proposed opening a rail link from Riga to Tartu in spring 2025. Latvia’s Transport Minister, Kaspars Briskens,…

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Estonia: Cyber attack disrupts ticket sales on Elron trains

A cyber attack disrupted ticket sales for Estonia’s passenger train operator, Elron, on 20 September 2023, ERR reports. Ticket sales were disrupted at POS terminals, on trains, and online. Passengers could pay for tickets by cash on the train, however. The disruption was due to repeated DDoS attacks by supporters of Russia against the provider…

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Latvia: Total passenger traffic increased in H1/2023: statistics

Latvia’s total volume of passenger traffic by all modes of transport increased in the first half of 2023, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau, LSM reports. The number of passengers carried by land transport totalled 93.1mn, which was 22.9% more than a year earlier. Regular bus traffic carried altogether 52mn passengers, which was…

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Latvia: Transport Ministry supports reopening Latvia-Lithuania passenger train traffic

Latvia’s Ministry of Transport supports the resumption of passenger train traffic between Latvia and Lithuania, LSM reports. The ministry said that the priority was reopening the route from Riga via Daugavpils to Vilnius. The Latvian and Lithuanian passenger train operators, Pasazieru Vilciens (PV) and LTG Link, have drawn up various options for routes, operators, and…

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Lithuania: Vilnius-Riga train service may be launched in 2024: minister

Lithuania’s Transport Minister, Marius Skuodis, hopes that state-owned passenger train operator LTG Link open a regular connection between the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, and Latvian capital Riga in 2024, BNS reports. Skuodis discussed the possibility of resuming a passenger train connection from Vilnius via Siauliai to Riga and Daugavpils with LTG Link’s CEO, Linas Bauzys. The…

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Latvia: New electric trains not running before November 2023

New electric trains in Latvia will not start carrying passengers before November 2023, state-owned passenger train operator Pasazieru Vilciens (PV) announced, LSM reports. Initially, the trains were supposed to be running in January 2023. Representatives of Czechia’s Skoda Group explained that the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine had disrupted the production and delivery…

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