Expert: “There is a wonderful railway in Latvia, on which there is nothing to transport. Museum of the History of the Latvian Railway Ldz timetable

Latvian Railway has many shortcomings. Some of them are the result of historically low cargo turnover - there was simply no need to develop the infrastructure, the other part is the result of recent ill-conceived decisions. However, it turned out that the main problem of our steel lines, according to the main strategic partner of Latvia, is transport incompatibility.

The railway is not a pride of our country. It performs its direct functions - and okay. Each of the 31 officially existing lines (segments) has its own advantages and disadvantages. The main structural disadvantage is the lack of capacity due to the short length of double-track lines, electrified lines and lines equipped with a modern signaling system.

Latvia has modern railways only in the Riga region, and two of them (at Tukums and Skulte) serve only passenger trains. The main cargo transportation - namely, this is the main function of the railway - is carried out along four main transit lines, and a little along the rest of the lines left after the pogrom that occurred in the 90s of the last century.

The line to Liepaja… do not rush to rejoice. It is just one of the most backward in technical terms (it has a simple and outdated semi-automatic blocking system; lowered, 2nd category) and in terms of throughput - single-track with a small number of sidings, provides a very small cargo flow. However, the transportation of goods in the volume required for the port of Liepaja is still provided with a margin.

Over the past 20 years, a number of railway lines have been liquidated that communicated with neighboring railways: the closest line to us is from Priekule to Klaipeda and from Vainode to Mazeikiai, the line from Skulte through Rujena to Estonia, the line from Cesis through Gulbene in Russia, and the line from Jelgava towards Renge became a dead end at the whim of the Lithuanian side. Only four connections to neighboring countries are in use today. Why? The railway network is maximally optimized and adapted for the transportation of transit cargo from Russia to the ports of Ventspils and Riga. (Liepaja does not belong to the transit corridor.) But even this transit corridor is predominantly single-track, although 80 percent of the entire cargo turnover of the Latvian Railway is transported along it.

The lack of an extensive network of connections with neighboring railways seriously limits the possibility of transporting goods through the territory of Latvia, however, Estonia and Lithuania did the same - they liquidated unnecessary railways. The ability to maneuver in case of accidents on the lines is also limited, there are no emergency passages for the ability to bypass the emergency section.

Cargo transportation is carried out exclusively on diesel traction, not on electricity, which would be cheaper and more environmentally friendly. The electrification infrastructure is intended only for passenger traffic, there are no electric freight locomotives in Latvia. The single-track sections do not make it possible to increase the route speed of trains and freight turnover.

These are the main shortcomings of the Latvian Railway as a system, as we, the inhabitants of Latvia, see. But they do not bother us very much yet, since our railway is very underloaded, and the existing infrastructure has always coped with the existing freight traffic and continues to cope.

Little by little, the shortcomings are corrected. V last years For the first time, a rather large section of the second track was built from Skriveri station to Krustpils station. Electrification is planned from Rezekne and Daugavpils to Riga of a modern system (albeit incompatible with the existing suburban power grid in the Riga region). True, this is all that has been done and will be done in the near future. Plans for a serious reconstruction of the Latvian railway, adopted 30 years ago, are long overdue and forgotten.

However, our partners saw completely different shortcomings. The Institute for Modern Warfare, which belongs to the US Military Academy at West Point, saw the railroad tracks of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia as a problem for the movement of alliance forces.

The report of the institute's experts notes that the differing track standards in Europe and the Baltic countries make it impossible to quickly deploy NATO troops in the event of a conflict. The fact is that in these countries the railways have remained since the days of the Soviet Union and have not changed, and they are not compatible with the European gauge. American specialists are sure of the need to modernize the railway communication in Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.

“This incompatibility means that trains carrying military equipment and supplies from large NATO bases in Germany or Poland, will have to move their cargo on trains adapted to the Russian gauge, or deliver it to its destination by truck. Both options require not only a significant investment in time, but also the involvement of trained personnel and significant military resources, such as heavy equipment transportation systems, military police and security. In addition, awareness of such operations and the ability to conduct them is necessary, ”the material says.

"Unlike armed forces Russian Federation, NATO forces do not have unrestricted freedom of movement of troops across friendly territory. At present, the Baltic States have the Russian standard for railway gauge, while other European NATO member states use the European gauge,” the report says.

Experts from the American Institute of Modern Warfare emphasize that in the field of railway infrastructure, the Baltic countries lag far behind other European states. "Now the north-south axis in these three countries absent," the document notes. Note that a couple of decades ago this axis existed and was very powerful.

Plans to correct the current situation already exist. Thus, the European Union has planned the implementation of the Rail Baltica project - the construction of a European standard railway line, which should connect the Baltic countries, Poland and Western Europe. However, the report notes that the project will not be completed until 2025.

"Improving the rail network will give NATO ... the ability to rapidly deploy armored forces in the face of major provocations from Russia or Russian exercises (such as Zapad) while maintaining the ability to withdraw them as soon as the situation defuses," the document says.

This is how for the first time it was clearly and openly officially announced why Rail Baltica is actually being built. What until now only Alexander Gaponenko, who has long become an outcast, has been talking about, now sounded loud and for everyone.

Using materials:

We keep looking and looking suburban trains Baltic tigers. Valera Latvia, your time has come. National State Railway Company of Latvia - Latvijas dzelzceļš. This is 2263.3 kilometers of the Russian gauge of 1520 mm, of which almost 259 are electrified. Latvia is 1,958,800 people. This is slightly more than the population of the Kiev region of Ukraine (1,726,500 people), and less than the population Odessa region(2,379,200 people). In fact, as in the former Luhansk region of Ukraine - 2,200,800 people.

The total number of residents of the republic is declining. Of course, mortality also plays a role, but many are dumped out of the country, mainly to Ireland and the UK. Free people enjoy Europe to the fullest! And those who enjoy only Latvia also go on something scenic suburban tours. Let's see what.

There are four main locomotive depots: Riga, Zasulauks, Daugavpils and Gulbene. Not all of them have multi-unit rolling stock (MVPS). Riga (LEN-1) and Daugavpils (LEN-2, former TCH-3) specialize only in mainline and shunting diesel locomotives. Gulbene serves some narrow-gauge railway. Trains and diesel trains are located only in Zasulauks.

No modern MVPS has been found. Satisfied with the Soviet legacy.

DR1A-254 and DR1A-246 -

Latvia, Jekabpils, station Krustpils.

Through the depot, in its entire history, quite a lot of diesel trains passed, but only a few remained. This is just a fragment from the list, displaying the working compositions -

It can be seen that in June of this year, several diesel trains were overhauled and modernized. They are marked with blue stripes.
For example: DR1A-185 after rejuvenation (lost also Cyrillic letters in the series) -

DR1AC-185, Latvia, Riga, Riga-Passenger station. Date: July 15, 2016

The situation is clear: having your own car building plant (RVZ), which is more dead than alive, it is stupid to spend money on foreign products. At least something, but they loaded, provided some of their citizens with work and saved money inside the country. This is not a frantic purchase of South Korean Hyundai by Ukraine, to the detriment of its own manufacturer (Kryukov Carriage Works).
Topic - .

12 trains on the move, and a couple do not work. With a high degree of probability, it can be argued that they will also be overhauled and modernized in Riga.

Two acrobat brothers -

DR1AC-219 and DR1A-254, Latvia, Riga, Riga-Passenger station. May 20, 2016

It is convenient to compare from the picture: what was and how it became.

With electric trains that are assigned to the same depot, a similar situation -

There are about three dozen own Riga electric trains ER2 and ER2T, built back in the USSR, in its last years. They roam in different composition with different muzzles: Soviet and European.

ER2T-7117, Latvia, Riga, electric train maintenance shop at Zasulauks depot. July 28, 2014

The same train ER2T-7117, but from a different head, an ironborn firstborn -

ER2T-7117, Latvia, Jelgava, Jelgava station. July 2, 2015

Shuffle the wagons as they want. The trains were halved and new cabins were made for ordinary intermediate cars. That's why the muzzle is different.

MVPS appears to be sufficient to meet local commuter needs. No commuter trains from reserved seat cars(TSMV) and diesel locomotives were not seen. There are no electric locomotives in Latvia at all.

What they write: I didn’t find anything at all from the Latvian suburban news. Grave silence. Apparently everyone is happy with everything. Yes, and reliable Soviet trains do not cause trouble. They drive and drive. Incidents, thank God, no.

But what happened! What a fake treat!

LDZ (Latvian: Latvijas dzelzceļš) is the state carrier of Latvia. The company was founded in 1994 on the basis of the USSR Baltic Railway. Passenger transportation the subsidiary organization Pasažieru vilciens JSC, founded in 2008, is in charge.

The total length of railway tracks in Latvia is 2263 km, 249 km (11%) of them are electrified. Due to the relatively small railway network of domestic destinations in the country, there are only 10. The busiest line in the country is the Riga-Jurmala section, several electric trains pass here every hour. In Latvia, the Russian gauge of 1520 mm is used, so there is no need to change the wheelsets on the wagons at the border.

Now railway transport in Latvia is not very popular. Compared to the 80s of the XX century, passenger traffic has fallen sharply, many trains have been canceled, and the tracks have been dismantled. The reduction of routes in Latvia is the largest among the Baltic countries. Compared with 1991, the railway network has decreased by a third, and the length of passenger routes - by 2 times. Due to the fall in passenger traffic and the amount of goods transported, many branches were mothballed. It became unprofitable to maintain the infrastructure, cases of theft of rails became more frequent, so the tracks were dismantled.

To date, there is no direct connection from Riga to Vilnius and Tallinn, not to mention the countries of Western Europe with a different gauge. At the same time, the quality of the preserved tracks did not suffer, as happened, for example, in Azerbaijan.

The Riga railway junction suffered least of all, the traffic volumes here remained at the level of the 80s. In terms of the number of suburban trains, Riga retains the first place in the Baltics. In the territory former USSR it is second only to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Minsk and Kiev. Approximately 70% of traffic falls on the Riga-Tukums line. Trains run here every half an hour.

Most of the electric trains on the line are old, still Soviet-made, but in good condition. They have been overhauled - they have soft seats, electronic scoreboards. Interestingly, all suburban trains in Latvia are locally produced. The Riga Carriage Works (RVZ) made electric trains (ER series) and locomotives for the entire USSR. In other Baltic countries, there is no production of their own, they buy trains of Czech and Polish production.

From international routes Riga - Moscow, and Riga - Minsk () are available. Until 2017, there was a train Riga - St. Petersburg. Now only trailer cars are left of it, which go with the Riga-Moscow train to the Novosokolniki station, and there they are attached to the Gomel-St. Petersburg train.

The branded train (Riga - Moscow) runs daily. It has a large selection of service classes - from a common car to a soft one. According to passengers, this nice train with a high level of comfort. The carriages are always clean, the conductors are polite. All types of carriages have air conditioning and dry closets. Some of the train cars are new, some after overhaul. Luxury (SV) and soft carriages are only new.

For the development of the Latvian transport network, the Rail Baltica railway is considered promising. Under this international project, high-speed trains will go from Berlin to Helsinki: through Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland. 265 km of the route will pass through the territory of Latvia. The initial speed of the trains will be 120 km/h, then it is planned to increase it to 250 km/h. The project implementation agreement was signed in January 2017. Construction has not yet begun, it is planned to complete the main work by 2030.

From Riga to Jurmala can be reached in 20-40 minutes by train or minibus for 1.4 €. There are only 25 km between Riga and Jurmala, which can be traveled by renting a bicycle. The motor ship Riga-Jurmala also runs.

Minibus Riga - Jurmala

The schedule of buses and minibuses can be viewed. All of them passing through Jurmala. If you are going to go from the bus station by bus, then choose the starting station Rigas SA, if from the railway station Rigas MTS, final Lielupe or Dubulti. The fare is from 1€.

Opposite the railway station (Rigas MTS) in Riga, several minibuses leave for Jurmala. In season they run every 10-20 minutes, out of season and on weekdays much less often. Minibuses also depart to Jurmala from the bus station. You can pay directly on the minibus, inform the driver of the final station, the price of the ticket depends on this.

Train from Riga to Jurmala

The train is the easiest way to get to Jurmala. The railway station is located next to the bus station, and therefore, no matter how you arrive in Riga, it will not be difficult for you to find the railway station and leave for Jurmala.

Tickets can be bought at the box office, it is enough to name the final station. Here the only snag may arise, because. there is no Jurmala station. Jurmala stretches along the coast and therefore there are several stations along its entire length. Here are the main stops:

• Lielupe– the first stop in Jurmala, as soon as you pass over the big bridge.
• Dzintari- near concert hall Dzintari, where events such as KVN and New wave.
• Majori- the very center of Jurmala, from here you can walk along the central Jomas street and see almost all the sights of Jurmala. Here, mostly tourists and walk if they are not on the beach, at the end of the street is the well-known Globe.
• Dubulti- next stop after Majori Worth going here if you want to see Lutheran Church. You can not go further if you are only interested in a walk around Jurmala and the sea itself.

Schedule of electric trains Riga - Jurmala - Riga

Train timetable from Riga to Jurmala you can look, choose the starting point Riga, and the final example Tukums(this is the final stop of trains traveling towards Jurmala), but it is better to enter Dubulti if you don't eat anymore.

Departure time: trains leave every 25-30 minutes, from 6 am to 12 am.

Fare: from 1.05€ to 1.4€ (1.05€ is the cost of off-season and off-peak tickets), it will be cheaper when buying round-trip tickets. Tickets can be bought from the controller on the train, but more expensive. Tickets are valid until the end of the day, for any train to the final station indicated in it. Tickets in the train checks and punches the controller.

How to take the right train? We look at the scoreboard all the trains with the final destination Tukums, Sloka or Dubulti. These will be all electric trains passing through Jurmala and all are listed above the stop.

Excerpt from Riga-Jurmala schedule

Boat Riga-Jurmala

The New Way boat is more of a tourist attraction than a transport. travel time is several hours. The cost is 20-30€. Departure from Riga from the pier opposite the Riga Castle, in Jurmala from the pier Majori(Mayori). The ship runs only in the summer during the tourist season May 1st to September 30th.

Railway communication in Latvia is well developed, but since the country itself is small, there are only ten domestic directions. This transport sector in Latvia is managed by the monopoly state company Latvijas Dzelzcels and its subsidiaries. Electric trains are responsible for short routes, diesel trains run for longer distances.

Tickets can be bought both at the box office and directly in the car, but in this case the cost of the trip will be higher. Mobility network customers can order a transport document via SMS, children, orphans and the disabled are entitled to free travel on Latvian trains. Passengers can purchase both a ticket for a one-time trip and a subscription for 5 days, a week or a month.

Main directions

• Riga - Jelgava - Saldus - Liepaja
• Riga - Jurmala - Tukums - Ventspils
• Riga - Sigulda - Cesis - Valmiera - Valka (border with Estonia)
• Riga - Lugazhi
• Riga - Madona - Gulbene
• Riga - Rezekne - Ludza - Zilupe (border with Russia)
• Riga - Daugavpils

From Riga, knurled routes to Moscow and St. Petersburg were laid. The capital of Russia can be reached by several trains, the Latvijas Ekspresis express train departs once a day. Also, Latvia is connected by railway communications with many CIS and Baltic countries. East direction passenger and freight traffic is determined by the gauge: in Latvia it is 1520 mm, which coincides with the standards of the railway track in Russia and the CIS, but differs from European railroads.

Ticket prices

The ticket price depends on many factors, there is a very flexible system of discounts. For example, the price is influenced by the timing of the sale of a ticket, the number of tickets purchased at a time travel documents, choice of seat in the car. Travelers can go through the process electronic registration, however, the ticket ordered and paid for via the Internet will then need to be personally received at the box office of the Latvian Railway.

There are men's, women's and mixed compartments on the trains. Free Wi-Fi, tea and mineral water are provided in compartments, SVs and business class carriages.

The most complete information about all existing tariffs and directions can be obtained on the official website of the LDZ: www.ldz.lv, the resource can be switched from Latvian to English or Russian. Another useful website for planning trips in Latvia is