New trains to hit Latvia's tracks Friday

New Skoda electric trains will appear on Latvian railways on Friday, December 15, according to the passenger train carrier Vivi (formerly Passenger Trains). The first ride on the new train will be experienced by the Dubulti–Rīga route passengers.

The new trains will gradually start running on all electrified routes – the Aizkraukle line and the Skulte line, the Tukums line, and later also on the Jelgava line.

The company, meanwhile, notes that currently the train type is not indicated in the train timetables. “In the future, it is planned to develop a solution that envisages including information about the type of train on the interactive train movement map as well,” according to the company's social network entry.

Latvian passenger rail carrier will receive all 32 electric trains fully ready for the Vivi train passenger service by mid-2024. Each of them consists of four carriages. One electric train is 109 meters long. Each train has seats for 436 passengers and standing spots for 454 passengers. The new trains are aligned with platforms to improve accessibility. 

The design speed of the new trains is up to 160 km/h (currently 120 km/h). The maximum speed will be able to be developed where railway infrastructure will allow it.

The total cost of the whole new electric train project is EUR 257,889 million and the purchase of 23 new electric train configurations is planned with co-financing from the Cohesion Fund of the European Union of EUR 114,211 million.

At first, it was promised that passengers would be able to board the new trains by the end of summer, then only in autumn.  An agreement was originally concluded between Latvian state rail company JSC "Pasažieru vilciens" (Passenger train) and the Czech company "Škoda Vagonka" for the purchase of 32 new electric trains back in 2019, though that came off the back of a tender that started all the way back in 2015. First the Covid pandemic and then the war in Ukraine delayed delivery.

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