Ahead of the first journeys to be performed on the new electric trains, Grigulis said there was a pleasant expectation in the company. “The years-long train path to Latvia has reached some kind of finish,” he added.
He said there are currently 20 new trains in Latvia, however, only three that will carry passengers on Friday are owned by Vivi. The others were still in the possession of the producer “Skoda Vagonka” until the signing of the transfer notes.
However, it is planned to use more and more new trains in passenger transport in the coming days. By the end of the year, Vivi has pledged to launch 18 or 19 new electric trains on routes, Grigalis noted.
Grigulis also said it is planned that in the future, the company's app will show which journeys will be operated by the new electric trains.
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.
