The Council stated that, in the context of the planned new electric trains in 2024 and the introduction of the interval schedule, it was decided to continue to assess passenger traffic at these six railway stops. They will not be excluded from train timetables for now.
Such a decision has been taken taking into account not only the future development scenarios of these milestones but also the conclusions of meetings with residents and neighborhood associations.
Consequently, the Council's decision of August 18 this year ordering the Road Transport Administration (ATD) not to include those railway stops on the train timetables at the end of 2023 has been annulled.
Rīga planning region said the stops “Rumbula” and “Dārziņi” are located in neighborhoods with intensive development of residential houses and commercial, industrial, and logistics centers. Chairman of Riga Planning Region Development Council, Riga Vice-Mayor Edvards Ratnieks (National Alliance) previously called on the Ministry of Transport not only to maintain stops in Rumbula and Dārziņi, but also to increase the number of train runs in order to provide residents and employees of neighborhoods with convenience and desire to use it for everyday needs.
The previous decision, according to Ratnieks, was hasty – the responsible authorities have based the decision on the data of passenger numbers, but they do not reflect the real situation, as the number of train trips had already been significantly reduced recently, which has resulted in residents and neighborhood workers choosing other modes of public transport and private transport for their convenience.
