Electric trains to return to Bolderāja this autumn

Electric train services are expected to return to Bolderāja this autumn after Latvia modernised more than 100 kilometres of railway infrastructure, LSM reported.

The upgraded railway electricity network was unveiled at Zemitāni railway station in Riga on Friday. The project covered railway sections in Riga, the railway bridge over the Daugava River and the construction of a new overhead contact network between Zasulauks and Bolderāja.

Latvian Railways board chairman Artis Grīnbergs said the Bolderāja line had been commissioned and raised platforms had been built. Services are expected to begin around mid-October or early November, he said.

Grīnbergs said the line would also help passengers when the Vanšu Bridge is closed for repairs.

The modernisation included the Riga to Zemitāni, Zemitāni to Jāņavārti and Imanta to Sloka sections, as well as Zemitāni station and the railway bridge over the Daugava. Work was mainly carried out at night to avoid interrupting passenger services.

Latvia has about 500 kilometres of railway overhead contact network, around half of which has already been replaced. The wires between Sloka and Tukums are scheduled to be replaced by the end of 2029, while work between Jāņavārti and Ogre is due to begin this year.

One of the biggest challenges was finding specialists able to work with the infrastructure. Jevgeņijs Locovs, chairman of the board of Nordes būve, said the market for overhead contact network specialists effectively did not exist, as they either worked for Latvian Railways or had retired.

The railway electrification network modernisation and development project was financed entirely by the European Union Recovery Fund. Its total cost did not exceed 72.7 million euros.