After six months of repairs on electrified railway lines, passengers can again reach Tukums and Skulte without transfers. During the repairs, some routes were served by buses, and the number of passengers significantly decreased.
Major repair work on the railway lines to Tukums and Skulte has been completed, which had significantly affected train services over the past few months. Now, electric trains are once again operating on their usual routes without the need to transfer to buses.
The restrictions particularly impacted the residents of Jūrmala and Tukums, who had to spend more time on their journeys for six months. Full service on the Tukums line was restored more than a week ago.
The repairs were carried out on the section between Riga Central Station and the Zemgale station. As a result, the changes affected not only electric trains heading to Tukums and Skulte but also diesel trains on the line to Lugaži.
During the repairs, buses were additionally used for passenger transport. According to "Pasažieru vilciens", about 800,000 euros were spent on this. These expenses are part of a major infrastructure project costing 73 million euros.
Construction of the contact network for the future line to Bolderāja is currently ongoing, as well as the modernization of the railway infrastructure.
The repairs have also significantly affected the number of passengers. If at the end of 2024 and the beginning of last year, up to 600,000 people were transported monthly on the Tukums line, after the restrictions began, passenger traffic decreased by tens of thousands.
For many residents, the train during this period became a less convenient mode of transport — especially due to transfers and increased travel time.
Nevertheless, "Pasažieru vilciens" believes that the repairs were successfully carried out from an organizational standpoint. Company representative Dace Zaldāte-Rozentāle noted that one of the main indicators remained the punctuality of the trains. According to her, despite the extensive construction work, the decrease in punctuality was about one percentage point.
In recent years, the railway in Latvia has been undergoing one of the most extensive modernization phases in a long time. However, for passengers, this often means months of temporary inconveniences, schedule changes, and transfers.
Now, after the completion of the work, residents of Jūrmala, Tukums, and other localities can again enjoy the familiar direct railway service.
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