How to get from Riga to Jurmala. Bus, train, boat

"LDZ" (Latvian: Latvijas dzelzceļš) is the state carrier of Latvia. The company was created in 1994 on the basis of the Baltic Railway of the USSR. Passenger transportation is carried out by a subsidiary organization, JSC Pasažieru vilciens, founded in 2008.

The total length of railway tracks in Latvia is 2263 km, of which 249 km (11%) are electrified. Due to the relatively small railway network of domestic routes in the country, there are only 10. The busiest line in the country is the Riga - Jurmala section, several trains pass here every hour. In Latvia, the Russian gauge of 1520 mm is used, so there is no need to change wheelsets on wagons at the border.

Nowadays railway transport in Latvia is not very popular. Compared to the 1980s, passenger traffic has dropped significantly, many trains have been canceled and tracks have been dismantled. The reduction in routes in Latvia is the largest among the Baltic countries. Compared to 1991, the railway network has decreased by a third, and the length of passenger routes has halved. Due to a drop in passenger traffic and the amount of cargo transported, many branches were mothballed. It became unprofitable to maintain the infrastructure, cases of rail theft became more frequent, so the tracks were dismantled.

Today, there is no direct connection from Riga to Vilnius and Tallinn, not to mention the countries of Western Europe with a different gauge. At the same time, the quality of the surviving tracks did not suffer, as happened, for example, in Azerbaijan.

The Riga railway junction suffered the least; traffic volumes here remained at the level of the 80s. In terms of the number of commuter trains, Riga retains first place in the Baltics. On the territory of the former USSR it is second only to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Minsk and Kyiv. Approximately 70% of traffic falls on the Riga - Tukums line. Trains run here every half hour.

Most of the trains on the line are old, still Soviet-made, but in good condition. They have undergone a major overhaul - they are equipped with soft seats and electronic displays. Interestingly, all commuter trains in Latvia are locally produced. The Riga Carriage Works (RVZ) produced electric trains (ER series) and locomotives for the entire USSR. Other Baltic countries do not have their own production; they buy Czech and Polish-made trains.

International routes available are Riga - Moscow and Riga - Minsk (). Until 2017, there was a train from Riga to St. Petersburg. Now all that remains of it are trailer cars, which go with the Riga-Moscow train to the Novosokolniki station, and there they are coupled to the Gomel-St. Petersburg train.

The branded train (Riga - Moscow) runs daily. It has a large selection of classes of service - from a general carriage to a soft one. According to passenger reviews, this is a good train with a high level of comfort. The carriages are always clean, the conductors are polite. All types of carriages have air conditioning and a dry closet. Some of the train cars are new, some have been overhauled. Luxury (SV) and soft carriages are only new.

For the development of Latvia's transport network, the Rail Baltica railway is considered promising. Under this international project, high-speed trains will run from Berlin to Helsinki: through Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland. 265 km of the route will pass through the territory of Latvia. The initial speed of trains will be 120 km/h, then it is planned to increase it to 250 km/h. The project implementation agreement was signed in January 2017. Construction has not yet begun, it is planned to complete the main work by 2030.

You can get from Riga to Jurmala in 20-40 minutes by train or minibus for 1.4 €. There are only 25 km between Riga and Jurmala, which can be covered by renting a bicycle. The motor ship Riga-Jurmala also plies.

Minibus Riga - Jurmala

The schedule of buses and minibuses can be viewed. All of them pass through Jurmala. If you are going from the bus station by bus, then select the starting station Rigas SAO, if from the railway station Rigas MTS, final Lielupe or Dubulti. Fare from 1€.

Opposite the railway station (Rigas MTS) in Riga, several minibuses depart to Jurmala. During the season they run every 10-20 minutes, out of season and on weekdays much less frequently. Minibuses also depart to Jurmala from the bus station. You can pay directly in the minibus; tell the driver the final station, the price of the ticket depends on this.

Train from Riga to Jurmala

The train is the easiest way to get to Jurmala. The railway station is located next to the bus station and therefore, no matter how you arrive in Riga, it will not be difficult for you to find the railway station and go to Jurmala.

Tickets can be purchased at the box office; just name the final station. The only problem that may arise here is... There is no Jurmala station. Jurmala stretches along the coast and therefore there are several stations along its entire length. Here are the main stops:

• Lielupe— the first stop is in Jurmala, as soon as you cross the big bridge.
• Dzintari— next to the Dzintari concert hall, where events such as KVN And New wave.
• Majori- the very center of Jurmala, from here you can walk along the central Jomas street and see almost all the sights of Jurmala. It's mostly tourists who walk here if they're not on the beach; at the end of the street there's the well-known Globe.
• Dubulti- next stop after Majori, it's worth going here if you want to see Lutheran Church. You don’t have to go further if you are only interested in a walk around Jurmala and the sea itself.

Train schedule Riga - Jurmala - Riga

Train schedule from Riga to Jurmala you can look, select the starting point Riga, and the final one for example Tukums(this is the final stop of trains traveling towards Jurmala), but it is better to enter Dubulti if you don't go further.

Departure time: Electric trains depart every 25-30 minutes, from 6 am to 24 pm.

Fare: from 1.05 € to 1.4 € (1.05 € is the cost of tickets out of season and not during rush hour), if you buy round-trip tickets it will be cheaper. Tickets can be bought from the ticket inspector on the train, but they are more expensive. Tickets are valid until the end of the day for any train to the final station indicated on it. Tickets on the train are checked and punched by the controller.

How to take the right train? We look at the board showing all the trains with their final destination. Tukums, Sloka or Dubulti. These will be all the trains passing through Jurmala and all the stops listed above.

Excerpt from the Riga-Jurmala schedule

Speedboat Riga-Jurmala

The New Way boat is more of a tourist attraction than a transport, because... travel time is several hours. Cost 20-30€. Departure from Riga from the pier opposite the Riga Castle, in Jurmala from the pier Majori(Maori). The ship operates only in the summer during the tourist season from May 1 to September 30.

, where specialists from large industries, entrepreneurs, workers in agriculture and the transit industry talk about their activities and compare the current state of affairs with Soviet times.

Latvian Railways is the state-owned railway company of Latvia, serving the entire railway network of the country. The company was founded in 1919 and re-established in 1994 on the basis of the Latvian part of the Baltic Railway, which operated in Soviet Latvia.

Anatoly Konstantinov told the analytical portal site how, after graduating from the 8th grade, in 1960, he entered the Daugavpils Technical School of Railway Transport and connected himself with the railway for the rest of his life, how he worked from 1983 to 1992 as an engineer for the track service of the Baltic Railway , and in independent Latvia until 2009 he held the post of head of the technical department of the Latvian Railways. But first things first.

“It’s written in my work book that on July 18, 1963, I was hired as a 1st category track worker, with no work experience,” recalls Anatoly Ivanovich. “When I graduated from technical school in 1964, I was assigned to the Daugavpils distance route, and less than a year later I was sent from production to study at the institute.”

The young specialist, who graduated from technical school with honors, entered the institute. In his fourth year, in 1969, he got married, and in 1970 he graduated with a diploma in transportation engineering. At the same time, graduates were assigned to work at the Baltic Railway, where Anatoly Konstantinov worked until his retirement.

After graduating from the institute, Konstantinov was appointed to the position of senior engineer in the technical department.

“After working for a year, I was appointed senior road foreman in order to gain experience in all positions: this was the practice before.”

Next was military service in the railway troops, after which Konstantinov was faced with a choice: the management of the track service offered work in Jelgava, as the chief engineer of the track, or in Daugavpils, also as the chief engineer of the PMS.

“The head of the overhaul department of the track service encouraged me to stay in Daugavpils, saying that I already had an apartment there, which the railway had provided me. After all, the Baltic Railway provided its workers with housing. But my wife was from Jelgava and suggested moving to this city, where we eventually went.”

In Jelgava, the housing issue was resolved quickly. The young family changed their Daugavpils “registration” to Jelgava, especially since the local railway department also provided workers with housing.

“In general, many residential buildings were built in the city by order of the Jelgava branch of the railway. Kindergartens were also built. In addition, a Railwaymen’s Club, a cinema, which now houses the Swedish bank Swedbank, and many other objects necessary for society were built.”

This is how Konstantinov ended up in Jelgava. He worked as the chief engineer of the track distance on the Baltic Railway until 1983, then he worked as the chief engineer of the track service until the collapse of the USSR, and then, in independent Latvia, as the head of the technical department.

Anatoly Ivanovich, speaking about the Baltic Railway in the 1970–80s, tell us what the volume of freight and passenger traffic was at that time?

Large, definitely more than 40 million tons of gross cargo were transported per year, and this is only in the direction of Jelgava and Ventspils, and if we take the direction Riga - Valga, then there was also about 40 million.

In the mid-1960s, the railway underwent a major overhaul, and by the mid-1970s it was already “at its limit.” In fact, there are rail service standards according to which the rails must be changed after carrying 350 million tons, and when I arrived in 1974, it was said that the volume of cargo in a decade exceeded 500 million. That is, the standard was exceeded almost twice; it is clear that the path again needed repairs.

But the movement cannot be stopped: cargo is coming - oil products, various fertilizers, timber, all this was required. Plus there was also passenger traffic.

About 15 pairs of long-distance trains ran from Riga in the southern direction through Jelgava per day. For example, on the direction Riga - Vilnius: a daytime “Chaika”, which then went to Minsk, and a night train. In addition, trains Riga - Klaipeda and Riga - Kaliningrad ran across the Baltic states.

There were also three trains to Ukraine: Riga - Kyiv, Riga - Lvov and Riga - Odessa. Also, two trains went south: Riga - Simferopol and Riga - Adler. And it was difficult to get tickets for these trains.

Since 1983, I began working as the chief engineer of the track service, and I constantly had to go on business trips throughout the Baltic Railway. I remember I had to urgently go to Vilnius; I go to get tickets, but there are no seats. However, I had a travel card that gave me the right to travel not only on the train, but also in the driver’s cabin. Well, I went there, but I saw the whole way.

However, in the 90s all this stopped. Currently, none of the routes you named are available, and many passenger routes in Latvia have been closed. What is the reason for such decisions?

There are fewer passengers, there are not enough of them to pay for these routes, and no one will keep unprofitable routes without subsidies from the state. After all, the railway must maintain the appropriate infrastructure: not only rails and sleepers, but also much more, and this is a big expense.

In addition, in the Baltic states there was one factor that united all countries - the Russian language. Now this is not the case - each republic speaks its own language, but tell me, what should a Lithuanian who knows only Lithuanian do in Estonia, or an Estonian in Latvia if he does not know Latvian?

Although I should note that many changes on the railway were not so rapid in the 1990s. The first governments of Latvia tried not to interfere in the work of the railway, and the first head of the Latvian railway was Belarusian Stanislav Boyko, who until then had worked as the chief engineer of the Baltic railway.

Changes began when they began to divide state property. They divided up everything they could, but the railway remained. So they separated freight and passenger transportation, which, it seems to me, was imposed by Europe. They have it divided there, so they introduced something similar here too.

True, while in the West many people use the railway, in Latvia this passenger flow is incomparably lower, so many local routes had to be closed, such as the routes Riga - Ergli, Riga - Renge, and Riga - Ventspils.

- What, in your opinion, is the current state of the railway?

Its technical condition is quite good. Many reconstruction projects were carried out with funds from the European Union. Some of them were carried out during my work. I remember how we submitted applications for the reconstruction of railway tracks, replacement of switches, modernization of train control devices and much more.

So, in general, we cannot say that everything is bad with us - the tracks are in good condition, and cargo can be transported along them. Of course, it’s a pity that there are fewer of these cargoes and the volume is decreasing.

- In that case, what do you think awaits our railway?

The Latvian railway is configured to transport transit, 85–90%; we have practically no local freight transportation. Naturally, if we have a neighbor like Russia next to us, for which 50–80 million tons of cargo is trivial, then our cooperation should clearly develop in an eastern direction.

At the same time, I believe that it is necessary to continue to modernize the road and improve the condition of the track in this particular section; for example, on the route St. Petersburg - Warsaw, connecting the northern part of Russia with the European Union.

In turn, the decision made by our government, as well as the EU, on the Rail Baltica project does not take into account the development of the promising Chinese Silk Road project and will not lead to any improvement in transit from the east.

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LATVIAN RAILWAY - State joint-stock company "Latvijas dzelzcels" (1993), formed on the basis of part of the Baltic Railway within the territory of the Republic of Latvia. Road management in Riga. It is a member of OSJD (code LDZ).

Road map

Technical specifications

The operational length of the road (01/01/2000) is 2412.9 km. The road includes the Infrastructure Department, which has 3 track distances, 3 communication and signaling distances (combined power supply distances and communication and signaling distances), 2 track machine stations, as well as a rail welding train and a track repair plant. The road borders a nearby railway station. d.: Estonian, Oktyabrskaya, Belarusian, Lithuanian; serves 3 sea trade ports (Riga, Ventspils, Liepaja). There are 171 stations on the road, the main ones of which have developed tracks, including freight stations - Ventspils, Liepaja, Riga-Krasta, Riga-Prechu-II, Mangali, Ziemelblazma and Bolderaja, etc.; sorting - Daugavpils and Shkirotava; district ones - Rezekne and Jelgava, as well as 6 hubs.

The developed length of the main tracks is 2702.7 km; wide gauge 1520 mm has a track length of 2379.5 km, narrow gauge G50 mm) - 33.4 km; The length of the continuous track is 1616 km. 3,987 turnouts were laid, including 2,754 equipped with electrical centralization. Automatic blocking, including dispatch centralization, is used on 1,046.1 km of track. The operational length of the electrified sections is approx. 258 km. The traction rolling stock includes diesel locomotives (261 units), diesel trains (50 sections), electric trains (141 sections). Passengers are transported by long-distance cars (272 units), electric train cars (293 units), and diesel train cars (155 units). The freight wagon fleet operates 7,878 wagons. The main rails used on the route are P65 (2530 km), P50 (747 km), as well as P43 (358 km) and 60E1 (40 km).

Performance characteristics

In 1999, the road provided 37.6% of the country's total freight traffic and 13% of the total passenger traffic. The road is an important link in the overall transport infrastructure of Latvia, serving as a trade and transport bridge between East and West, connecting Latvian ports with transit business partners - Russia, Belarus, Lithuania and Estonia. Due to the favorable geographical position of the Latvian Railway, transit traffic is predominant. In 1999, they accounted for 78.4% of total traffic. The main ones are transit freight traffic in the direction of ports: 16.8 million tons were transported through the port of Ventspils in 1999 (64.5% of all transit cargo on the road). Freight turnover amounted to 12,210 million t-km, the volume of transported cargo was 33,208 thousand tons. The structure of freight transportation includes: oil, mineral fertilizers, ferrous metals, timber cargo, sugar, grain. The number of passengers transported amounted to 24,862 thousand people; incl. in international traffic 740 thousand, local 1619 thousand. in suburban traffic 22503 thousand passengers. Passenger turnover amounted to 984 million passenger-km. The average local speed of passenger trains (excluding diesel and electric trains) is 56.1 km/h; the average local speed of freight trains is 33.8 km/h.

There are enterprises producing railways on the road. technique. In Riga, the company VAE-Riga produces turnouts; RRA company - modernization and production of diesel and electric trains. A joint stock company “Locomotive” has been established in Daugavpils for the repair and modernization of rolling stock.

Story

The railway network in Latvia began to be created in the mid-19th century. The first rail track, 164 km long, was laid in 1860 on the Abrene - Dinaburg (Pytalovo - Daugavpils) section as an integral part of the St. Petersburg - Warsaw railway. The first major railway line in Latvia was the 232.5 km long Rigo-Dinaburg railway, opened in 1861 and connected in 1862 with the St. Petersburg-Warsaw railway. In 1866 the Daugavpils - Vitebsk line was built; in 1868 Riga - Jelgava. In the 70s the lines Liepaja - Romny were laid; Daugavpils - Radviliskis and Jelgava - Mazeikiai; Riga - Tukums; in 1889 railway connected Riga with Pskov; in 1901 - 1904 a railway section was built between Moscow and Ventspils. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, construction of narrow gauge lines was carried out in Latvia. Later, thanks to the development of other modes of transport and due to low profitability, narrow-gauge railways were partially transferred to broad gauge and partially liquidated. Operating narrow gauge railway preserved only in the Gulbene-Aluksne section. After World War I, railway management passed to the Latvian state. The Supreme Board of Latvian Railways was established on August 5, 1919. This day is considered the birthday of the Latvian Railway. In the 20s intensive construction of new railways was carried out. lines (373 km broad gauge, 332 km narrow gauge). rolling stock was produced - locomotives, cars. In the first years after World War II, the destroyed railway was restored. farms. In 1953, the Latvian Railway became part of the Baltic Railway. which also included the Lithuanian and Estonian railways. In 1963, the Baltic Railway was created with its Administration in Riga.

In 1950 the first electrified line Riga - Dubulti. In subsequent years, other suburban sections of Riga were electrified: Dubulti-Tukums, Riga-Jelgava, Riga-Aizkraukle, Riga-Skulte. Reconstruction of the railway was carried out. tracks with laying of heavy type rails on reinforced concrete sleepers and crushed stone ballast; 35% of the total length of the main tracks was a continuous track; the second tracks were intensively built. Junctions and stations were reconstructed, tracks were lengthened and station parks were equipped with signaling and communications equipment. At large stations, automatic blocking, electrical centralization, electronic computer technology, and telemechanics were used in the system of train formation and organization of train movement.

With the creation in 1993 of a state joint-stock company with the aim of adapting the railway. transport to work in a market economy, the restructuring of the railway has begun. A legal framework has been created that meets the requirements of the European Union directives in the field of transport, which determine the separation of railway infrastructure from its commercial activities, transportation, infrastructure, rolling stock, passenger transport, and real estate.

International transportation and tariffs

The state joint-stock company “Latvijas Dzelzcels” is an associated member of the Railway Transport Council of the CIS, Baltic and Bulgarian countries, represents Latvia in the International Organization of Railway Congresses (IRCA), and is a member of the International Organization for Cooperation of Police and Railway Security Services (COLPOFER).

Specialists with secondary education are trained for the road at the Riga Railway School and the Latgale Transport College (Daugavpils), higher education can be obtained at the Institute of Railway Transport of the Riga Technical University. Further improvement of the level of education of Latvian Railway employees is carried out by the Railway Training Center, established in 1997.

There are railways on the road. public organizations: Society of Railwaymen of Latvia (founded by the International Association of Railwaymen), Engineering and Technical Society of Railwaymen of Latvia; The Latvian Railway History Museum was organized.

Information Technology

There is an information and computing center (ICC) on the road, equipped with a machine complex based on an IBM 9672-R14 computer and personal computers (about 1000 in total) installed at different points on the road. Automated control systems for freight transportation ASOUP and passenger transportation “Express-2” are in operation, which interact with similar railway systems. other states, as well as local systems: a system for accounting for income from freight transportation, a financial and accounting system, etc. In 1995-2000. The information systems infrastructure was modernized (central database servers and teletypes on personal computers were replaced), optical communication lines were laid on the main freight routes. 14 main and 5 technical stations and approx. Top 150 Freight Management Jobs. Automated workstations (AWS) have been created, incl. commodity cashier, at the technical inspection point, intelligent ASOUP terminals, etc.

crushed stone cleaning machines

Investment program for 1997-2010. provides for the allocation of capital investments for the development of railways. infrastructure in the amount of more than 270 million US dollars until 2005. Approximately 90% of investments are intended for the development of transport railways. corridors. It is planned to increase the capacity of large railways. nodes, modernization of the telecommunications network and automated train traffic control system. It is planned to attract funds from the ISPA fund of the European Union. In order to implement the project “Reconstruction of the East-West Railway Transit Corridor,” a Loan Agreement was signed in 1998 with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank. The implementation of this project is also provided for by the National Transport Development Program for the period until 2010, developed by the Ministry of Transport of Latvia.

Literature

• The Rigo-Dinaburg road is 130 years old. Historical essay Compiled by J. L. Vanags, Latvian railway, DCSTI. Riga, 1991.

Latvian Railway is the national state railway company of Latvia. Founded in 1919 and restored in 1994 on the basis of the Latvian part of the Baltic Railway.
Concern Latvijas dzelzceļš (Latvian Railway - LDz) is one of the largest in the country.
The company employs more than 11,600 people. LDz is one of the largest payers of social tax and personal income tax to the state budget,
which through its economic activities makes a significant contribution to the national economy of the country.
Chairman of the Board - Ugis Magonis(from 2005 to 2015)

Chairman of the Board - Edvin Berzins(since 2016)


Company website: www.ldz.lv
Unofficial stranger on VKontakte http://vk.com/public_ldz
Company `s logo.


Subsidiaries of the Latvian Railways
LLC LDz Cargo-carries out cargo transportation by rail.
LLC LDz Ritošā sastāva serviss-carries out all types of rolling stock repairs, maintenance and equipment, stores and sells fuel for railway carriers.
LLC LDz infrastruktūra- engaged in the restoration and construction of rail tracks, as well as rail welding work.
LLC LDz Apsardze-offers security services - protects the facilities of State Joint Stock Company Latvijas dzelzceļš and related companies.
JSC LatRailNet-distribution of railway infrastructure capacity and determination of infrastructure fees.

Private railway companies in Latvia.
VAS Pasažieru vilciens(Passenger train)
A/S Baltijas Tranzīta serviss
A/S Baltijas Ekspresis
SIA Gulbenes Alūksnes bānītis
SIA "L-Ekspresis"

Map of the Latvian Railway

Locomotive depots of the Latvian Railways
Riga
Daugavpils(LLC LDz Ritošā sastāva serviss)
Rezekne(working depot)
Ventspils(A/S Baltijas Ekspresis)
Jelgava(workshop closed)
Gulbene(SIA Gulbenes Alūksnes bānītis)
Zasulauks(A/S "VRC Zasulauks")