Competitive rail passenger transport within the common public transport system of the city of Riga

The general objective of the measure is to contribute to reduce Latvia’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with a focus on transport which represents the biggest source of GHG emissions (28,5 % share of total GHG emissions (excluding land use, land-use change and forestry) in 2018 and 36,7 % of non-ETS GHG emissions). This measure specifically focuses on the Riga metropolitan area which covers about 65% of the Latvian population. A specific objective is to consolidate and rationalise the currently fragmented transport system to incentivise the use of public transportation.

The measure consists of a general overhaul of the Riga Metropolitan Transport System. A multimodal public transport network with a single and coherent timetable, a single price and discount policy and a single ticket system shall be created. The measure shall also include a substantial investment programme in clean mobility and infrastructure with a focus on railway solutions (electrification of 81 km of railway) and zero-emission public transport (acquisition of four low-floor trams, 17 electric buses/trams and seven battery electric trains (BEMU)), as well as construction of cycle lanes. This shall be completed by the construction of environmentally friendly mobility nodes (six regional and two local mobility points), of an independent high-speed transport line devoted to public transport and the extension of the tram line by 3.5 km, to support multimodal transport use.

Latvia has set up a planning coordination group that will oversee the implementation of the different strands of the measure's implementation. The procurement procedure has begun for some parts of the investment. The measure will continue until 2026.

More information can be found here.