Think Railways

Latvian Railways (LDz) transported 55.8 million tons in 2013,  which is a decrease of 7.9% compared to 2012 historic freight record of 60.6 million tonnes.

LDz earned EUR 80 million in 2013, however  approximately EUR 67.7 million came from the freight wagon fleet revaluation and the transfer of the subsidiary SIA „LDz Cargo Loģistika”.

Most of the transported cargo originated from Russia (77.1%) and Belarus (12.6%), followed by Kazakhstan (4.8%), Lithuania (4%) and Ukraine (0.7%).

"The past year has been a very good year, which has allowed us to provide a strong contribution to the country's economy and budget. Providing a cargo volume of around 55 million tonnes , Latvian Railway is able to be one of the strongest companies in the country and continues to maintain its leading position at regional level" declared the president of LDz,  Ugis Magonis.

LDz net sales in 2013 amounted to EUR 219 million, which is 5.5 percent less compared to previous year last year. The Group's consolidated revenue in 2013  reached EUR 440 million, which is 7.6 percent less compared to 2012.

In a recent press conference, the Transport Minister Anrijs Matiss declared that there are no indications at the moment that Russian cargo shipments through Latvia could lessen in wake of Europe's sanctions against Russia.

He explained that cargo shipments from Central Asia should be attracted, like, for example, from Kazakhstan and China. The minister emphasized that the more investments made in modernizing Latvia's rail infrastructure, the more easier it will be for Latvia's transit corridor to compete.

In the first quarter of 2014, the volume of cargo transported by rail in Latvia totaled 17.04 million tons, a 7.6% increase on the first three months of 2013, according to the Transport Ministry's data.

Photo*Flickr