Latvia's Railways Face Crisis and Losses Following Decline in Transit from Russia and Belarus

Latvian Railways is experiencing a crisis and incurring losses amid a reduction in transit traffic from Russia and Belarus. This was reported by BELTA, referring to the Telegram channel Baltnews.

Baltnews notes that the Latvian Ministry of Transport has issued an order to merge the subsidiaries of the Latvian State Railway (GАО Latvijas dzelzceļš) to "optimize expenses."

"There can be many reasons given, but the underlying cause is one — the ongoing crisis of Latvian railroads, linked to the decline in transit from Russia and Belarus," the Telegram channel states.

It is highlighted that prior to the sanctions against Russia, Latvia could count on significant budget revenues from transit, benefiting from its geographical location. However, after "one of the key advantages was voluntarily rejected by the Latvian government," Latvian Railways is facing losses and is forced to reduce its workforce.