Alternate Rail Baltica route for Riga area after Marupe concerns

An alternative route for the Rail Baltica railroad will be proposed for the district of Marupe just outside Riga, ensuring that the village of Marupe, where population density is higher than elsewhere in the region, is bypassed, following widespread dissatisfaction in the area over the original planned route, Latvian Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma announced in an interview with Latvian State Television today.

Straujuma mentioned that, according to the results of an opinion poll that Transport Minister Anrijs Matiss presented to the government, 94 percent of residents of Latvia support the Rail Baltica project.

"I do not know who carried out the survey, but I can say that public opinion differs between those who express overall support for the construction of the railway and those who will be personally affected by the project. I believe that the majority supports the construction of the railway, but we must carefully consider those who don't and ensure that compensations payments are fair," said Straujuma.

Straujuma emphasised that the public debate about the Rail Baltica project had had a generally positive impact, mentioning Marupe as an example. Marupe residents strongly opposed the proposed railway route, so as a result, they will be offered an alternative route.

"I will also have an individual meeting with the head of the district of Madona to discuss the issue," added Straujuma.

At a public debate about the Rail Baltica project at Marupe Culture Center on March 7, both local residents and representatives from the Marupe District Council had voiced objections to the project, saying that there were too many things that had not yet been decided.

According to Marupe local government's development director Peteris Piksa, the municipality had been waiting for information regarding the route that the railway would take to Riga for four months. "In the end we received not the several volumes we had been expecting, but two pages. They do not even mention the 50 percent of private homes that will be affected by Rail Baltica, nor [the impact on] other private properties, cycling lanes, other facilities," said Piksa. He also indicated that the amount of compensation offered to Marupe residents was ridiculously small.