Rail travel in terminal decline?

RIGA - With the release of new figures showing the continuing decline of Latvia's rail system a senior transport official has warned of increasing traffic problems in the capital.

The number of journeys made on domestic services in Latvia fell by 27.4 percent in 2000, while the number of international journeys fell 7.5 percent, according to national railway Latvijas Dzelzcels. A recent report by the Baltic Environmental Forum, an intergovernmental body, showed a drop of about 80 percent in the number of passenger kilometers traveled in all three Baltic states between 1990 and 1999.

As the number of private cars rises, a lack of the subsidies enjoyed by bus companies will result in the decay of rail transport and a deteriorating situation in Riga, said Janis Veidemanis, director of railways at the Ministry of Transport.

Of particular concern is the decreasing number of electric trains serving the area around Riga. Even with bank loans of 1.7 million lats ($2.74 million), which have been secured to pay for train renovations, the highest number of electric trains that will be in service this year is 24, compared with 26 in the middle of last year. This number is expected to drop sharply from May onward as money dries up.

"Railways are very important for Riga. But train and bus travel are not treated equally by the government," said Veidemanis. "It would take 74 buses to transport the same number of people who travel to work on one Jelgava-Riga train for example, but even that many extra buses would cause Riga problems."

The Jelgava line is just one of those on which services are likely to be reduced, says Veidemanis. The outlook for long-distance diesel trains is far worse. The state budget allocation of 333,000 lats is one-tenth of the amount needed to maintain the present number of diesel trains, he says. Subsidies from the freight transport business, which collapsed at the time of the Russian economic crisis, have not recovered to a sufficient level to reverse the trend.

News of this decline comes as preparations for privatization of the rail system are under way. The system's infrastructure is expected to remain in state hands, but its services have been divided into six subsidiaries, each responsible for its own finances. Under a plan to be given final approval by the Cabinet at the end of this year the service companies will be put up for sale. Outside companies will also be allowed to run their own services, provided they meet safety requirements which are to be policed by the infrastructure company.

Privatization of the rail system could be successful, Veidemanis believes, on condition that the companies providing electric and diesel train services are subsidized.

In Riga, congestion promises to be a central issue in the upcoming municipal elections. Both in the capital and in Latvia as a whole, current policies are too car friendly, says Janis Ulme, of the Latvian Environmental Protection Club.

"Highways don't need such large investment," he said.

"We're trying our best to fight government policies in this area, but its impossible. There has been a lot of lobbying to promote car use. The new multistory car parks proposed for Riga will be very profitable businesses. But more parking places don't solve a city's transport problems."