VAS “Latvijas dzelzceļš” (LDz) has concluded a contract to carry out a European Union fund project that will create a new railway connection between RIX Riga Airport and Riga Central Railway Station and modernise infrastructure as far as Ogre, the company said.
The project is financed with €264.18 million in total. Work, carried out together with SIA “Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas” (EDzL), is planned to be completed by 31 December 2029.
A new 1,520 mm gauge branch will run from the future Rail Baltica station at Riga Airport to the Imanta stop. Existing railway infrastructure will also be modernised on the Imanta–Riga Central Railway Station and Riga Central Railway Station–Ogre sections.
Shuttle train services are planned between the airport and central Riga. The new link will first be integrated into the existing 1,520 mm network and is later planned to connect with the Rail Baltica main line.
The project also covers an expansion of the electrified railway network and improvements to passenger infrastructure and train-movement safety. LDz says it is intended to strengthen military mobility and defence infrastructure on the route from the airport through Riga Central Station to Ogre.
Of the funding, €130.9 million is allocated to work implemented by LDz, and €133.3 million to the Rail Baltica airport station and related infrastructure under EDzL. The Cohesion Fund will provide €224.55 million, with €39.63 million in state budget co-financing.