Latvia, Railways, Transport

The 31.4 drop in passenger numbers occurred due to the Covid-19 emergency and related restrictions. In January and February the number of rail passengers grew by 4.9 percent, but as a state of emergency was declared in Latvia in March, passenger numbers fell by 30.5 percent from March 2019. In April, the slump deepened to 65.6 percent. 

In May, passengers started returning, as their numbers grew by 39.6 percent against April, and in June Pasazieru Vilciens saw passenger numbers jump 52.8 percent against May. On some days in June the number of rail passengers even exceeded last year's figure. 

During the six months of 2020 train punctuality remained unchanged as 99.35 percent of departures went ahead according to the schedule.

Pasazieru Vilciens was established in 2001 to separate domestic passenger services from other functions performed by the state-owned Latvijas Dzelzcels (Latvian Railway). Although initially Pasazieru Vilciens was a 100-percent owned subsidiary of the Latvian Railway, in October 2008 it was transformed into an independent state-owned company.