Getting There By Rail
Latvia’s national railway company, Latvijas Dzelzcels (tel: 118; website: www.ldz.lv), operates rail services in Riga. Development of the Latvian railways has not been a great priority since independence in 1991. The system has suffered as a result of this, though recently the main station has been revamped. Many trains are poorly maintained and delays are common– the routes to the satellite towns and villages around Riga generally have a better service than intercity and international routes.
Riga’s central station, Centrala Stacija, Stacijas laukums (tel: 583 3095/2134), has separate departure and arrival halls for international and domestic services. Passenger facilities include ATM, bureau de change, train service information, post office, left luggage, cafés and restaurants.
Rail services: Long-distance rail services in Riga can be slow and prone to delays. Tickets for mainline services are sold in the main departure hall and tickets for the electric commuter trains are sold in the smaller departure hall. Long-distance journeys can be booked in advance (tel: 583 3397). Direct trains go to Minsk (journey time – 8 hours), Vilnius (journey time – 4 hours 30 minutes) and Moscow (journey time – 16 hours). Trains no longer run to Tallinn, Berlin and Warsaw.
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