This article provides an overview of the transport infrastructure of

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

Road system

It is mandatory to keep headlights on while driving, even in daylight; most cars commercially sold in Latvia are equipped to make this automatic.

Highways

Length of the road system

Railways

Latvian Railways JSC Latvian Railway ( lv, Latvijas dzelzceļš or LDz) was established on 2 September 1991 and is seen as the successor of the Latvian Railway Board (Latvian Railways) which was established on 5 August 1919. Latvijas dzelzceļš is a state-owned ...

is the main state-owned railway company in Latvia. Its daughter companies both carry out passengers services as well as carry a large quantity of freight cargo, and freight trains operate over the whole current passenger network, and a number of lines currently closed to passenger services. There is also a

narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...

between

Gulbene Gulbene (; german: Schwanenburg) is a town in northeastern Latvia. It is an administrative center of Gulbene Municipality. The area of this region is , with a population of 29,797 inhabitants (69,369 sealen, 10,015 urban, 19,782 rural populat ...

and Aluksne, operated by the Industrial Heritage Trust, using Russian and Polish built heritage rolling stock. Three narrow gauge trains a day operate on the 33 km route between the two towns.
''total:'' 2,347 km
''

Russian gauge Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

:'' 2,314 km gauge (270 km electrified)
''

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

:'' 33 km gauge (2002)

Passenger Train

Pasažieru Vilciens Pasažieru vilciens ("Passenger train", abbreviated: PV) is the only passenger-carrying railway company in Latvia, operating both electric and diesel trains on various lines throughout the country. It was formed in November 2001 by bringing togeth ...

is a daughter company of

and the only passenger-carrying company in Latvia. Domestic passenger lines with current service are: *

Torņakalns – Tukums II Railway Torņakalns is a neighbourhood of Riga, Latvia located on the western bank of the Daugava River (neighbourhoods along this shore are collectively known as Pārdaugava). The name Torņakalns (''English: Tower Hill'') derives from a fortified t ...

Riga – Jelgava Railway Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Bal ...

Jelgava – Liepāja Railway Jelgava (; german: Mitau, ; see also other names) is a state city in central Latvia about southwest of Riga with 55,972 inhabitants (2019). It is the largest town in the region of Zemgale (Semigalia). Jelgava was the capital of the united Duch ...

Riga – Daugavpils Railway Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Bal ...

* Krustpils –

Rēzekne Rēzekne (, ; German: ''Rositten'') is a state city in the Rēzekne River valley in Latgale region of eastern Latvia. It is called ''The Heart of Latgale'' (Latvian ''Latgales sirds'', Latgalian ''Latgolys sirds''). Built on seven hills, Rēzekn ...

–

Zilupe Zilupe ( Latgalian: ''Sīnuoja'', from ''sīna'' – 'border'; German: ''Rosenau'', russian: Розеново) is a town in Latvia, by the Zilupe River, on the border with Russia. The population in 2020 was 1,343. Zilupe's railway station is the f ...

(border of Russia) * Rīga –

Sigulda Sigulda (; german: Segewold, pl, Zygwold, russian: Сигулда) is a town in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, from the capital city Riga. Overview Sigulda is on a picturesque stretch of the primeval Gauja river valley. Because of the reddish Dev ...

–

Cēsis Cēsis (), (german: Wenden, liv, Venden, et, Võnnu, pl, Kieś) is a town in Latvia located in the northern part of the Vidzeme Upland, Central Vidzeme Upland. Cēsis is on the Gauja, Gauja River valley, and is built on a series of ridges ...

–

Valmiera Valmiera (; german: link=no, Wolmar; pl, Wolmar see other names) is the largest city of the historical Vidzeme region, Latvia, with a total area of . As of 2002, Valmiera had a population of 27,323, and in 2020 – 24 879. It is a state city ...

– Valga (border of Estonia) * Zemitāni – Skulte Railway *

Pļaviņas Pļaviņas (; german: Stockmannshof) is a town in Aizkraukle Municipality in Latvia. The town is located on the Daugava river. The population in 2020 was 2,974. Latvian law defines the town of Pļaviņas as belonging partly to the Vidzeme region an ...

–

Rail links with adjacent countries

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

- yes *

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

- yes *

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

- yes *

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

- yes

Airports

Riga International Airport Riga International Airport ( lv, Starptautiskā lidosta "Rīga"; ) is the international airport of Riga, the capital of Latvia, and the largest airport in the Baltic states with direct flights to 76 destinations as of November 2019. It serves as ...

is the only major airport in Latvia, carrying around 5 million passengers annually. It is the largest airport in the

Baltic state The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

s and has direct flights to over 80 destinations in 30 countries. It is also the main hub of

airBaltic airBaltic, legally incorporated as AS Air Baltic Corporation, is the flag carrier of Latvia, with its head office on the grounds of Riga International Airport in Mārupe municipality near Riga. Its main hub is Riga, and it operates bases in T ...

. In the recent years

also operated from

Liepāja International Airport Liepāja International Airport is a regional airport in western Latvia which is certified for international air traffic. Along with Riga International Airport and Ventspils Airport, it is one of the two major airports in Latvia. Overview Liep� ...

as well as

Ventspils International Airport Ventspils International Airport is an airport southwest of Ventspils, Latvia. It is the newest airport and, with Liepāja International Airport and Riga International Airport, is one of the three notable airports in the country. Overview Vents ...

but operations in both of these airports were ceased until 2017, when airBaltic relaunched flights from Riga to Liepaja. Currently there are plans for further development in several regional airports, including Jūrmala Airport, Liepāja, Ventspils as well as

Daugavpils International Airport The Daugavpils International Airport ( lv, Daugavpils Starptautiskā Lidosta) is located 12 km northeast of Daugavpils in the village of Lociki, Naujene Parish, Augšdaugava Municipality, in the Latgale region of Latvia. All of the airport' ...

Airfields

As of 2003, there were a total of 51 airfields in Latvia, with 27 of them having paved runways. Airports - with paved runways ''total:'' 27
''2,438 to 3,047 m:'' 7
''1,524 to 2,437 m:'' 2
''914 to 1,523 m:'' 2
''under 914 m:'' 16 (2003) Airports - with unpaved runways ''total:'' 24
''2,438 to 3,047 m:'' 1
''1,523 to 2,438 m:'' 2
''914 to 1,523 m:'' 1
''under 914 m:'' 20 (2003)

Ports and harbors

Cruceros en el muelle de Riga, Letonia, 2012-08-07, DD 01

Key ports are located in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

(

Freeport of Riga Riga Free Port ( lv, Rīgas brīvosta) is a major port on the east coast of the Baltic Sea, located in Riga, the capital of Latvia. It stretched for 15 kilometers along both banks of the Daugava within the city limits, the area of the port is 19 ...

and

Riga Passenger Terminal Riga Passenger Terminal ( lv, Rīgas pasažieru termināls) is a terminal in Riga, Latvia, that services public and private passenger traffic by sea. The terminal is situated at the address 3A Eksporta Street. Destinations Tallink Tallink ( ...

Ventspils Ventspils (; german: Windau, ; see other names) is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It ...

(

Free port of Ventspils The port of Ventspils is an Ice-free, deep-water sea port located in Ventspils on Latvia's Baltic coast. Its total area is 2451.39 hectares. By cargo turnover it is one of the Baltic Sea's busiest ports. The port of Ventspils became a multimod ...

), and

Liepāja Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see #Names and toponymy, other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Planning Region, Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after R ...

(

Port of Liepāja Port of Liepaja ( lv, Liepājas osta) is a port in Liepāja Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in th ...

). Most transit traffic uses these and half the cargo is crude oil and oil products.Latvia
World Bank

Waterways

300 km (perennially navigable)

Pipelines

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...

412 km; refined products 421 km;

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

1,097 km (2003)

Merchant marine

''total:'' 11 ships (with a volume of or over) totaling /
''note:'' includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a

flag of convenience Flag of convenience (FOC) is a business practice whereby a ship's owners register a merchant ship in a ship register of a country other than that of the ship's owners, and the ship flies the civil ensign of that country, called the flag state ...

: Germany 1, Greece 1,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

1 (2002 est.)
''ships by type:''

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

petroleum tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined cru ...

1, refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off ship 1, short-sea/passenger 1

References

External links

History of railroad construction in Latvia

Ministry of Transport of Republic of Latvia

Transport in Latvia
{{Motorways in Europe