The Riga–Lugaži Railway is a long, gauge

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. It was built in the late 19th century (commencing in 1886) to connect the cities of

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

and

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

via Valga and

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

. The railway was opened in 1889. The final station in Latvia is

Lugaži Lugaži (, ) is a village in the Valka Parish of Valka municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia.Lugaži

(near

Valka Valka (; ) is a town and municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, on the border with Estonia along both banks of the river Pedele. Valka and the Estonian town Valga are twins, separated by the Estonian/Latvian border but using the slogan " ...

). The railway was last used for the Riga–Saint Petersburg service in 1998, after which St Petersburg trains operated via

Rēzekne Rēzekne (, ''Rēzne'' or ''Rēzekne'' , ) is a state city in the Rēzekne River valley in the Latgale region of eastern Latvia. It is called ''The Heart of Latgale'' (Latvian ''Latgales sirds'', Latgalian ''Latgolys sirds''). Built on seven ...

. For several years there were no cross-border services, and trains terminated at Lugaži, but since 2008 a regular passenger service again operates from Riga to Valga in

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

twice a day, with an onward connection to

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

via a train in Estonia. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the Riga-Lugaži railway cut services to Valga, with trains ending in Lugaži. Service was restored in May 2020. On 15 December 2024, a new station stop, Šmerlis, was opened between Čiekurkalns and Jugla stations. Starting from 15 December 2024, the passenger carrier " Vivi" will adjust the departure time of the Riga-Valga diesel train to the arrival time of the Lithuanian " LTG Link" diesel train Vilnius-Riga. In turn, from 6 January 2025, the arrival time of the Riga-Valga diesel train will be adjusted to the departure time of the Estonian " Elron" diesel train Valga-Tartu-Tallinn. It is expected that the transfer time will be approximately 10 to 20 minutes. From 10 February 2025, the Latvian carrier "Vivi" will provide passenger transportation from Riga to Valga and back with a modern " PESA 730 ML" diesel train leased from the Lithuanian carrier "LTG Link", thus making transportation more comfortable for passengers on this section, as well as reducing the number of transfers, maintaining the transfer only in Valga.Flights to Vilnius and Tallinn (Vivi)
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Stations

Gallery

Zemitānu stacija.JPG, Zemitani Railway Station Melturi.JPG, Melturi stop

References

Railway lines in Latvia Transport in Riga Railway lines opened in 1889 19th-century establishments in Latvia 5 ft gauge railways in Latvia 1889 establishments in the Russian Empire {{Europe-rail-transport-stub