Latvia (LDZ)
Country info: Latvia (Latvija)
Rail companies: LDZ (Latvijas Dzelzceļš)
Currency: Euro
Train travel in Latvia: train types, tickets, fares, discounts & other useful info
National Train Service:
Train types in Latvia: Suburban, Regional & International Passenger trains
- Suburban / Commuter: commuter service on electrified lines around Riga (Riga to Skulte, Riga to Tukums, Riga to Jelgava & Riga to Aizkraukle), special commuter tariff applies. Suburban trains in Latvia have 4 digit number starting with 6***
- Regional: medium & long-distance service on non-electrified lines connecting Riga with major Latvian cities & towns (Riga to Krustpils, Riga to Daugavpils, Riga to Sigulda, Cesis, Valga, Riga to Rezekne, Zilupe, Riga to Madona, Gulbene, Riga to Liepaja). Regional trains in Latvia have 3 digit number starting with 6**
- International: overnight sleeper trains connecting Latvia with Russia (Moscow & St.Petersburg), Belarus (Minsk & Polotsk) & Lithuania (Vilnius). International trains in Latvia have number <100
Currently there is only 3 regular international passenger trains originating (or transiting) from Latvia:
- Riga to Moscow (# 001/002): daily 'branded' train "Latvijas Ekspresis" (17:30-10:17), served by LDZ
- Riga to Saint-Petersburg (# 038/037): daily 'branded' train "Baltija" (17:30-9:33), served by LDZ (between Riga & Rezekne joined with train # 001/002 Riga-Moscow)
- Vilnius to St.Petersburg via Daugavpils & Rezekne (# 091/092): runs daily, served by LG (between Daugavpils and St.Petersburg joined with train # 037/038) (Service Suspended since summer 2015)
- Riga to Minsk via Daugavpils & Polotsk (# 087/088): on odd days (20:20-8:19), served by BCh
Types of carriages in LDz trains:
- Common (общий): mainly 'platskartnyi' couchette carriage where not 54 berths (as in usual 'platskartnyi') are sold, but 81 seats, thus basically turning couchette carriage into seating carriage, seat reservation compulsory. Common carriages in Latvia can be found in international trains to Moscow & St.Petersburg
- Sitting (сидячий): various seating carriages used in Suburban & Regional trains, in Latvia it is usually EMU or DMU with aircraft type salon (1st, 2nd or 3rd class)
- Platskartnyi (плацкартный): 3rd class couchette carriage (3/6) with an open compartments & 54 berths (beds #1-36 located in the open compartments, while beds # 37-54 are on the side, thus opposite to compartments, odd numbers are lower berths, even – upper. Bed reservation required. 'Platskartnyi' carriages in Latvia can be found in international trains to Moscow & St.Petersburg
- Kupe (купе): 2nd class sleeper carriage (2/4) with 'closed' compartments for 4 passengers, odd numbers are lower beds, even – upper. Bed reservation required. 'Kupe' carriages in Latvia can be found in international trains to Moscow & St.Petersburg
- Lux ('люкс' or as well known as 'СВ'): 1st sleeper carriage (1/2) with compartments for 2 passengers, both beds are lower ones, bed reservation required. 'Lux' carriages in Latvia can be found in international trains to Moscow & St.Petersburg
Discounts, special offers & ways to save money for passengers traveling by train in Latvia (LDz):
- Passengers buying return tickets for LDz suburban trains (electrified lines around Riga) receive 5% discount
- For certain off-peak departures (marked in green on LDz website) on suburban trains LDz provides 25% discount for tickets
International Train Service:
Tariffs for international tickets used by Latvian railways:
- for connections to other European countries - East-West tariff, tariff currency - Euro
- for connections to former Soviet republics - MGPT 'interstate' tariff, MGPT tariff currency – Swiss Francs
- for connections to Vietnam, China, N.Korea and Mongolia - MPT tariff, MPT tariff currency - Swiss Francs
a) Regular discounts
Special group (6 & more passengers) discount available for connections to Central & Western Europe
b) Special offers (SparSchiene)
- Passengers purchasing international tickets from Latvia to Russia (Moscow & St.Petersburg) in advance receive additional discount from the base ticket fare: 15% for tickets purchased 45-31 day in advance, 10% for tickets purchased 30-21 day in advance, however passengers purchasing train tickets 10 or less days in advance ticket price is higher by 5%
- Passengers purchasing international tickets from Latvia to Russia (Moscow & St.Petersburg) should also keep in mind that LDz provides 15% discount on bed reservations for upper berths in 'kupe' & 'platskartnyj' carriages, so if passenger is ok sleeping on the upper berths, it is also possible to save some money
- Passengers purchasing international tickets from Latvia to Russia (Moscow & St.Petersburg) should also keep in mind that LDz provides additional 25% discount for those who buy out the entire compartment in kupe (4 bed compartment) or SV (2 bed compartment)
- Passengers purchasing international tickets from Latvia to Belarus (Minsk & Polotsk) should also keep in mind that LDz provides 15% discount on bed reservations in 'platskartnyi' carriages for berths #37-54 (on the side)
- Passengers purchasing international tickets online via LDz website don't pay extra commission for ticket counter services (which is from 1,30 to 7,42 euro depending on type of ticket)
c) CityStars
'Europa-Sparpreise' LDz
Holders of Rail Plus Card eligible to receive 25% discount on tickets (East-West tariff) to/from Latvia to Central & Western European countries
How to Buy Train Tickets in Latvia:
International tickets (from Latvia to Russia (Moscow & St.Petersburg) & Belarus) can be purchase via LDz website www.travel.ldz.lv
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