## Late Revelation "We cannot avoid decisions regarding Rail Baltica. Right now, I feel that it (the route — Ed. note) should not have been started, but the neighbors have already invested a lot of money. The public has been misled for a long time... It was not my responsibility to calculate the costs (of the project), but it was possible to verify within a few minutes using Google that we were being told fairy tales. Not doing this is one of my biggest mistakes of the last decade," — I quoted a statement from an interview with the well-known banking economist Peteris Strautins to the LETA agency. Once again, I emphasize: this was stated by an expert recognized in economic and political circles, a sort of opinion leader, as it is fashionable to say now. ## Where's the money, Zin? As for me, as a railway expert who has worked in the railway industry for over two decades, I have been skeptical about this project of the century for the last couple of years. Even now, after the negative conclusion of the Saeima commission on this project, many under-experts and politicians continue to overlook its problems and tell us about milk rivers and jelly shores! Now, many real professionals in the railway sector already understand that Rail Baltica, in its current form, is not needed for two reasons: firstly, we simply do not have the money for it, and secondly, the project is inherently unprofitable! Profit is not visible even decades down the line! The government is trying to calculate the real total costs of construction, but there is another important item of expenditure — operational costs! How much will it cost per month to maintain this railway: 10 million, 50 million euros? Who will pay for all this? Again, the poor taxpayers? By the way, a tender was recently held for the purchase of trains for Rail Baltica. It is clear that this needs to be done in advance, as manufacturing trains to order is a lengthy process, and if this procurement is not conducted in time, we will build the road but have no trains... So, this tender ended with nothing, as none of the proposals met the competition requirements. Of course, if there were money for the project — for example, only from the European Union and private investors — I would be all for the construction of a high-speed railway. Look: in many European countries, high-speed trains accelerate to 300 kilometers per hour or more, and in China, high-speed trains are already flying at airplane speeds, covering thousands of kilometers in just a few hours! However, again: you can build any railway, even a "space" one, but where are our passengers? We know that the population of Latvia is decreasing every year, and our neighbors in the Baltics cannot boast of population growth either. ## An unattainable dream of high-speed trains I would like to remind you that at the very beginning, when the Rail Baltica project was just being launched, the declared speed of future trains was 250 km/h. This speed is quite sufficient to find oneself in Poland or even at the border with Germany after just a few hours of travel. Agree, it’s convenient: you get on the train in a suit, check your phone, read a book, eat, work on your computer, relax — and suddenly you’re in the heart of Europe. And you don’t have to think about the size of your bag or the weight of your suitcase, as you do when flying, and you don’t need to arrive two hours before the flight. Comfortable, fast, convenient — this is the advantage of trains! Moreover, train stations are usually located in the city center, which means you can quickly get to your hotel or any other place you need for work or leisure. But the reality is that now, due to a lack of funding, they want to create only one railway track, and there is no talk of a high-speed train — the maximum speed is planned to be within 130–140 km/h! Sorry, but then I see no point in implementing this project. Instead of Rail Baltica — high-speed highways and the reconstruction of the existing railway network. If it were up to me, I would refuse to build Rail Baltica and direct funds to develop the current broad gauge, to put the Riga Central Station in order, and to build highways connecting the major cities of Latvia. If the previous Latvian ministers had not lied to us and had immediately revealed the real cost of the project and its scale, I believe society would have long ago forced the authorities to abandon Rail Baltica and seek permission in Brussels to redirect EU funds to build high-speed highways. It still seems to me that Latvia in the 21st century deserves at least two modern high-speed roads with a permitted speed of 110–130 km/h all year round! A high-speed highway is an investment not only in the mobility of the population but also in the development of the economy and regions! There is no need to look far for an example — let’s look at Poland! ## Instead of trucks and pickups — bicycles In general, we have big problems with transport development! In Riga, the city authorities seem to have decided that the city will develop and earn precisely through cyclists! Apparently, they are the ones transporting goods, paying transport taxes, delivering tourists to hotels and restaurants... How else can we explain the multimillion-dollar investments in so-called bike mobility?! And all this is done at the expense of motor transport! I looked at what has now been done to Dzirnavu Street — with a flowerbed and posts right in the middle of the road — and I felt sick! I remember last winter in the center of Riga such a picture: pedestrians in the early morning trying to crawl through snowdrifts to public transport stops, while nearby — a bike path cleared to a shine, on which, of course, there was not a single cyclist. Again, if I were to fantasize, I would think globally about how to put part of the trams underground — like the U-Bahn in Germany or Austria. ## For the railway to develop and earn But let’s return to the railway transport that is close to my heart. I believe we need to actively develop electric trains on short routes and finally start purchasing new diesel passenger trains to improve railway communication between Riga and distant cities — Daugavpils, Rēzekne, Liepāja, and Ventspils... Interestingly, Lithuania and Estonia have long conducted tenders and purchased such trains, while Latvia still cannot do this, supposedly because such trains do not meet green policy requirements. Somehow, Lithuania and Estonia managed to bypass these requirements, and only we cannot do anything. But here, as was said in an old joke, we need to change the whole system! My dream is for Latvian Railways to come back to life and start earning again, instead of standing with an outstretched hand waiting for state subsidies, as it does now. Perhaps LDz should step outside its usual framework and start developing IT services, participating in construction projects using existing machinery and equipment... Income diversification is necessary. With proper management, nothing is impossible. Railway workers, hang in there, we can do it! And the Rail Baltica project needs to be rolled back, and the sooner, the better!
