Rail freight volumes in Latvia fall by 10.6% in 7 months; internal traffic increases

23.08.2010 (18:01)

Volumes of freight carried by rail in Latvia (Latvijas Dzelzcels) fell by 10.6% in the first seven months of 2010, with a total volume of 29.10 million tons carried; however, there was a significant increase in internal traffic, according to information provided by the Transport Ministry.

The internal freight transportation situation has changed significantly. While in the first six months of the year the volume of internal traffic fell 40% year-on-year down to 303,900 tons, in just one month the figure has doubled, and now stands at 667,400 tons for the first seven months of the year, representing a fall of just 4.4% year-on-year.

International freight traffic has decreased by 10.8%, with a total figure of 28.43 million tons, writes LETA.

According to the statistics, rail transit freight transported through the country's ports has fallen by 13.3% to 23.85 million tons.

The largest rail freight carrier in Latvia is LDz Cargo, subsidiary company of national rail company Latvijas Dzelcels.

Lithuanian rail company Lietuvos gelezinkeliai transported 26.7 million tons of freight in the first seven months of this year, an increase of 14.7% year-on-year.

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