Latvian rail freight has shrunk by around 25% in the first five months of 2025. Amid that business contraction, Latvian Railways (LDz) is looking to sell dozens of freight wagons.
Rail in Latvia transported a meagre 3,76 million tonnes of freight between January and May of 2025. That is 26,8% less than during the same period last year, when trains moved 5,14 million tonnes.
International traffic declined by around 31%, for a total of 3,11 million tonnes. Of that number, 2,44 million tonnes came from transit traffic (-36.5%). Around two million tonnes transited through ports. The only category to see growth was domestic freight, which rose slightly by 5.5%, from 613,000 to 647,000 tonnes.
In line with the decline of its freight business, the turnover of LDz decreased by 11.3% to 233,7 million euros last year. That means that the company ended the year with a loss of 39,4 million euros. LDz Cargo’s turnover decreased from 148 million euros in 2022 to 100 million euros in 2024.
Wagon sales
Unsurprisingly, LDz is looking for ways to readjust to the new reality of crashing freight volumes. Its freight subsidiary LDz Cargo wants to sell 63 freight wagons from its inventory fleet, for which it held a tender on 18 June. It also wants, however, to keep 28 bogies and 176 wheelsets, which the buyer will need to disassemble and return to the rail freight operator.
Moreover, LDz Cargo is preparing for a similar auction on 26 June, during which it wants to sell 66 wagons that are now located in Ukraine.