Riga–Lugaži Railway

The Riga–Lugaži Railway is a 166 kilometres (103 mi) long,^[2] 1,524 mm (5 ft) gauge railway in Latvia. It was built in the late 19th century (commencing in 1886) to connect the cities of Riga and Saint Petersburg via Valga and Pskov. The railway was opened in 1889.^[1]

Riga–Lugaži Railway
Riga–Valga train between Melturi and Āraiši stations
Overview
Termini	Riga 56.947222°N 24.122222°E / 56.947222; 24.122222 Lugaži 57.753138°N 26.001206°E / 57.753138; 26.001206
Service
Operator(s)	Latvian Railways
History
Opened	1889[1]
Technical
Line length	166 km (103.15 mi)[2]
Track gauge	1,524 mm (5 ft)

v t e Riga–Lugaži line
Legend
Riga–Jelgava Railway to Jelgava and the coast Riga Central Dzirnavu Street, Riga Lāčplēša Street, Riga Riga–Daugavpils Railway to Daugavpils Vietlavas Street │ Matīsa Street , Riga A. Deglava Street, Riga A. Čaka Street, Riga Zemitāni Brīvības Street, Riga Zemitāni-Skulte Railway to Skulte Gustava Zemgala gatve, Riga Čiekurkalns Džutas Street, Riga Krustabaznīcas Street, Riga Šmerlis Lizuma Street, Riga Jugla Baltezera Street, Riga Jugla Jaunciema Avenue, Rīga A 1 / E67 Baltezers Garkalne A 2 / E77 Krievupe Vangaži near Vangaži Inčukalns Egļupe Silciems A 2 / E77 Rīgas Street, Sigulda Sigulda R. Blaumaņa Street, Sigulda Nītaures Street, Sigulda near Sigulda near Augšlīgatne Līgatne A 2 / E77 near Augšlīgatne near Sinepes Ieriķi near Ieriķi Station Melturi near Melturi halt Amata P 31 Araiši A 2 / E77 P 20 Piebalgas Street, Cēsis Cēsis J. Poruka Street, Cēsis Valmieras Street, Cēsis Pūpolu Street, Cēsis P 20 Jāņmuiža P 20 Rauna P 20 Lode P 20 near Liepa near Liepa Bāle near Miegupīte near Kauguri P 18 Valmiera Paula Valdena Street , Valmiera Abuls Brenguļi Gauja A 3 / E264, Strenči Pulkveža Zemitāna iela 14, Strenči Strenči Mežmalas iela, Strenči Seda P 26, Strenči Nameless road, near Saule Saule A 3 / E264, Saule Lugaži P 24, LugažiVõru Latvia Estonia Võru, Valga Valga To destinations in Estonia

The final station in Latvia is Lugaži (near Valka). The railway was last used for the Riga–Saint Petersburg service in 1998, after which St Petersburg trains operated via Rēzekne. 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 twice a day, with an onward connection to Tallinn via a train in Estonia. During the COVID-19 pandemic, 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.^[3] 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.^[4][5]

Stations

Station	Locale
Rīga	Riga
Zemitāni
Čiekurkalns
Šmerlis
Jugla
Batlezers (Former)	Garkalne municipality
Garkalne
Krievupe
Vangaži	Inčukalns municipality
Inčukalns
Egļupe	Sigulda municipality
Silciems (Former)
Sigulda
Līgatne	Līgatne municipality
Ieriķi	Amata municipality
Melturi
Āraiši
Cēsis	Cēsis municipality
Jāņmuiža	Priekuļi municipality
Lode	Rūjiena municipality
Bāle (Former)	Beverīna municipality
Valmiera	Valmiera municipality
Brenguļi (Former)	Beverīna municipality
Strenči	Strenči municipality
Seda (Former)
Saule (Former)	Valka municipality
Lugaži
Valga	Estonia

Gallery

• 
  Zemitani Railway Station
• 
  Melturi stop