🇱🇻 Latvia buys 9 battery trains — what the Baltic passenger fleet looks like
Latvia has signed an €89.4M contract with Škoda Group for nine battery-electric trains (BEMU), with delivery by 2029.
The units will replace ageing diesel trains on the Daugavpils and Cēsis corridors, with an option for seven more.
Against this backdrop, here is the current passenger fleet across the Baltic region:
🇪🇪 Estonia — Elron
Main rolling stock:
• Stadler FLIRT (electric & diesel) — the backbone of Estonia’s passenger network, operating on all key routes (Tallinn–Tartu, Tallinn–Narva, Pärnu region).
• New Škoda EMUs (16 units) — entering service from 2025, replacing older stock on electrified lines.
📌 Estonia is the only Baltic state that has already phased out old Soviet-era diesel trains — the fleet is the most unified in the region.
🇱🇹 Lithuania — LTG Link
Main rolling stock:
• Pesa 730ML — diesel sets used on long intercity routes (Vilnius–Klaipėda, Vilnius–Šiauliai–Riga).
• Škoda EJ575 EMUs — serving the Vilnius–Kaunas electrified corridor.
• Stadler FLIRT (electric/hybrid) — expanding the fleet and gradually becoming the regional standard.
📌 Lithuania is the only Baltic country where major intercity lines still rely primarily on diesel traction.
🇱🇻 Latvia — Vivi / ATD
Main rolling stock:
• Škoda 16Ev EMUs (32 units) — new electric trains operating on Riga’s electrified corridors (Aizkraukle, Tukums, Jelgava, Sigulda).
• Legacy DR1A diesel units (1980–1992) — currently serving non-electrified routes (Riga–Daugavpils, Riga–Rēzekne, Riga–Valmiera).
• New Škoda BEMU fleet (9 + option for 7) — to begin replacing diesel trains from 2029, covering the Daugavpils and Cēsis corridors.
📌 Latvia becomes the first Baltic state to introduce a battery-train fleet as an alternative to large-scale electrification.
🛤 Trans-Baltic Corridor (Tallinn–Riga–Vilnius)
Passengers today travel on a combined three-operator chain with transfers:
• Elron FLIRT — Tallinn → Valga
• Vivi / Pesa 730ML — Valga → Riga
• LTG Link Pesa 730ML — Riga → Vilnius
A unified ticket exists, but no through-running train yet.
🔎 Three countries — three strategies
• Estonia: fleet modernisation + Stadler standardisation → almost fully renewed fleet.
• Lithuania: mixed fleet; diesel remains dominant on long-distance lines.
• Latvia: EMUs + shift toward battery operation instead of full electrification.
📌 Latvia’s BEMU order reinforces a shared regional trend: the Baltics are moving away from diesel, but each country follows a different technological path — electrification, unification, or battery hybridisation.
Image: photos/photo_105@11-12-2025_13-50-06.jpg