OREANDA-NEWS. October 03, 2008. In Riga representatives from Latvian, Belarusian, Lithuanian, Ukrainian and Estonian railway companies agreed on extension of container train Viking route and inclusion of Latvia in this route, reported the press-centre of Latvijas dzelzcels.

Container train Viking was opened in 2003 to ensure container cargo flow from Black Sea to Baltic Sea in the route Iljicevska (Ukraine) – Minsk (Belarus) – Klaipeda (Lithuania).

Representatives from railway companies agreed that train operator in the territory of Latvia will be LDz Cargo Ltd., subsidiary of SJSC Latvijas dzelzcels.

Chairman of the Board of LDz Cargo Ltd. says: “We are working to ensure regular cargo flow through the ports of Latvia by diversifying their kinds and sources of origin. Development of container train Viking route would open up new opportunities to use ports of Latvia. Working group considered several optional route variants.

One of them envisaged opening of a separate route branch from Latvia through Belarus, but we took into consideration interests of our colleagues from Lithuania, and therefore we agreed that train from Riga and Klaipeda will be joined up in Radviliski and from there will run to Minsk.”

Further work will be related to development of technologies, ie. train traffic, tariff determination and other detailed activities.

Estonian Railway also has expressed interest to join this train route.