Pasažieru vilciens is the only passenger-carrying railway company in Latvia, operating both electric and diesel trains on various lines throughout the country. It was formed in November 2001 by bringing together two separate companies, PPU "Elektrovilciens" and PPU "Dīzeļvilciens", under one name, creating the first subsidiary of Latvian Railways. As of October 2008 JSC "Pasažieru vilciens" is an independent state-owned company. As of 2017, the company employed 1,075 people. PV currently operates ten routes with its main operating base being the capital city, Riga.
Routes
JSC "Pasažieru vilciens" makes the passenger transports in the following electric train routes:
The first project for the procurement of new trains was announced in 2010 and 2011. In 2012 PV ordered 34 three-car electric multiple unit trains and seven three-car diesel multiple unit trains from CAF to be built on the Civity platform, with plans to manufacture them in cooperation with RVR. Later that year the contract was halted due to irregularities and an appeal from Stadler with the European Commission, an initial financial supporter of the project, and a new procurement organized. A hire/purchase contract for 25 Stadler FLIRT EMUs was likewise cancelled in July 2014 after an appeal from the other participant, Hyundai Rotem, and another tender organized. In December 2015, four contenders – Talgo, CAF, Stadler Polska and Škoda Vagonka – continued participation in the second stage of the train procurement project. The contract includes the delivery of 32 trains with a capacity of 450 each, from 2020 to 2023, maintenance equipment, spare parts for five years and staff training. Talgo's VitTal was announced as the provisional winner of the €225.3 million contract in November 2018 although Škoda rejected the methodology used to assess price competitiveness. Škoda and CAF filed a successful appeal of the results of the procurement in December, while Stadler expressed disappointment at the results. After reviewing the results of the contest under instructions from the government's procurement watchdog agency, the Procurement Monitoring Bureau, PV announced on February 15, 2019 that the offer from Škoda worth €241.88 million has been selected as the new winner, based on revised electricity consumption cost estimates. Talgo announced in a press release the same day that they will contest the decision. On May 21, 2019, PV announced that after the second revision of the submitted bids, Škoda was again confirmed as the winner, however, the decision could yet again be contested. The offer of Talgo was mentioned as to have had a lower price per unit, but the maintenance costs of Škoda trains were found to be lower with the total cost lower as well. Minister of TransportTālis Linkaits commented on this that due to potential issues regarding the implication of Škoda Transportation A.S., a subsidiary of Škoda Transportation Group and a sister company of Škoda Vagonka, in recent corruption scandals concerning the Rīgas Satiksmepublic transport company, a failure to wrap up the procurement by the end of the year might lead to the dissolution of PV. The PMB turned down the final complaint by Talgo on July 4, giving PV the go-ahead to sign a contract with Škoda Vagonka. In a statement, the PV predicted that they would receive the first trains in late 2021, with the last ones being shipped in late 2023. The contract between PV and Škoda Vagonka a.s. was finally signed on 30 July 2019. Under the agreement, all 32 trains have to be delivered by 2023 or 140 weeks after the contract takes effect. Each 109-meter-long four-car train with a top speed of 160 km/h will accommodate 436 seated and 450 standing passengers. The trains are expected to operate services from Riga to Aizkraukle, Tukums, Jelgava and Skulte, as well as the inter-urban routes from to Krustpils, Daugavpils and Rēzekne which are expected to be electrified at 25 kV 50 Hz for completion by the end of 2023.
