The Railways of Latvia Toms Altbergs Karīna Augustāne Ieva Pētersone THE RAILWAYS OF LATVIA Translated by Daina Grosa UDK 656.2(474.3)(091) Ra 314 Foreword Th is book was published with the support of State Joint Stock Company “Latvijas dzelzceļš” Th e national railway company of Latvia — State Joint Stock Company Latvijas dzelzceļš which recently became a concern, is one of the nation’s largest companies and one of the strongest economically. Th e history of the railways in the territory of Latvia dates back 150 years. Latvian State Railways was founded on 5 August 1919. Th e Railway Central Board took on the task of transforming the railways that had been Design Jānis Jaunarājs devastated by World War I and the chaos that followed and over a 20 year Managing Editor Evija Veide period established one of the most extensive and modern railway networks Copy Editor Marianna Auliciema in Europe. Th e network was founded on the legacy of tsarist Russia, with over 800 km of railways constructed, and so a structurally well-balanced railway system was established. Th is provided domestic and transit trans- The photographs and documents used in this book have been sourced from the collections at the Power Industry Museum, National History Museum of port services to the east and the west. Working on the railways symbolised Latvia, Latvian Railway History Museum, October Railway Central Museum stability and being a railwayman became one of the most prestigious and and the Lithuanian Railway Museum as well as the private archives of Vladimirs Eihenbaums, Dainis Punculs, Arnis Dambis, Dzintra Rupeika, Manfred best-paid professions. Hohmann and Peter Lindemann. Over the years, strong traditions have evolved among the employees of Latvijas dzelzceļš, as well as a strong sense of community, common ties and AUTHORS pride in the profession. When Latvijas dzelzceļš renewed its independent Toms Altbergs: Rītupe–Daugavpils, Rīga–Daugavpils, Daugavpils–Zemgale, Daugavpils–Indra, status in 1992, pre-war railwaymen’s traditions were gradually reinstated Rīga–Jelgava, Liepāja–Vaiņode, Rīga–Mangaļi, Rīga–Bolderāja, Grīva–Eglaine, and the profession regained its prestige. Th is is a result of sound economic Jelgava–Reņģe, Rīga–Tukums, Rīga–Valka, Valka–Ipiķi, Liepāja–Aizpute, management as well as the eff orts of railway historians and well-wishers. Ventspils–Zilupe, Abrene–Sita, Pļaviņas–Valka, Ainaži–Valmiera–Smiltene and As time goes by and the company develops it is important to look at cur- Pāle–Staicele, Ieriķi–Gulbene–Sita, Priekule–Kalēti, Jelgava–Meitene, Viesīte field railways, Stende–Ventspils field railways, Meitene–Bauska, rent aff airs omfr a historical perspective. Th is book was writt en to concisely Aizpute–Saldus, Liepāja–Rucava, Sita–Rēzekne, Pakalnieši–Kūdupe, recount the history of the development of the railways in the territory of Liepāja–Kuldīga and Alsunga–Ventspils Latvia since the mid-19th century. Th e book contains a chronological his- Karīna Augustāne: Liepāja–Glūda tory, with an accent on railway lines and stations. I am convinced that this book, rich in facts and illustrations and co- Ieva Pētersone: Cycles in Latvian railway history, Rīga–Ērgļi–Madona–Lubāna–Kārsava, authored by experts at the Latvian Railway History Museum, will be an Krustpils–Jēkabpils, Rīga–Rūjiena interesting read and will help to understand the railway sector—one of the pillars of our nation’s economy. ISBN 978–9984–38–776–5 © State Joint Stock Company “Latvijas dzelzceļš”, 2010 © Toms Altbergs, Karīna Augustāne, Ieva Pētersone, text, 2009 Uģis Magonis, © Daina Grosa, translation, 2010 Chairman of the Board © Jānis Jaunarājs, design and layout, 2010 © Publication in English, “Jumava” publishers, 2010 Joint Stock Company Latvijas dzelzceļš Index Introduction, overview of sources and literature INTRODUCTION, OVERVIEW OF SOURCES AND LITERATURE 7 Th e railway network of Latvia reached its peak in 1938/1939, when Fund also provided technical information on the condition of the the total length of the network was 3350 kilometres. During the railways in existence at the time and the construction of new lines. CYCLES IN LATVIAN RAILWAY HISTORY years of Latvia’s independence the railways provided the backbone Th is information was fi rstly gleaned from the minutes of technical Th e origin of the railways in Latvia (1860–1918) 9 for the transport system and the economy as a whole. Having ex- committ ee meetings; it was also found in technical materials such Latvian State Railways (1919–1940) 11 perienced the rapid development of automobile and air transporta- as sketch albums, plans of railway lines, stations and bridges. Doc- Latvian Railways during World War II (1940–1945) 15 tion, Europe is now, at the start of the 21st century, returning to rail umentation could not be found in relation to all lines and railway Th e railway during the Soviet occupation regime (1945–1991) 16 transport, recognising it as an environmentally friendly, economical, structures, and thus, as the Railway Central Board Fund was not How Latvian Railways regained independence (1991–1992) 18 convenient and safe mode of transport. Th e aim of this book is to comprehensive, it could only serve as a partial and incomplete his- describe the origin and development of the railway network until it torical source when researching this book. RAILWAY LINES IN LATVIA Rītupe–Daugavpils 20 Ainaži–Valmiera–Smiltene and Pāle–Staicele 116 reached its peak and to outline the fate of the lines until 1991, when Th e Latvian State Historical Archives could provide detailed in- management of the railway was taken over again by the independent formation on the operations of two private railway joint stock com- Rīga–Daugavpils 25 Ieriķi–Gulbene–Sita 121 Latvian state. In 1994 the state-owned joint stock company Latvijas panies (the Valmiera Narrow Gauge Branch Line and the Liepāja– Daugavpils–Zemgale 37 Priekule–Kalēti 126 Daugavpils–Indra 39 dzelzceļš founded a museum responsible for studying railway herit- Aizpute Railway) from 1924 to 1938, however this information does Jelgava–Meitene 128 age and establishing a museum collection. At last all the information, not contribute much to the analysis of the development trends of Rīga–Jelgava 43 Viesīte fi eld railways 130 Liepāja–Vaiņode 48 images and cartographic material relating to the railway network in the Latvian railway network. Stende–Ventspils fi eld railways 136 Latvia have been collected and housed in one place. Th e book pro- An important primary source that is still overlooked is the Army Rīga–Mangaļi 54 Meitene–Bauska 146 Rīga–Bolderāja 56 vides a description of the railways, arranged in chronological order Military Field Transport Central Board Fund No. 3593 within the Aizpute–Saldus 148 Grīva–Eglaine 62 of construction, revealing the unique details of each line and its fate. Latvian State Historical Archives. Th ese documents relate to the Liepāja–Rucava 150 Jelgava–Reņģe 64 Th e photographs of stations and halts, gleaned from the museum taking over of management of railway lines and stations following Rīga–Tukums 68 Liepāja–Glūda 153 collection and the collections of railway enthusiasts, provide an German occupation as well as the period of the struggle for inde- Rīga–Valka 76 Sita–Rēzekne 162 insight into changes in the appearance of the railway surroundings pendence 1919–1920. Valka–Ipiķi 84 Pakalnieši–Kūdupe 164 over the years. Information about railways in the territory of Latvia 1940–1941 Liepāja–Aizpute 86 Liepāja–Kuldīga and Alsunga–Ventspils 166 Although the research includes an extensive range of histori- and 1944–1992 can be found in the State Archives of Latvia Fund Ventspils–Zilupe 90 Rīga–Ērgļi–Madona–Lubāna–Kārsava 174 cal sources and literature, many questions still remain unanswered. No. 93, entitled Baltijas dzelzceļa pārvalde un tai pakļautās nodaļas Abrene–Sita 108 Krustpils–Jēkabpils 179 During the course of writing this book, the authors consulted archi- (Th e Baltic Railway Board and its subordinate departments). A large val material and publications, but it is the meticulous comparison volume of information is available here, although it has not been fully Pļaviņas–Valka 110 Rīga–Rūjiena 182 and scrutiny of annual reports, train schedules, maps, regulations as catalogued. In writing this book, information has been included on APPENDIX well as eyewitness accounts that have aimed to dispel inaccuracies the structure of railway management as well as the restoration and Bibliography 192 that have crept in over the years, and to collate all the information construction of railway lines. Th is archival material was essential in Alphabetical list of persons 194 scatt ered in many locations. helping to narrow down some key dates such as the construction List of stations, crossing loops, passing loops and halts 197 Documents located in the Latvian Railway Central Board Fund of buildings built during the Soviet era, the dates when services on No. 4592 of the Latvian State Historical Archives were used as a pri- specifi c sections of the line were reopened and the dates when lines mary source for the period between 1919 and 1945, as were some were electrifi ed. documents from the turn of the 20th century. It has been diffi cult to Th e other listed archival funds were used to obtain information locate an extensive collection of materials in the archives pertaining regarding sidings constructed to provide access to factories built to the period up to the founding of the Republic of Latvia. Informa- during the Soviet era, various government enterprises, military tion about the more important resolutions regarding railway policy zones, ports, forests, peat bogs and granite quarries. and the development of the railways was gleaned from other docu- Maps and charts were an invaluable resource, as were postcards ments in the fi le: minutes of the meetings of the Railways Board, and photographs from the Latvian Railway History Museum and management directions and directions of the Minister of Transport.