Riga Central Station (Latvian: Rīgas Centrālā stacijа) is the main railway station in Riga, Latvia. It is known as the main point of Riga due to its central location, and most forms of public transport stop in this area. Part of the building is a shopping centre.
Three rail mainlines connect the station to the east:
Trains on the Riga-Krustpils line run more than 3 times per hour to Ogre and Lielvarde, and least once per hour to Aizkraukle, where the Electric trains stop. Diesel trains run to Madona once per day, and to Gulbenevia Madona on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. One train per day goes to Krustpils, however two trains a day to Zilupe, one to Rezekne, four to Daugavpils, a Sunday trip Livani-Riga in the summer, and one to Kraslava or Indra depending on the day also serve the station. The train line Riga-Daugavpils-Aglona[1] runs once per year.
Trains to Jelgava run every hour or so as electrics, but there are 8 trains per week to Liepāja, and as of December 27, 2023, one to Vilnius.[2]
Trains to Tukums II viaJurmala run frequently, with frequencies lessening after Sloka. Trains along the line to Ventspils were cancelled in 2010.
In 1868, the railway line from Riga to Jelgava opened, initially terminating at Torņakalns railway station on the west bank of the river Daugava. From 1872, however, all trains were continued from there via the Iron Bridge across the Daugava to the Riga II Station.
The Dvinsk station after the expansion of 1885 with the chapel in front of the station building.
Due to the further expansion of the railway network, the old building became too small, and in 1885 the station was rebuilt and expanded with two large side wings following the project of the architect Heinrich Scheel. In 1889, a Neo-Byzantine stylechapel was also built in front of the railway station to commemorate the miraculous survival of Emperor Alexander III and his family at the Borki train disaster in 1888.
Two separate stations were in operation in 19th century — one serving the line to Daugavpils and the other towards Jūrmala. They were joined and reconstructed in 1914 and functioned until the 1960s. In 1960 the current station building was opened and in 1965 — a second one. During the years, the station saw many reconstructions.[6]
Future developments
Riga Central
Map of the planned Rail Baltica line
There exist plans to completely remodel the station in conjunction with the Rail Baltica project. A design by Danish architectural firms PLH Architects and COWI was selected in March 2017.[7]
Other facilities
In the Central station building on the first floor there is a Rimi hypermarket. Directly nearby is Stockmann supermarket and the largest cinema, cin the city — Forum cinemas. In the station there are a lot of popular restaurants such as "Čili pica", Hesburger etc. Opposite Marijas iela there is a McDonald's, Burger King restaurants and a few hotels.
There are many stops at this location. The main stop is the railway station, Riga Central Station, which operates all passenger trains within Latvia. Most public transport stops are situated in the nearby streets — Marijas iela, Merķeļa iela, Satekles iela and 13. janvāra iela. Buses and trolleybuses stop here.
.png)
.jpg)
.02.jpg)
