Latvian Political Monitor

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The prolonged negotiations with 🇪🇪 have finally yielded results - we have agreed on the first Riga-Tartu-Tallinn train route already this autumn!

@IngaSpringe Would you agree to an interview requested by some RU propaganda show? So there are no misunderstandings - I am not drawing an equal sign, but I invite you to consider that a refusal can have different reasons. Of course, you have the right to assumptions, but that is an opinion that it would be professional to separate from facts.

Upon starting an official inspection, we have discovered that while the post is in a 'serious financial situation', closing branches and laying off employees, LP Council Chair Raimonds Dūda has spent almost 25 thousand euros on study trips. While the company counted every saved euro, the council chair went to study in Switzerland 5 times from September to December last year. When we started asking deeper questions, the council decided to resign. The council's extravagant spending and disregard for the company's employees and postal customers is the real reason why the dialogue with the ministry has reached a dead end. Whether from the industry trade union, worried calls from residents and whistleblowers from municipalities, or media publishers, we heard the same thing - the rapid closure of branches is happening without full consultations with the parties involved and seriously threatens the continuity of critical postal services. Already in January we directly asked the council for a clear plan on how service continuity would be ensured. We still haven't received such a plan. The post must modernize, but it must be done wisely and humanely, not brutally and thoughtlessly. I am convinced that with the current management and new council a constructive dialogue will be established.

I have proposed initiating an official service check into the actions of @latvijas_pasts management in organizing a party for nearly 180 thousand euros. Employee events are needed, but their costs must be aligned with the company's financial capabilities. Such waste is unacceptable - especially in circumstances when the post office, without assessment and consultations, was planning to close branches and lay off employees.

With this I want to make it known that as of today Aleksandrs Kiršteins is no longer a member of the National Alliance.

I inform that the board members of @ViviVilciens will no longer fulfill their duties. Likewise, a full-scale external audit has been ordered to evaluate the procurement process of the new trains, including the preparation of technical specifications, acceptance of the trains, commissioning, and the responsibility of the persons involved. The main priority remains unchanged – to overcome this crisis as soon as possible.

I have received positive signals about Latvia's application in the Military Mobility call. That would mean funding won in fierce competition for a new Salacgrīva bridge. According to @LVceli, construction will start already in spring and the new bridge will be opened after 2 years. Full speed ahead! 🌉

In collaboration with @riga_airport we continue to work actively to solve the taxi problem. In the near future, the following solutions will be introduced: (1) The airport will introduce taxi vouchers. This will be an initial solution that will allow you to buy a taxi ride to the center at a fixed price. Initially, vouchers can be purchased at the airport, but in the future - also online. We will continue to develop this product to offer rides to other zones of the city as well! (2) Next week, we will submit amendments to the law in the responsible Saeima committee, which provide for additional solutions - price ceilings, control mechanisms for dishonest taxi drivers, driver registration. I agree that this is also a matter of the country's reputation, which has not been resolved for 30 years. (3) The airport has also found a potential solution for direct bus routes to the center. We will work to introduce them in the coming months. (4) For several months now, both the @boltapp pickup point in the airport parking lot and the new bus stop have been working successfully. This expands the options for getting to the city cheaper. We also see that the number of passengers on buses has increased.

The supervision of the largest construction contract in Latvian history must be ensured according to the highest standards. Therefore, on January 5 of this year, I have instructed the State Secretary of @Sat_Min to initiate an official inquiry regarding a possible conflict of interest with Jānis Iesalnieks becoming the head of construction contract management in the EDZL Project Implementation and Management Department. It will be assessed whether, in hiring J. Iesalnieks, there was a failure to fulfill duties regarding conflict of interest prevention or a violation of internal regulations. I have also instructed the holder of the state capital shares of EDZL to evaluate possible recourse to competent institutions.

Passengers must have access to clear information about delays and alternative transport solutions in the event of a trip cancellation. This morning, in an emergency meeting with @ATD_LV, @VAS_LDz and @ViviVilciens, we agreed on 3 actions with deadlines. (1) A unified online database where dispatchers promptly register delays and forecasts. Yes, unfortunately, until now there has been no such unified approach. Information circulation is currently fragmented, via text messages and calls, but a unified information channel will help convey information to passengers faster and more accurately. We will also not wait for any expensive IT procurement; we agreed on a simple interim solution. Deadline: today. (2) Synchronous communication. Updated information from the delay database must immediately reach all communication channels, whether it be the Vivi app, website, social networks, the driver's or conductor's voice announcement in the train, and in the future also platform displays, etc. Each channel must have a responsible person who knows and can immediately distribute the same reliable information. Deadline: Friday. (3) And – most importantly – alternative transport solutions must be provided in the event of a trip cancellation. It is unacceptable to leave people waiting in the cold and uncertainty. It is not easy to solve a problem that has simply been postponed for years, but I demand quick, not perfect, solutions. Whether buses, reserve trains, or taxis – I have requested cost and implementation speed estimates for all possible alternatives so we can make immediate decisions already this winter season. Proposal submission deadline: January 8. On behalf of all involved institutions, I apologize to passengers for the inconvenience during the introduction of new trains and the modernization of railway infrastructure. Mistakes and glitches will happen, but we are actively working together to overcome these challenges and build a modern public transport system in Latvia.

Today, together with the management of @ViviVilciens, I spoke by phone with the chairperson of the management board of Škoda Vagonka and the lead project manager. (1) All identified defects are being remedied under warranty. Latvia will not pay a single cent for defect remediation. 3 trains have already been repaired in less than 24 hours. (2) Škoda has promised 4 specific things - additional presence of specialists in Riga on a 24/7 basis, a detailed A-level defect analysis with feedback, improved crisis communication and coordination, and additional training for our drivers to independently remedy defects. Our drivers are professionals in their trade, but mastering any new system takes time. (3) Almost without exception, defects are to be expected in the commissioning phase of new trains. According to Škoda's international experience, in the first week, at best 70–80% of planned trains are fully operational. We do not stand out compared with other countries. Let us recall the challenges our neighbours in Estonia faced in similar circumstances - systematic defect elimination took several years and repeated train certification was also needed. (4) The causes of our train defects so far have been linked to various factors, including power supply, door sensors and water supply systems. They too were remedied within 24 hours. As an illustration - one train has more than 6,000 electrical connections; it is a complex system whose initial defects cannot be fully detected during testing. Some of them manifest only when full operation begins in dynamic mode with passengers on board. Like a new car, a train also needs a break-in period. (5) The above-mentioned defects were quickly remedied, but Škoda also informed us of a potentially more serious defect concerning the battery charging of one train. The battery charging system was working inadequately, so the train stopped at a station and it was no longer possible to start its control systems or raise the current collector/pantograph again. Škoda promised that this defect would also be remedied soon. (6) Tomorrow I am meeting with @ATD_LV, @VAS_LDz and @ViviVilciens to find solutions for more effective management of such emergency situations while taking care of our passengers. I expect improvements both in passenger notification algorithms, the compensation mechanism, aligning the introduction of new trains with active infrastructure works in the railway system (platforms, electricity network, tracks), and in the possibilities for providing reserve transport in emergencies.