Estonia’s Minister of Climate Kristen Michal (Reform Party) has submitted to the government a request to allocate from the government special-purpose reserve a total of EUR 25.9 million to help cover the losses suffered by the state-owned railway operator Eesti Raudtee, as reported by Estonian public media ERR.
In his letter to the Ministry of Finance, Michal said this decision was made in regards to the state’s obligation, as listed in the Railway Law, to ensure balance of the revenue of the concern and to reimburse the expenses related to the maintenance of the railway infrastructure in Estonia.
According to forecasts, Eesti Raudtee’s
losses will reach EUR 30.2 million this year,
EUR 32 million in 2024, EUR 34 million in 2025 and EUR 38 million in 2026.
The subsidies provided by the Latvian state to maintain the railway infrastructure reach on average EUR 70 million. In May 2023 Latvian Minister of Finance Arvils Ašeradens announced that the rail infrastructure needs maintaining but the government cannot afford to cover losses in the amounts reported by Latvian Railway.
Also read: Wage growth in Latvia – the most rapid in the past 15 years