The chairman of the Management Board of Latvijas dzelzceļš (LDz), Andris Liepiņš, and board member Reinis Ceplis have resigned from their positions, Liepiņš announced.
“Together with LDz, we have gone through a critically important stage in the company’s history. We have achieved a great deal, and we believe it is time to pass on responsibility for LDz’s further oversight to other professionals,” Ceplis stated in a press announcement.
Liepiņš and Ceplis will continue working on the LDz board until the 31st of December of this year.
Meanwhile, board member Andis Veinbergs will continue in his role, with a mandate running from the 12th of February of this year until a new board member is appointed through the nomination process.
Liepiņš and Ceplis were appointed to the LDz board in mid-2019, and in the summer of 2024 their mandates were extended for another five years — until June 2029.
In a statement to the media, Liepiņš said that LDz and
the LDz group have experienced “unprecedented turbulence, transformation, crises and growth simultaneously”
during the more than six years he has served on the board.
He noted that when he joined LDz in mid-2019, the geopolitical situation at the time had already caused a steep decline in freight volumes transported across Latvia’s railway infrastructure, forcing the company to undertake radical changes.
Liepiņš highlighted that looking back at the work done in recent years, it is clear that LDz has succeeded in carrying out several key tasks — including reducing core operating costs from €166 million in 2019 to €124 million in 2025. He also emphasized that the newly built LDz passenger infrastructure is of high quality and accessible for all groups of society.
Ceplis added in his statement that LDz now faces a new phase, as a new operational strategy through 2030 has been developed and is close to being approved. He also noted that the LDz group merger was completed this autumn, and the integration of Eiropas dzelzceļa līnijas into LDz is in its final stage.
As previously reported, the LDz group’s turnover last year amounted to €233.738 million — an 11.3% decrease compared to 2023 — while group losses increased significantly to €39.438 million.
As part of this year’s reorganization, in October the LDz subsidiary LDz Cargo was merged with two other LDz subsidiaries: LDz ritošā sastāva serviss and LDz loģistika. The LDz group also includes LatRailNet, responsible for infrastructure charging and capacity allocation, and the security company LDz apsardze.
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