The supervisory board of the Latvian carrier has resigned

Sandis Shteins, who has led the supervisory board of AS Pasažieru vilciens since 2016, announced the joint decision this week. The resignation comes amid the crisis with Skoda Group trains, this is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

Two other members of the supervisory board, Inta Liepa and Imants Paeglis, also stepped down.

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According to Shteins, the supervisory board lacks the authority to resolve the crisis caused by the inability to replace faulty trains and ensure the necessary level of passenger transportation.

On January 25th, AS Pasažieru vilciens approved a new temporary supervisory board.

The first Skoda 16Ev trains started operating on domestic routes at the end of last year.

Currently, 17 out of the 32 four-carriage trains ordered from the Czech manufacturer in 2019 have been delivered.

Shteins mentioned that since the beginning of January, 26 defects have been found in them, making their further operation impossible.

Highlighting chronic underfunding for updating the rolling stock in Latvia, Shteins noted that nearly half of the fleet is almost 50 years old.

The former head of the supervisory board also emphasized the poor condition of the infrastructure, which is not adapted for the operation of the new rolling stock.

Currently, the fines for Skoda Group due to the fleet’s downtime have exceeded €267,000.

It’s worth noting that these fines do not include penalties for delayed deliveries, which were imposed on the manufacturer earlier.

The amount is undisclosed, but it is known that it can be up to 10% of the train’s cost.

In response to the situation, Latvia’s Minister of Transport, Kaspars Brikmanis, has instructed to conduct a comprehensive external audit to assess the procurement process of the rolling stock, technical specification preparation, acceptance, and the start of operation.

He demanded that Skoda Group ensure the technical readiness of the new trains at a 95% level within two months.

Picture: Evija Trifanova/LETA

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