Licensing of carriers

Licensing of carriers

I.

In order to provide railway transport services in the territory of Latvia and the European Union, a commercial company requires a railway transport operator's licence valid in the European Union (hereinafter referred to as the carrier's licence).

The carrier's licence is valid throughout the territory of the European Union.

The carrier's licence is valid as long as its recipient fulfils the obligations provided for in the Railway Law and other regulatory enactments in the railway sector. The validity of the carrier's licence is not limited

A carrier's licence can be obtained for the following railway transport services:

Passenger transport;

Freight transport;

Traction services.
One or more types of railway transport services can be included in one licence.

II.

A carrier's licence can be obtained by a commercial company registered in the Republic of Latvia or a branch of a foreign commercial company. In turn, carrier's licences issued by licensing authorities of other European Union Member States are also valid in the Republic of Latvia.

A carrier's licence in the Republic of Latvia is issued by the State Railway Administration.

The State Railway Administration monitors the carrier's compliance with the licensing requirements during the validity period of the license.

III.

In order to receive a carrier's license for one or all three of the above-mentioned railway transportation services, a commercial company must meet the requirements regarding good reputation, financial sufficiency, professional competence and coverage of its civil liability, which are explained in more detail in Section II of the Cabinet of Ministers' Regulation No. 558 of 16.08.2016 "Licensing Regulations for Railway Carriers" (hereinafter - Cabinet Regulation No. 558).

IV.

The commercial company shall prepare a free-form application for receiving a carrier's license and the accompanying documents attached thereto in accordance with the requirements specified in Section III of Cabinet Regulation No. 558 and submit it to the State Railway Administration.

In order for a commercial company to be issued a carrier's license, it must pay the state fee for receiving the license in accordance with the Cabinet Regulation No. 558 of 11.10.2016. Regulations No. 672 “Regulations on the State Fee for Issuing a Carrier’s License for Rail Transport” in the following amount:

for issuing a carrier’s license for rail transport of goods – EUR 15,000;
for issuing a carrier’s license for rail transport of goods on a narrow-gauge (750 mm gauge railway) regional or private railway infrastructure network – EUR 150;
for issuing a carrier’s license for rail transport of passengers – EUR 150.
The carrier’s license is drawn up using a uniform form valid throughout the European Union in accordance with Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/171. A valid financial cover (civil liability insurance or other type of liability cover) must be attached to the carrier’s license, indicating its validity period. The minimum allowable amount of financial coverage is as follows (Cabinet Regulation No. 558, Clause 6):

for the provision of rail freight transport services - at least EUR 3,000,000;
for the provision of rail passenger transport services - at least EUR 2,000,000;
for the provision of rail transport services on the narrow-gauge (750 mm) railway network - at least EUR 150,000.
V.

The State Railway Administration, as a licensing authority, has the right to suspend or cancel the carrier's license issued to a commercial company.

If there are serious doubts as to whether a commercial company that has received a carrier's license complies with the requirements set for receiving a license, the State Railway Administration may verify compliance with the requirements and request the submission of documents confirming this fact.

A decision to suspend the operation of a carrier's license for a period of up to 6 months shall be adopted if:

a commercial company that has received a carrier's license no longer meets the requirements set for receiving a license (Cabinet of Ministers' Regulations No. 558, Clause 21);
the legal status of a commercial company is changed, in particular if the commercial company merges or is taken over, and the safety of the railway transport services provided is threatened (ibid., Clause 22).
A decision to suspend the operation of a carrier's license for a period of up to 36 months may be adopted if:

the carrier has ceased to provide railway transport services and has not provided them for six months (Cabinet of Ministers' Regulations No. 558, Clause 24.1);
the carrier has not started providing railway transport services within six months from the date of issuance of the carrier's license or within the time specified in the decision on issuing the carrier's license (ibid., Clause 24.2).
The decision on the suspension of the carrier's license may be appealed to the court in accordance with the procedures specified in the Administrative Procedure Law. Appealing the said decision does not suspend its operation.

VI.

In order to renew the operation of a suspended carrier's license, a commercial company shall submit an application for renewal of the carrier's license to the State Railway Administration no later than one month before the expiry of the period specified in the decision on suspension of the carrier's license. The application shall be accompanied by information confirming that the violations or reasons due to which the license was suspended have been eliminated.

The Administration shall adopt a decision on renewal of the carrier's license or refusal to renew the carrier's license within one month after receipt of the aforementioned information.

VII.

Information on carrier's licenses issued in Latvia is included in the European Union Railway Agency's publicly available Internet database of carrier's licenses issued in EU Member States ERADIS: https://eradis.era.europa.eu/safety_docs/licences/default.aspx

The current information on carrier's licenses issued in Latvia is provided below.