LITHUANIA: The restructuring of national railway Lietuvos Geležinkeliai into a state-owned holding company with stand-alone passenger, freight and infrastructure business is underway, with completion planned for the second quarter of this year.

LG said the change was intended to increase transparency and operational efficiency and to comply with the requirements of the European Union’s Fourth Railway Package. 

Passenger business LG Keleiviams was formally registered on February 28, and is to gradually take over all of LG’s passenger transport activities. The new company is headed by Linas Baužys, head of LG’s Passenger Directorate.

The new business aims to double annual ridership to 8 million passengers/year. ‘We are aiming to create a modern and competitive passenger company that can meet the growing expectations of our customers and deliver services that meet their needs’, said LG Chief Executive Mantas Bartuška.

Meanwhile, national transport safety regulator LTSA has granted a rail freight licence to the LG Cargo business unit, which was formally established in December and aims to become a leading logistics provider in central and eastern Europe by 2030.

‘Competition in the freight transport market is growing, so we are striving to create a flexible organisation that can quickly respond to the needs of our customers and add value to the shareholder’, said Egidijus Lazauskas, Head of LG’s Freight Directorate and Chairman of LG Cargo.