This article updates and adds to the information previously published in Locomotives International 142 following a visit to the country in early September 2023, during which we were fortunate to be able to visit six surviving peat railways.
Latvia is a country of 64,589 km (24,938 miles), about one third the size of UK but with a population of only 1.9 million and formerly a Soviet satellite until it regained independence in 1991. Peat bogs are one of Latvia's greatest natural resources covering more than 10.7% of the country and with reserves of over 11.3 billion m. There are more than 100 active peat bogs and peat extraction plays an important role in the national economy; in 2022, export value of peat was €294 million. Currently extraction takes place in 4% of the total bog area and 97%
