RIGA, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- A colorfully designed container train arrived at the Riga Central Railway Station on Monday to draw public attention to environmental and climate issues, local media informed.
Noah Train, called after the ancient history of environmental protection, Noah's Ark, stopped at the Riga railway station after traveling since December 2018.
The painted containers, which left from Katowice, Poland, and have since visited Vienna, Berlin, Paris, Rome and other European cities, promotes the Rail Freight Forward coalition, which aims to shift 30 percent of freight to rail by 2030, as rail freight is seen as a possibility to combine economic growth with climate goals.
"There is a problem in Europe -- only 18 percent of all freight is shipped by rail. The goal is to achieve 30 percent by 2030. In Latvia, 38 percent of all freight are already shipped by rail, but we are definitely aiming to increase this proportion," said Evins Berzins, head of Latvijas Dzelzcels national rail company.
Ugis Rotbergs, chairman of the WWF Latvia, indicated that the greatest challenge is to untie economic growth from consumption of fossil fuels. "This particular project in Europe, which aims to shift freight to smart electric railways is a significant step in untying us from fossil fuels and reducing our impact on climate," he said.
Since the track gauge in Latvia differs from the European standard, Noah's Train was delivered to Latvia by sea. Already on Monday, the container train will be taken back to the port and sent to Rotterdam in the Netherlands.