Daudzeva train station

Daudzeva railway station is a station in Daudzese parish of Aizkraukle municipality on the line Jelgava I - Krustpils, and is one of the most unusual railway stations in Latvia. It was opened in 1904 on the property of Count P. Shuvalov as an intermediate station on the then Moscow - Ventspils railway line. In later years, it became one of the busiest rail freight transhipment points. On 21 May 1897, permission was granted to the Rybinsk Railway Company to build a railway line and on 11 November 1904 the 1094 km Moscow-Ventura railway line was opened. It was divided into several sections, with regular trains on the Krustpils (Jēkabpils) - Tukums section, which also included the Daudzeva station.

During the First World War (since 1916), the station was of strategic importance - it was close to the German army positions on the left bank of the Daugava. The station was guarded because the Germans had chosen it as a base for supplying the front with food and ammunition, adapting the tracks to the normal gauge of 1435 mm. During the war, the track sections were badly damaged and it was not until 1930 that train traffic on the Sēlpils - Krustpils route was restored.

During the Free State and the Soviet occupation, the station served as an important transhipment point for goods and as a connection to the Viesīte narrow-gauge railway. The station was one of the most important timber yards. Many local people worked here as stackers - unloading, loading and reloading goods onto the broad gauge railway.

Photos by Raitis Krūmiņš