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Long lines of trucks form on Latvian-Russian border

There are 800 trucks standing on line at the Terekhovo-Burachki checkpoint and 100 more at the Grebnevo-Ubylinka checkpoint

RIGA, April 24 (Itar-Tass) — Long lines of trucks have formed on the Latvian-Russian border. There are 800 trucks standing on line at the Terekhovo-Burachki checkpoint and 100 more at the Grebnevo-Ubylinka checkpoint. The average waiting time is 13-25 hours, the Latvian State Border Protection Department said.

Traditionally, truck lines on the Latvian-Russian border form before the Christmas and New Year holidays and before the May holiday season.

The many-kilometers-long lines of trucks appeared on the Latvian-Russian border for the first time in August 2008. The number of waiting trucks reached 2,200, which complicated the work of border services and created inconveniences for local residents. The enlarged lines on the border in early April 2007 were linked with Belarusian seasonal limits on the maximal weight of vehicles. There were long traffic jams on the border in December 2009 after the Russian Federal Customs Service had tightened control over Latvian transport companies. More than 1,500 trucks were standing on line ahead of the holiday season last year.

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