Overnight repairs keep Riga trams ready for service

Work on Riga’s trams continues through the night, LSM reports. While the city sleeps, the tram depots repair technical faults, carry out maintenance and prepare the vehicles for the following day.

The historic Fifth Tram Depot was rebuilt this year and adapted to service modern low floor trams. Rigas satiksme repair technician Ainars Zandbergs was carrying out scheduled work on a tram used daily on Riga’s streets.

“We are currently removing the roof. Then we will seal it again. All the units we remove are taken for repairs. After that, we will assemble them and put them back,” Zandbergs said.

The work is only one part of the depot’s daily operations. About 100 people work there in shifts around the clock.

Maris Ozolins, head of the specialised repair workshops, said many of the overnight jobs involved faults reported on individual trams. If a problem could be fixed during the night, workers repaired it then. If the repair required more time, the tram remained at the depot, which staff refer to as “home,” until the fault was resolved and it could return to the route the next day or the day after.

The first trams leave the Fifth Tram Depot between 4am and 5am, while the last ones return between 1am and 2am. This often leaves only a limited amount of time for repairs.

About 30 trams pass through the depot’s daily service section each day. They are washed, inspected, cleaned inside and checked for technical faults. Vehicles with problems are sent to the repair zone, while those without faults are prepared for service the next day.

The reconstruction of the Fifth Tram Depot was completed in March. The depot was built in 1901, while additional buildings were added in the 1960s. Those buildings no longer met modern requirements.

Almants Skudra, head of Rigas satiksme’s infrastructure department, said tram dimensions and repair technologies had changed significantly over the past century. Modern trams are more than 40 metres long, he said.