Various technical problems were found in five new electric trains, as reported by representatives of Pasažieru vilciens (PV).
The company reports that PV has so far received 17 new electric trains from Czech Škoda Group. 11 of them are ready to be deployed on railway routes in Latvia. However, only six are available for passenger transport services at the moment. This is because various technical difficulties were found in five of those trains. Škoda Group representatives will now have to fix those problems.
“Similar problems were found in other trains when they were first deployed on passenger railway routes in Latvia. Work to prevent these problems was performed in Lithuania and Estonia,” PV representatives say.
It is also reported that in the coming days it is planned to organise the first technical inspection of six new trains
in order to see if they are ready to be deployed.
LETA previously reported that on the 15th of December 2023 PV started providing passenger transport services using three new trains in Tukums, Aizkraukle and Skulte. On the 16th of December new trains were deployed in Jelgava.
PV representatives previously explained that the plan is to receive all 32 electric trains by mid-2024. Initially it was planned for Czech Škoda Vagonka to supply 23 trains by the end of 2023 and nine more in 2024.
Once all new trains have been received and they are deployed and put to use, the company plans to compose interval timetables. The plan is to deploy new trains in morning and evening hours, which is usually the time periods that see the most foot traffic.
The first cars for Czech electric trains were delivered to Riga in June 2022.
Each train consists of four train cars. The length of a single train is 109 m. Each train has 436 seats and enough room for 454 standing passengers. All trains have same-level boarding from adapted train platforms.
Pasažieru vilciens representatives previously said the company will request Škoda Vagonka to pay a fine for their failure to deliver trains on time. The maximum fine for failure to deliver each train within the agreed upon time is 10% of the train’s price.
The total costs of the project reach EUR 257.889 million.
PV turnover in nine months of 2023 was EUR 44.256 million, which is 19.2% more when compared to 2022. The company’s profits are down 21% to EUR 458 074.
PV was founded in 2001 as a result of domestic passenger transport services being separated from Latvian Railway’s main functions. Previously PV 100% belonged to Latvian Railway as its subsidiary, but in October 2008 it was reformed into a state company.
Also read: ViVi down again due to technical difficulties. Several trains cancelled
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