All 32 new electric trains ordered by Pasažieru vilciens (PV) should become fully operational and deployed on passenger routed by the end of the year, said PV board chairman Rodžers Jānis Grigulis in an interview to TV3 programme 900 seconds.
“It is planned for all trains to be deployed by the end of the year,” said the head of the company.
As for the penalty for Czech company Škoda Vagonka, Grigulis said it is very difficult to accurately assess the impact from the war in Ukraine. Discussions will continue on a legal level.
Grigulis also mentioned that the Czech company will be presented with bills worth EUR 1 million for the work done on the premises owned by PV. The company will also be presented with a bill with a fine and delays with repairs.
The head of PV also said that Škoda Vagonka should be treated with “maximum severity”.
At the same time, Grigulis said Škoda Vagonka admit that their trains do not run as well as they should.
As previously reported, in the middle of December 2023 PV started using new electric trains supplied by Škoda Vagonka to provide passenger services. Before then these trains underwent a lengthy testing period to see how well they run on Latvia’s railway infrastructure. Despite the tests, however, the new trains suffered many technical problems early on.
The first two Škoda Vagonka trains were delivered to Riga in June 2022. Currently PV has 17 trains. The remaining trains are expected to be supplied by the middle of summer 2024.
Each electric train consists of four cars. The length of one train is 109 m. Each train has 436 seats and enough room for 454 standing passengers. Trains have the same-level boarding from heightened passenger platforms.
The total costs of this project are estimated at EUR 257.889 million.
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