Tram Clinic: What is Happening with the Depot into which Riga Invested Tens of Millions of Euros 0 37

Since passenger transport in Riga must be provided every day, despite the reconstruction of tracks, car depots, and contact networks, trams had to leave the depot and return to it every day, undergoing cleaning and necessary repairs. Ensuring this was quite challenging. The remaining work mainly involves the installation of heating pipes, communication networks, ceilings, and electrical systems.

After more than a hundred years, almost nothing remains of the tram depot that opened in 1901 except for the outer walls: but the walls are a monument of architecture.

Buildings made of white silicate brick, completed in 1963, were also demolished, 15 years after a similar car hall, now remaining, burned down and was dismantled. A new building has now been installed in its place.

Of course, tastes differ; it would probably have been better if the original neo-Gothic hall with towers, designed by architect Paul Mandelstam, had been restored. But the architects chose modern style constructions.

Currently, 46 low-floor trams are in operation at the depot, transporting passengers to Jugla, Mezaparks, Kengarags, and Ilguciems.

Initially, the cost of reconstruction was estimated at 32 million euros; it is now anticipated that additional expenses may amount to another million.