Today, on July 30, a low-floor tram started running on tram route 7. The works have improved accessibility, made the trams run faster and made the roads safer. 

Chairman of the Riga City Council Vilnis Ķirsis: "The day when the low-floor tram starts running on tram line 7 is significant for two reasons – firstly, we are demonstrating with our work that public transport is a priority for the Riga City Council and we invest to make its use more convenient and attractive for passengers. I am glad that now Ķengarags will also be accessible by modern public transport to the residents of Riga. The reconstruction of the tracks to accommodate low-floor trams is being carried out with EU funds, and here is the second important aspect – just a few years ago, when we were fighting for EU money for this project, we had to prove that Rīgas Satiksme is free from the ghosts of its past and is able to responsibly invest such large amounts of money for the benefit of society. The fact that Rīgas Satiksme successfully implements such projects is a sign of trust in the company."

Olafs Pulks, Chairman of the Traffic and Transport Committee of Riga City Council: "The biggest benefit is for the passengers, for whom the use of Riga's public transport becomes more convenient, so on this day I wish both the citizens of Riga and the guests of the city, as well as the tram drivers of "Rīgas satiksme" – may the trams run well! I am pleased that the company Rīgas Satiksme has successfully implemented this project, and I thank the builders for their work. Improvements to Riga's public transport infrastructure will definitely continue."

Džineta Innusa, chairwoman of the Board of Rīgas satiksme, says: “Convenient, fast, and safe tram travel is one of our top priorities. After diligent work for a little more than a year, we have completed the reconstruction of the tram infrastructure on the section of tram route 7 from Centrāltirgus iela to the terminus "Ķengarags". We are pleased because we have achieved a lot. We've built new stops, rebuilt and renewed tracks, landscaped the environment and carried out paving works. There have also been important things that are invisible to passengers on a daily basis, such as improvements to contact line structures and the construction of a new traction substation."

In the future, as on routes 1 and 11, tram line 7 will also run both low-floor trams and old-style carriages. To make it easier for passengers to plan their journeys, timetables will show the times at which the low-floor tram runs on each route. 

Rigas satiksme started construction work on tram route 7 in the May of 2023. The contract for the construction works was signed in spring 2023, and as a result of the procurement the offer from SIA Binders, a road construction company, was recognised as the most economically advantageous.

The construction work on the tram line 7 in the section from Centrāltirgus iela to the terminus “Ķengarags” were co-financed by the European Union Cohesion Fund within the framework of project No. 4.5.1.1/22/I/001 “Adaptation of Riga Tram Infrastructure to Low-Floor Tram Parameters” (hereinafter – the Project). The project also includes track and overpass reconstruction works at the crossroads of 11. novembra krastmala and 13. janvāra iela. Also within the Project, the infrastructure of tram line 5 in the section from the crossing of Jūrmalas gatve and Slokas iela to the terminus "Iļģuciems" was adapted to the parameters of the low-floor tram, stops were raised and sections of track were rebuilt in Imanta (stops "Anniņmuižas bulvāris", "Dammes iela" and "Kleistu iela"), the power supply infrastructure was rebuilt on tram route 1 and the overhead contact network on tram route 11 in Miera iela from Brīvības iela 191 to Radio iela and Aspazijas bulvāris, as well as the renovation of four substations and the construction of one substation, all equipped with electrical equipment, in order to ensure adequate power supply for the low-floor tram operation. The continuing reconstruction of the tram tracks in the section of Slokas iela from Jūrmalas gatve to Kalnciema iela; The total cost of the Project is estimated at EUR 60.64 million, while the Cohesion Fund co-financing amounts to 85% of the eligible costs incurred until 31 December 2023, i.e., EUR 40.175 million.

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