Heat brings tram services to a standstill: LVB suspends tram services due to damage to the tracks

Leipzig has been sweltering in temperatures above 30 degrees for a week now. The city has been getting hotter every day. On Saturday, 27 June, temperatures reached around 40 degrees Celsius. This was far too much for some of the technology installed in Leipzig: several supermarkets had to report a failure of their refrigeration systems in the early afternoon.

Shortly afterwards, it was the turn of the Leipzig Transport Authority (LVB). At several points across the network, trams simply came to a standstill; nothing was working at all. Finally, on Saturday afternoon, the LVB announced the suspension of all scheduled tram services: “The joint sealant between the tracks and the tarmac has become liquid and, in some places, has clumped together,” confirmed a spokeswoman for the Leipzig Group, to which the LVB belongs, in response to an enquiry from the LZ in the early evening.

Bus services currently unaffected

As a result of this immense heat-related damage, scheduled services for all trams in Leipzig have been suspended “until further notice”. Bus services are not affected by this decision and will be maintained as best as possible even in the current weather conditions, the spokeswoman added. However, there had already been problems during the day as well, as the hot weather had put some buses out of action. Setting up a rail replacement service for the cancelled trams is not currently possible, particularly at short notice.“

It is currently no longer safe to operate on the network-wide infrastructure. The safety of our passengers is our absolute priority; we apologise for the inconvenience,” added Toralf Müller, the LVB managing director responsible for technical operations, in a recent statement. It is currently too early to investigate the cause. The LVB is currently assessing the extent to which the network has been affected.

We will continue to monitor developments.

Update: The restrictions with no tram service available are said to last at least until the night Sunday to Monday, according to LVB.