Despite scorching tropical temperatures in Prague over the weekend, only 32 of the city’s 127 air-conditioned trams were in service. The situation, which sparked public outcry after being highlighted by Radiožurnál moderator Jiří Štefl on social media, was confirmed by the transit authority to be caused by a temporary service disruption that kept the climate-controlled vehicles locked in their depot.
“Has someone at the transit authority gone completely mad?” Štefl posted on X. “Prague has nearly 130 air-conditioned trams. And do you know how many are currently running in Prague? Thirty-two. In absolutely sweltering heat,” the author expressed in disbelief at the weekend’s end.
The Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) confirmed to Novinky that weekend service disruptions at Anděl station blocked the operation of air-conditioned trams from the Motol depot, where most climate-controlled vehicles are housed. “There were indeed fewer trams running over the weekend. But until Friday, all of our air-conditioned trams were in operation, and now they’re running again starting Monday. Currently, that’s more than ninety trams,” explained Daniel Šabík, DPP’s communications director.
Ironically, the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute had issued an advance warning about the weekend’s tropical heat wave. Temperatures in Prague’s Klementinum reached 32.1°C (89.8°F) on Saturday and 32.6°C (90.7°F) on Sunday.
Šabík defended the decision not to relocate trams between depots during short-term service disruptions, stating it wouldn’t be economically sensible. However, he noted that for long-term disruptions, they implement a comprehensive “lightning ball” operation to redistribute trams across the network.
Prague residents can look forward to new air-conditioned trams soon. Twenty fully climate-controlled Škoda ForCity Plus Praha 52T trams will arrive next year, with another twenty scheduled for 2026. The transit authority has a framework agreement to purchase up to 200 of these vehicles, with the first two already operating on tram line 12 since June.