"Tatra" T6B5 (T-3M) tramcars in Nizhniy Novgorod

Anatol Sorokin

First tramcars "Tatra"T6B5 were delivered in Nizhniy Novgorod at 1989 when the city still had its Soviet name Gorky. From 1989 until 1991 25 new T6B5s were issued to Nizhniy Novgorod (at this time city administration and NizhegorodElectroTrans tram operator did not participate in a process of new rolling stock purchasing; this matter was in a scope of central Ministry of Living Quarters and Common Needs, briefly called in Russian as MinZhilKomHoz). These cars were issued to Depot No. 2 under fleet numbers 2901-2925. First digit in a fleet number is an actual depot number, second digit codes the type of tramcar (nine corresponds to T6B5), two others is an ordinal tramcar number. After Soviet Union collapse (and dismantling MinZhilKomHoz structure) municipal authorities bought another second-hand 7 T6B5s in Ufa city. They were also issued to Depot No. 2 and received fleet numbers from 2926 to 2932. There are some losses in T6B5 fleet - in the early-2000-ies T6B5 No. 2911 was withdrawn from active service after equipment failure; in 2003 T6B5 No. 2903 was badly damaged in an accident. Both cars were slowly cannibalized for spare parts in Depot No. 2 and in April 2006 were finally decomissioned and sold for scrapping. Another 30 T6B5s are in operable condition, but only 29 of them work with common passengers.

The T6B5 No. 2924 was withdrawn from passenger service at the end of 2004 and was refitted as tramcar-bar VB-1 in September of 2006. Many of other T6B5s were heavily repaired from summer 2005 to prolongate their service life. This work is slowly going on now.

All T6B5s work on the rough terrain routes No. 1 and 21. As a replacement or during the tests after repair they can work on other routes of Depot No. 2. In not so far past T6B5 tramcars worked on the closed now routes No. 9, 24, 26 and helped Depot No. 1 in service of route No. 27. By the October of 2006 the active passenger fleet of T6B5s consists of single cars 2901, 2902, 2904, 2907, 2909, 2910, 2912, 2915, 2917, 2918, 2923, 2925, 2932 and trains 2905-06, 2908-16, 2913-14, 2920-19, 2921-22, 2927-26, 2929-28, 2930-31. However this information is not correct for all 100 percent - some cars may be temporary disabled for repair or cannibalizing; the author has not full access to technological data of Depot No. 2 and relies only for his visual observations.