Wednesday 7th February saw the introduction of the first of the new longer trams into service on Luas’ Green Line. Alstom Citadis 5027 – which was the first of seven 55 metre trams to be delivered to Dublin on 13th November 2017 – is to be used in service during the morning peak to boost capacity.
Since the extended Green line opened to the public on Saturday 9th December the service has suffered from what officials are describing as “teething problems”. Tram availability and higher than expected passenger numbers had led to a slight reduction in peak services soon after opening but these seven new trams – the longest to have run in Dublin yet at 55 metres in length – will eventually provide some much needed extra capacity. The remaining six will be made available for service over the coming months.
However, the length of the new trams has also seen some further complications for city traffic. On just the second day of service – Thursday 8th February – 5027 partially blocked traffic on South Quays as it was itself blocked by a taxi parked in a yellow box. Although this sole incident was reported in local media it should be noted that the reason it caused delays to other traffic was because of the taxi parked illegally. It has, however, led traffic planners in the city to reiterate that traffic restrictions are required to ensure it doesn’t become a regular occurrence.