It’s been a busy time of late in Dublin where Luas have welcomed the first of eight new Citadis 502 55 metre trams whilst at the same time have confirmed the launch of a public consultation into another extension of the network. Eamon Ryan T.D., Minister for Climate Action, Communications Networks and Transport visited the Broombridge Depot in late July to mark the occasion.
The Luas extension – known as Luas Finglas – would see the Green line from Broombridge to Charlestown via Finglas. Four new stops would be built at St Helena’s, Finglas Village, Mellowes Park and Charlestown on a 3.9km extension which would also include a Park and Ride site at Charlestown with 600 spaces.
It is planned that there would be eight trams every hour with journeys on the extension taking just 13 minutes. An extension to Broombridge Depot would also be required. Most of the route would be built using grassed track with a cycle and pedestrian path along much of the line.
A consultation has been launched into the plans and will remain open until Thursday 17th September 2020 at 1700. Full details of the consultation and the planned route is available on the Luas Finglas website.
The announcement of the launch of the consultation came on the same day that the first of eight new 55 metre Alstom Citadis 502 trams was officially unveiled. Both 5034 and 5035 have arrived in Dublin and were due to enter service on Wednesday 29th July. The eight new trams will join the ever expanding fleet, which is also seeing some of the shorter 44 metre Citadis 402 trams being expanded into the nine section varieties. By early 2021 it is planned that the complete fleet will consist of 81 trams with 41 of these being 55 metre versions.
The new trams (numbered 5034–5041) will be delivered over the coming months with the last due to be in service by early 2021. The work on converting the Citadis 402 trams to nine section vehicles is also making good progress with 13 of the 26 now in passenger service.
Eamon Ryan said: ““I am delighted to announce this consultation on the Emerging Preferred Route for Luas Finglas. I encourage the public and stakeholders to take part in this Public Consultation so we can deliver a major public transport improvement to Finglas and north Dublin. I’m also very pleased to see the first of eight new 55m Luas trams going into passenger service and to see that half of the 44m trams have now being extended. The government is committed to improving sustainable public transport and I am also pleased that there will be a pedestrian and cycling path along most of the route. I look forward to the Luas network and fleet growing in the coming months and years.”
Nick Crossfield, Managing Director Alstom Ireland and UK, added: “Alstom’s trams have served Dublin for over a decade, providing a reliable, efficient and comfortable service for the city’s commuters and visitors from all over the world. This brand new 55m tram will create more space for passengers on Luas, and we are proud to be working with Transport Infrastructure Ireland and Transdev to improve the service for everyone that uses it. Dublin was one of the first cities in the world to adopt Citadis trams and now passengers rely on them in over 50 cities worldwide. With this brand new 55m tram, the longest we have ever built, Dublin is leading the world again.”
Whilst Anne Graham, CEO National Transport Authority, commented: “The extension of the Luas to Finglas is a clear example of the kind of progress we are making in planning to invest in ambitious and exciting sustainable transport solutions. I believe that Luas has the potential to be transformative for this part of the city and that it will further enhance the area for people who live here, work here, or want to run a business here. We are anxious to get feedback on this proposal, so I encourage members of the local community to engage with this consultation process and let us know what you think.”