Luas 5037 – the tram which was severely damaged by a fire during the November 2023 Dublin riots – has returned to service on the Green line, less than three years after it was set on fire.
The story of 5037 has been covered on these pages before, but as a quick reminder the damage was so severe that it had to be sent away to France for repairs. SAFAR in southern France were contracted to complete the work with the tram leaving Dublin in late November 2024 (12 months after it was damaged).
It returned to Dublin on 9th March 2026 with it travelling by road from SAFAR’s plant to Cherbourg from where it went on the ferry to Rossslare and then finally back on the road to Sandyford Depot.
As we are used to, its return to Dublin did not mean it was back in service the next day as it had to be put back together (the length of the Citadis trams are such that they have to be transported on multiple low loaders in three sections) with finishing works also required.
But this work has now been completed and after commissioning and testing 5037 was back out again on 22nd May 2026.
In an article on their website Luas said: “Te return of Tram 5037 to the Luas Green Line is not a story about damage. Ultimately, it is a story about repair. Behind the scenes, teams across Ireland and France came together with a shared purpose. Engineers, planners, and technicians from Transdev Dublin Light Rail, Safra in France, and Transport Infrastructure Ireland carefully mapped out the complex work needed to restore the tram at a specialist facility in France. Step by step, the work began. And today, we see the result.”