Vol. 531 No. 3
122 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the reason for the delay in the Luas line B between Sandyford and St. Stephen's Green with light rail; if there is a proposal to upgrade this to a metro line in a small number of years; if the line will have to be taken up again; and when it will be upgraded to a metro line. [5407/01]
In May 1998, the Government approved the development of a light rail system for Dublin and decided that priority should be given to lines from Tallaght to Connolly Station and from Sandyford to St. Stephen's Green. In accordance with that decision, I have granted light railway orders for these lines following public inquiry processes. I published an indicative timetable for the delivery of the project and set a target date of summer 2003 for the completion of construction of the line between Sandyford and St. Stephen's Green, line B. Work to date on the line is on schedule for meeting that target.
Preparatory works on the line began in November 1999 and are now well advanced, particularly on the old Harcourt Street railway line section. The main construction contract involving the track laying and the mechanical and electrical installations for all of the lines will be awarded within the coming weeks. This contract includes the construction of a depot at Sandyford where the trams for line B will be stabled.
In January 2001, I announced the commencement of a competition to select an operator for the light rail lines. That competition, which has attracted expressions of interest from Ireland, the UK, Europe and the USA, is well under way and I expect to announce the selected operator in October 2001.
In July 2000, the Government approved, in principle, the development of a metro system for Dublin. As part of that decision it was agreed that line B would be integrated into the metro system by providing for tunnel construction at Ranelagh and for the upgrading of the line to fully segregated operation. Immediately following the Government decision, I asked the Light Rail Project Office, LRPO, to carry out the necessary preparatory work for the metro. That work has involved the incorporation of the technical specifications for metro into the light rail designs, so that there will be minimum disruption of services when the metro upgrade occurs.
