John Curran
Ceist:496. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to address the overcrowding and delays in services on the Luas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8482/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 20 February 2018
Ceisteanna (496)
Freagraí scríofa
Passenger numbers on both lines of the Luas network increased by over 10% to 37.6 million in 2017. With the Green Line now extended to Broombridge, and providing interchange with the Red Line and greater connectivity to rail services, those numbers are likely to grow substantially again in 2018. While it is welcomed that so many new customers are using the extended Green Line, it has meant that, at certain times of the day, some trams are operating at capacity.
The Luas Cross City project included the purchase of seven additional new trams which, at 55 metre length, have a higher passenger capacity than existing trams, carrying up to 379 passengers per tram and increasing overall capacity on the Green Line. The first of these additional trams very recently came into service. Two more are currently in Ireland undergoing final testing and commissioning. One of these is expected to go into passenger service by the end of this week with the second to go into service about a week or so later, at the start of March. The remaining four trams - following the necessary final testing and commissioning - will be put into service progressively over the coming weeks during March, April and May.
In addition, the Green Line Capacity Enhancement project was recently approved by Government. The purpose of the project is to further increase capacity at peak hours on the Luas Green Line and to cater for future demands along the line. The project is proposed in the National Transport Authority's (NTA) Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2016-2035. It includes the lengthening of the 26 existing Green line trams from 43 metres to 55 metres and the purchase of a further 8 new 55 metre-long trams which will greatly increase the passenger capacity of the fleet now and to meet future passenger demand. The capacity increases at peak periods provided by the project will assist in reducing crowding on the Green Line and enhance accessibility for mobility and sensory impaired users during these periods. A necessary complementary investment project, known as the Green Line Infrastructure Upgrade - an investment project to lengthen the platforms at the existing Green Line stations - was completed towards the end of last year and enables the use of the new, longer trams.
With regard to planning and managing the impact of Luas on other traffic, the Deputy may recall that Dublin City Council and the NTA jointly published the Dublin City Centre Transport Study in 2015 which sets out the various measures proposed for Dublin's city centre to ensure the efficient functioning of transport within the city centre and that also took into account the introduction of the Luas Cross City Project.
A number of changes have been made throughout the city centre over the last six months to accommodate the operation of the new Luas Cross City line. The most significant changes were the introduction of the additional bus lanes along the North and South Quays last August. In addition, there has been a host of other junction and traffic signal changes implemented in advance of the Luas Cross City becoming operational.
Furthermore it was recognised that the College Green area would be unable to cater for the same number of vehicles as it had previously, following the introduction of the Luas trams. Addressing this, a separate proposal for a civic plaza at College Green was developed by the City Council, and this proposal also provides for revised traffic arrangements through this area. The College Green civic plaza proposal is currently with An Bord Pleanála for determination and, if approved, would remove a lot of the conflicting traffic movements that currently exist in College Green.
In advance of a rescheduled Oral Hearing, the NTA, in collaboration with Dublin Bus and Dublin City Council, have proceeded to reduce bus vehicle volumes passing through the area, which would allow the junctions and signals to function more effectively. The combined effect of these changes has been to reduce the volume of buses passing through the College Green and College Street area, by about 20% in order to reduce the delay issues arising in this area.
I am advised that these parties continue to keep the situation under review.