Shane Ross, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport announces the first of 26 Green Line trams has been extended and is now in passenger service.
Transport Minister Shane Ross welcomed into service today the first of the newly-extended trams to operate on the Luas Green Line. The 11.1m extension increases the length of the tram from 44m to 55m and increases passenger capacity by 30%.
The first of these extended trams is now in passenger service on the Green Line and 25 more are to be extended to enter service over the next 14 months.
Each of the 26 trams is being extended by the addition of 2 new modules per tram measuring 11.1m long in total. This will convert the Luas Citadis 402 type trams (43.6m) into longer Luas Citadis 502 type trams (54.7m).
The extended trams will increase passenger capacity from 319 to 408.
In addition to these extended trams, eight brand new 55m trams are expected to be delivered in 2020, all of which will have a passenger capacity of 408. Seven 55m trams were introduced into the fleet last year.
This major programme of investment is going some way to easing the pressure on Luas Green Line services. The number of journeys on Luas has increased from 30.5 million in 2013 to 41.8 million in 2018 and demand continues to increase. Commuter peak-time services on the Luas Green Line are in particularly high demand.
At the unveiling of the first extended tram, at Sandyford Luas Depot, Shane Ross, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport said “I am delighted to see the first of 26 extended Luas trams going into passenger service. The government is committed to improving public transport service as this investment shows. I look forward to the better service Luas will be able to provide to Green Line customers over the coming months as more of the trams are extended.”
Anne Graham, CEO National Transport Authority said “The National Transport Authority was happy to work with Transport Infrastructure Ireland to extend 26 of the Luas Green Line trams. Each of these extended trams will be able to carry 30% more customers providing increased capacity and a better service on the Luas Green Line. I look forward to seeing all these trams being successfully extended and longer trams carrying more passengers over the next 14 months.”
Michael Nolan, CEO Transport Infrastructure Ireland said “Transport Infrastructure Ireland is delighted to see the first of 26 of the Luas Green Line trams extended and in passenger service. Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Alstom and Transdev will be working hard over the next 14 months to successfully extend the trams and get them into passenger service.”
“Dublin is leading the way again with these new extended Citadis trams from Alstom, delivering an extra 11.1 metres of space for customers on every tram. Dublin was one of the first cities in the world to order Citadis and the first to receive 55m long trams, offering unrivalled space for passengers on this busy network. These newly extended Alstom trams continue our proud tradition of working to improve passenger journeys in Dublin.” said Piers Wood, Managing Director Rolling Stock & Services, Alstom UK & Ireland.
