The Luas lines connect
It’s taken almost fours years in development but, the Luas made it’s maiden passage across O’Connell Bridge. Shane Ross, the Minister for Transport was in attendance, with a number of trams making the slow journey along the new stretches of track. Testing to make sure all is as it should be. The run itself took place over two days, with the track measuring 5.9 kilometre route between St Stephen’s Green and the new route’s terminus at Broombridge in Cabra.
Two Luas trams made the journey both northbound and southbound with a number of engineers and their very own Garda escort in attendance, stopping at each new station platform, and along the way to carry out some tests. Shane Ross was in high spirits as the test progressed and was talking to a number of journalists.
Speaking to the media on a break from the journey, he declared the whole project to be “fantastic and on budget”. He admitted that “there’ll be a little bit of difficulty (for the new route) during the interim period as testing continues from August onwards”, but stressed that “from December onwards people will adjust very, very quickly”. It’s going to be fantastic and carry millions of passengers every year. “I recognise that the past few years have been challenging for the city and for businesses and we are all looking forward to the works drawing to a close and the start of operations by the end of the year,” Ross added. The project is expected to complete on schedule for the end of the year. “The gauge run marks a significant achievement for all the parties involved in the project,” Anne Graham, chief executive of the National Transport Authority (NTA), said meanwhile. The completion of Luas Cross City in December will play an important role in alleviating congestion and enhancing the public transport experience for commuters. Testing on the new route is expected to continue over the coming months, along with the finishing of paving, footpaths and carriageway reconstruction work. Training of drivers will commence in September, with full passenger services then on target to begin operation in December.
We are looking forward to the connection being open to the public, making it easier for people working Southside to travel across the city and vice versa.