Luas (Irish for 'speed') - also promoted in the development stage as the Dublin Light Rail System - currently encompasses two unconnected on-street light rail transit system in Dublin, Ireland. As with all Dublin fittings and fixtures, the Luas has already got alternative names: the Jerry Lee or the Daniel Day are some examples. Its most notable nickname however is the Snail on the Rail. Originally under the organisation of Córas Iompair Éireann, the project was moved to the Railway Procurement Agency [1] upon that body's inception, whilst it is operated by Connex. The Luas is a major part of the Dublin Transportation Office [2] 'DTO strategy (2000-2016)'.
Operation
The system runs off a 750 volt DC overhead power supply, and one two-carriage tram can carry 235 people. The standard European gauge of 1435 mm (or more traditionally, 4 ft 8½ ins) is being used rather than the Irish gauge of 1600 mm (5 ft 3 ins).
The system, when complete, will comprise of three lines:
- Line A: Tallaght to Abbey Street
- Line B: St. Stephen's Green to Sandyford Industrial Estate
- Line C: Abbey Street to Connolly Station
Lines A runs both north and south of the Liffey whilst Line C is entirely north of the river, both lines are commonly referred to as the Red Line. The Line B, in the Southside, is referred to as the Green Line. The Red Line and Green Line are not connected to each other, with a fifteen minute walk between the two closest points. The services will run on a ten minute basis, with a service every five minutes during on-peak times.
Services commenced on the Green Line on Wednesday 30th June 2004, with free fares to all for the first five days of operation. The Red Line opened on 28th September 2004, almost a month or so behind schedule. It remains to be seen whether the Luas will prove effective in combating Dublin's traffic congestion problems.
The two separate lines (red and green) are, in effect, wholly separate tram systems – with separate depots and facilities, and fixed allocations of trams (there is no simple method to transfer trams between the two lines).
The trams are sleek, and silver and all look identical from a distance. But in fact, have sligthly different dimensions on each line: Red Lines are shorter, and have a different car width from the Green Lines. This means that Red Line trams can be operated on the Green Line, but not vice-versa. The Red Line trams have a capacity of about 370 people, wheras the Green Line trams have a capacity of about 430.