The new Luas Green Line extension was officially opened to the public by Taoiseach Brian Cowen this morning.
The 7.5km extension will serve 11 new stops to Cherrywood and Brides Glen. The average journey time from St Stephen’s Green will be 40 minutes.
To celebrate the opening, the Railway Procurement Agency is offering free travel on the entire Green Line over the weekend and “family-style fun”, face painting and treasure hunts are to be held at various stops along the route.
At the opening this morning, the Taoiseach said the Government’s transport programme would contribute to economic recovery, support employment, deliver important social infrastructure and assist the transition to a low-carbon economy.
“This new extension of the Green Luas Line is a further development in our infrastructure investment programme which offers sustainable public transport and paves the way for the creation of a fully integrated network,” said Mr Cowen.
He said the Government aims to increase Luas passenger numbers to 42 million by 2016.
RPA chief executive Frank Allen said the extension was a major milestone in developing an integrated public transport network for the Greater Dublin Area. “Luas passenger numbers are showing a strong recovery with Red Line passengers increasing by more than 10 per cent in June to October 2010 compared with the same period in 2009,” he added.
The new extension will serve nine new locations at Central Park, Glencairn, The Gallops, Leopardstown Valley, Ballyogan Wood, Carrickmines, Laughanstown, Cherrywood and Brides Glen. Racecourse and Brennanstown are two future stops.
The agency said additional trams will be deployed to cope with the extra number of passengers expected to use the line. Service frequency will rise from one tram every 4½ minutes, to one every 3½ minutes, between Sandyford and St Stephen’s Green.
Most trams will continue to run only between Sandyford and St Stephen’s Green, with just one in every three trams in the morning peak serving the €300 million extension.
This will give a morning peak frequency of about one tram every 10½ minutes on the Sandyford to Cherrywood section of the line.