All around the world where similar systems to Luas were introduced there were accidents on the line, the Minister for Transport Mr Brennan warned yesterday. Tim O'Brien reports.
Unveiling a new stamp which An Post is to launch tomorrow to commemorate the start of Luas passenger services, the Minister said pedestrians and motorists moving onto the tracks had caused accidents everywhere light rail had been introduced.
Cautioning that "it is up to you, please don't take it for granted", Mr Brennan said Luas is "a new facility" which would require vigilance on behalf of all road users and "hopefully there would no accidents".
Commenting on the traffic situation at the Red Cow interchange in west Dublin, the Minister said it would represent a "pressure point" until the €40 million -€50 million upgrade of the the junction was complete. Work would get under way next year and would coincide with the €600 million upgrade of the M50 to provide free-flow junctions. But he said there would be a "transition period" where there would be difficulties.
Speaking to reporters, the chief executive of the Railway Procurement Agency, Mr Frank Allen, said the system could move from a planned five-minute frequency at peak times to a four-minute frequency if passenger numbers dictated. Mr Allen said a frequency of one tram every two-and-half minutes would also be possible, but would require additional infrastructure. "We are talking about a four-minute frequency which we can do without any infrastructural improvements" he said.
Referring to the absence of ticket barriers and a reliance on passengers to ensure they had valid tickets, Mr Allen said the system had been designed to be fast. It would, he said, have a smaller "dwell time" than a bus. In contrast, a tram would not be parked while the driver sold tickets but would rely on the presence of "customer service operators" to arrive on a tram in teams of up to six and "do a blitz" ensuring that passengers have valid tickets.
Meanwhile, An Post has rejected criticism of its new commemorative Luas stamp. An Post said reports that an individual depicted pushing a wheelchair onto a tram had been airbrushed out of the picture were untrue.
"It is absolute nonsense", said the spokeswoman. "The factual position is, that as you don't need a helper to access Luas in a wheelchair, there was no need to depict one.
"The stamp as launched correctly depicts the actual situation where a wheelchair user can access the Luas."
Mr Brennan said Wednesday would be a historic day which showed what Irish people could achieve when they put their minds to it. It was, he said, "an exciting time" in transport with the next occasion being the opening of the Tallaght line, which was longer than the Sandyford one, with 23 stops.