Six injured in Luas red line collision

Six people were injured when a Luas tram collided with a skip truck in Dublin this morning.

Six people were injured when a Luas tram collided with a skip truck in Dublin this morning.

Services on the Luas red line were disrupted for several hours following the crash at the junction of Benburb Street and Temple Street West near Collins Barracks shortly after 7.30am.

The force of the collision knocked the tram, which had been travelling eastbound from Connolly Station, off the tracks and caused the truck to spin around and mount the pavement.

The driver of truck was also thrown from his cab onto the road during the incident.

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Six people, including both drivers, were taken to the Mater hospital where they were treated for minor injuries.

Five of the injured were later discharged but the truck driver is being kept in overnight for observation.

A spokeswoman for Veolia Transport, the company which operates the Luas, said it would be carrying out an investigation into the incident and had contacted the Railway Safety Commission and Rail Accident Investigative unit.

She also apologised to customers for the inconvenience caused.

Luas red line services had been restored except for the Museum and Smithfield stops as of this evening.

Passengers intending on travelling beyond these stops will need to walk to either the Four Courts or Heuston station for onward travel.

However, Veolia Transport assured customers that full red line services would resume imminently.

The green line tram service is operating normally.

Eoin Burke-Kennedy

Eoin Burke-Kennedy

Eoin Burke-Kennedy is Economics Correspondent of The Irish Times