Further to representations I had made on behalf of a number of constituents regarding the availability of space to accommodate both new and existing passenger numbers on the extended Green Line of the Luas, I have received the following information from Frank Allen of the RPA.

“Together with Veolia, RPA is developing a timetable that will meet the needs of passengers on the existing Green Line between Sandyford and St. Stephen’s Green and will offer an excellent service to new passengers on the extended Green Line between Sandyford and Bride’s Glen.

Since 2004, passenger service on the Luas Green Line has been provided with a fleet of 15 trams based at Sandyford Depot. We are increasing this to 26 vehicles. The new vehicles that RPA has purchased are 3 metres longer than the original and are 100% low floor, making them even more accessible and creating additional space for passengers.

In addition, the service pattern for the extended Green line will include both trams that will travel the full journey from Bride’s Glen to St. Stephen’s Green and trams that will begin their journey at Sandyford for service to St. Stephen’s Green. For this reason, we are confident that the frequency of service and the availability of trams for the existing Green Line only will result in a high quality service for our existing customers.

It is also worth noting that Luas passenger numbers on the Green Line have declined since their peak in 2007. This has the added effect of giving us a small amount of additional capacity on our current services.”