All aboard the Luas, at last Tickets, please: the low-down on Luas

Travelling by tram from Sandyford to St Stephen’s Green gives a completely new perspective on Dublin, just like everyone’s first trip on the M50. Unlike the motorway’s exploded landscape, however the tramway is very contained, usually by the numerous back gardens along its route. Frank McDonald, Environment Editor, takes a test trip

It’s a fascinating, even voyeuristic, experience. Boundaries are marked by a mish-mash of chain-link fences, old granite walls, palisades and breeze block, and new reinforced concrete walls for those who shouted loudest. At least one is faced in granite on its inner side.

For anyone living along the old Harcourt Street line, getting used to the “clang clang” sound of tram bells must be a big change. Much of the route had been a linear wildlife refuge, or simply incorporated into people’s gardens, since it was closed down more than 40 years ago.

The tram we board at Sandyford, on the edge of the industrial and business zone where 30,000 people work, clangs its bell as we depart and clangs it again arriving at and leaving every other stop along the 9km route. Altogether, there are 13 stops.

One is immediately taken with the length of the Sandyford trams; at 40 metres, they’re 10 metres longer than the trams on the Tallaght line, which is due to open this autumn. They all come in the same purple and yellow livery – the Wexford GAA colours – and have the same kitsch upholstery.

There’s a park-and-ride site at Sandyford, and two more at Stillorgan and Balally. But will there be feeder bus services to convey people to and from work in the various business parks? That, like the integration of Luas and bus services, has yet to be worked out with Dublin Bus.

Extensive landscaping was carried out as part of the project. The park-and-ride sites all have rows of mountain ash, while prickly mahonia is the predominant shrub along the line itself, which is laid on a heavy-duty concrete trackbed until it hits the city’s streets at Peter Place.

Kilmacud, the third stop, comes as a bit of a shock. Its white concrete lift shaft, overbridge and backing wall are all covered in graffiti – as bad as Kilbarrack DART station was in its worst days. Local gurriers also throw eggs at the trams, which are washed every night at the Sandyford depot. The high-level swivelling cameras at Luas stops have not proved a deterrent.

The tram moves along at a fair clip between stops, and much less noisily than diesel trains or even the DART. At Balally, the stop is located right underneath an apartment block being built by developer Gerry Gannon. The arrival of Luas was also a planning plus for the nearby shopping centre.

Dundrum’s Luas stop is appropriately located in front of the old railway station, which served for years as the offices of Carr Communications. No new use has yet been found for the turquoise-coloured neo-classical building; the Luas people think a restaurant would be ideal.

Crossing the bridge over the Taney Road junction is less dramatic than the perspective from ground level. An urban design plan for the bridge, so that its undercroft would be filled in as an extension of Dundrum Main Street, was drawn up in 1997 but remains to be realised.

There are marvellous views over the Dodder from Milltown viaduct, the huge masonry bridge that survived the closure of the old Harcourt Street line. Unlike the smaller bridges at Dunville Avenue, Ranelagh, Northbrook Road and the Grand Canal, it would have been expensive to demolish.

Every stop will have two German-made ticket machines that should prove robust, plus a digital information panel that gives the arrival times of the next three trams. There is also an intercom from the Luas control centre, off the M50’s Red Cow roundabout, to inform passengers of any delays.

Our test tram is held up interminably at the Beechwood stop, off Dunville Avenue, because of a problem with the traffic lights. We can’t move until it it sorted out, and the queues of cars don’t seem to want to move either – until Vincent Eaves, of Luas operator Connex, did some unofficial point duty.

For situations like Dunville Avenue, each Luas tram can make a loud “beep, beep” noise, like an irritated car-horn, to warn of its imminent crossing. But it takes just seven seconds for the 40-metre-long Sandyford trams to clear the junction, thus minimising the disruption to traffic.

The Beechwood stop includes the only new building on the line – an ugly kiosk that’s likely to be a convenience store. Crudely built, with chunky brown PVC windows and its roof sloping down to a canopy with a large hole in it, this is not the way to make a “modern statement”.

Each stop has its own electricity sub-station, a large metallic box. People living close to the Cowper stop are still offended by the insensitive placing of its sub-station in the foreground of a much-loved leafy walk. And when you see it, it’s easy to understand why.

The stainless steel handrails at the Ranelagh and Charlemont stops strike precisely the right contemporary note, as do the glazed shelters at every other stop. Some glass panels have already been shattered by vandals, such is their contempt for the new tramway.

After crossing the Grand Canal, the tram snakes through a narrow opening and then downwards into Peter Place. A pair of tight curves here generate a lot of groaning and screeching before we reach the box junction on Adelaide Road and potential conflict with other traffic.

Safety is a major concern, of course. Wherever Luas crosses the path of other traffic, there are black and yellow warning signs with tram symbols and the warning “Look both ways” (as Gaeilge, too). A Luas official said he saw a cyclist “nearly getting creamed the other day” at the end of Harcourt Street.

There is historic justice in the location of the Luas stop right in front of the old station. The “wirescape” over the street, which some feared would be visually obtrusive, is so minimalist that it’s barely noticeable. The catenary is suspended from buildings on either side, thus avoiding a proliferation of poles.

High-quality paving and street furniture was promised at the outset of the Luas project. This has been delivered, but only in part. There’s even evidence of discrimination in favour of the southside, with real stone setts being laid in Harcourt Street, while Abbey Street was dressed in concrete.

All the motorists queuing in the traffic jam alongside are looking at the Luas, as if in disbelief that it has finally arrived, while our tram glides down Harcourt Street, clanging its bells almost continuously. One woman suggested that the trams should play loud classical music instead.

We finally come to a stop at the west side of St Stephen’s Green, where there are a lot of poles to support the Luas power supply. This is the end of the line, as the original plan to proceed via Dawson Street and College Green to O’Connell Street was scrapped by the Government in 1998.

The Sandyford Luas line is due to open on June 30th. Trams will run from 5.30 a.m. to 12.30 a.m. Monday to Friday, from 6.30 a.m. to 12.30 a.m. Saturday and from 7.30 a.m. to 12.30 a.m. Sunday.

Morning and evening peak-time frequency will be one tram every five minutes, reducing to every seven and a half minutes between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and every 10 minutes after 7 p.m.

The first weekend is likely to be free. Approved fares include 2 (one-way), 3.80 (return) 1.30 (minimum) and 80 cent (children aged 3 to 15). Children under three will travel free, as will OAPs. Peak-time restrictions for OAPs are under discussion.

Connex, the French multinational that will operate Luas, will employ at least 40 “customer service officers” to prevent fare evasion by ticket-checking one in every six passengers.

Each of the trams on the Sandyford line has 80 seats and a capacity of 300, with most passengers standing.

The Tallaght line will open at the end of August.