Railway Tracks on Merrion Square
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just saw this in todays paper…
Bertie’s train at election platformTHE train that goes nowhere will have Taoiseach Bertie Ahern as a VIP passenger on Sunday.
A 100-metre line is being specially built opposite the Merrion Square entrance to the Dail to promote Luas. But the line and carriage will disappear within 24 hours of the Taoiseach being photographed.
Traffic-snarled Dubliners will have to wait years before they can get into a Luas carriage – and none of the lines will be along Merrion Square.
Opposition deputies last night demanded to know the cost of the ghost Luas line. Eamon Gilmore (Lab) and Olivia Mitchell (FG) compared Sunday’s photo-shoot to the legendary election stunt of 1982 when Ray Burke, then a Fianna Fail minister, arranged for trees and shrubs to be planted for an official housing estate opening during a by-election. They had been hired and were gone the next day.
Ms Mitchell compared the Taoiseach’s Luas promotion to the election gambit of MEP Mark Killilea, who handed out phones for which there were no lines. Mr Gilmore accused the Taoiseach of cynical abuse.
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Hi,
I was one of the people involved in the Tram display at Merrion Square. I’d like to clarify a couple of points.Merrion Square was chosen as the most appropriate place having taken into consideration factors such as public safety, traffic management and the physical delivery of the vehicle. This required a 40m long trailer, 50m track and a 50m platform and loading ramp. There was no other suitable location close to the city centre which minimised disruption. All this was carried out overnight and traffic was kept on the move apart from the Sunday when the road was closed for a few hours. There was no political motivation for the choice ( not that that prevented the media speculating that there was ). OK they got some milage out of it, so what ?
The main motivation for the event was to allow the public to actually see the Tram. OK its two years before its running but as its the first of Forty, and we had promised to display one as soon as we could, we felt it was worth doing. Despite the adverse publicity, which to some extent was anticipated, huge numbers came to see the vehicle and offered helpful comments and suggestions.
We plan to construct a prototype platform in the coming months so once again people can see whats coming and offer opinions.
The Red Cow depot is finished and there are actually huge amounts of works under way on both lines. Check out the web site for regular updates. http://www.luas.ie
If anyones interested I’ll try to update here from time to time.
Cheers,
JJ -
Regular updates would be great alright JJ.
I was very impressed by the display and it was well worth the effort. I really would not take much notice of the few media cynics who criticise everything which is worthwhile, AND who are completely out of touch with public opinion. From what I can see most people have a great interest in the Luas and its development and cant wait for it to start running. And its on schedule!!!!Well done.[This message has been edited by PaulC (edited 09 November 2001).]
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Can someone please explain me the meaning of the word Luas?…is it the compnies name, the type of tram…? Whatever it is, i´m glad you decided to install it in Dublin. We have it (well, something like it)in Portugal for more then 100 years and it stills being used everyday for thousands of people. But when there are problems (like crashes, something not working well, etc.) traffic becames cahotic!! the subway is always the best option here…
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Luas is the Irish word for speed Rita, kind of ironic considering how long its taken for it to get here! as far as i know it is the name of the official name of subsidiary operating the system and will be written on the side of each tram also.
[This message has been edited by Peter FitzPatrick (edited 12 November 2001).]
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As has been pointed out LUAS is the Irish for speed. The CIE company carrying out the construction is officially called the Light Rail Project Office (LRPO). Legislation is going through the Dail at present to change the LRPO into the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA)which will be responsible for all Light Rail and Metro projects.
BTW, when asked in a recent LRPO workshop what LUAS stands for the most popular response was “Lets Use Architects Sparingly”. Some things never change !!
JJ -
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The LUAS will generally have stops which are effectively long raised bus stops (40m x 3m x 280mm). There are a number of station buildings mainly on Line B as some of the platforms are located on bridge structures.
All the platforms and fittings will be of a similar design, there are minor variations in shelter type and configuration.
Details of the proposals are available for public inspection in the Light Rail Project Office at the back of Heuston Station during normal ofice hours.
JJ -
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JJ, what will happen to the Luas at Ranelaigh (spelling a bit dodgy), will the line B which should be open 2003 stop there, or at harcourt or where, as future plans show it going underground at harcourt. The info at the tram display, I think was out of date, as it showed on street Luas to St. stephens green. How will it manage to get from elevated railway to undergound? Can you set the record straight?
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The building on Bow Street is a substation built to replace another to be demolished for the LUAS and is providing ESB only, not power to LUAS. There is a small Kiosk in the end facing Smithfield which it is hoped will become a newsagent/Flower stall and the other end features a small equipment room for LUAS.
Line B is being constructed all the way to St Stephens Green as per Light Rail Orders already granted. To achieve sufficient depth below the Canal the tunnel for the future Metro would have to start well before Ranelagh. Studies are under way on the best options. Big questions about what the remaining above ground section becomes when the underground comes along.
Preliminary studies are under way on the Northern Line ( Line D ). The detailed works will kick in after Christmas.
Regards,
JJ.
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