Construction of Luas extension from Sandyford to Cherrywood Authorised 

On Monday, 14th August, 2006, the application by the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) for a Railway Order in respect of the extension of the Luas Green line from its existing terminus at Sandyford to Cherrywood, was approved.

The RPA applied to the Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, T.D., in November last for permission to undertake this project, which is part of Transport 21 and an independent Public Inquiry into the RPA's application was held in March of this year.  The report of that Inquiry was published in April.

The Minister accepted the conditions recommended in the Inspector's report on the Public Inquiry and those conditions have been incorporated into the Railway Order which the Minister signed.

In making his decision the Minister expressed his gratitude to James Connolly SC for the professional and thorough manner in which he carried out the Public Inquiry.

Construction on the extension is due to commence shortly and is expected to be completed in 2010.  The Luas developments to date have been funded by the Irish Government under the National Development Plan 2000-2006 and part-financed by the European Union under the European Regional Development Fund.

Also on the day, Minister Cullen received the first copy of the public consultation document on the routes for further extension of the LUAS line from Cherrywood to the Bray area. 

Minister Cullen said: "LUAS carried over 22 million passengers last year and is set to exceed this number this year, as more and more people choose to use public transport rather than their car.  It is an integral part of our public transport infrastructure under Transport 21."

ENDS