CIE will be applying to the Minister for Transport, Mr Dukes, next Wednesday for formal approval to proceed with the £220 million Luas light rail system for Dublin, reports Frank McDonald, Environment Correspondent.
It is anticipated that the Minister will announce a public inquiry into the project, to be held after a six week consultation period. Because of the forthcoming election, it is unlikely to take place until September.
The inquiry, which may be headed by a High Court judged rather than a railway inspector: from the Department of Transport, is required because the Luas project is exempt from the normal planning process.
A supplier has also been selected to supply £40 million worth of rolling stock - 29 articulated trams, each 30 metres long - after an extensive tendering process. It is GEC Alsthom, based at La Rochelle, France.
The company has developed a new tram, similar to those operating in the French cities of Grenoble and Strasbourg, and it is planned to bring a prototype to Dublin for public view, probably on O'Connell Bridge, in September.
CIE's application to Mr Dukes will be accompanied by a three volume environmental impact statement (EIS). It runs to 700 pages, with more than 100 detailed maps, 800 property references and a 24 page "non technical summary".
One volume outlines the background to the project, including a justification of why street running light rail transit (LRT) had been selected as the best solution for Dublin, rather than an underground system.
It is understood that public consultation and design work on the second phase of the Luas project, extending it from the city centre to Ballymun and from Dundrum to Sandyford, will also start shortly.
Mr Donal Mangan, the Luas project director, told The Irish Times yesterday that it was hoped to begin construction early next year, assuming that ministerial approval for the scheme was forthcoming.