Connex, the company that operates the Luas rail system in Dublin, is investigating an accident yesterday where a tram and a car collided in the city centre.
At around 12.45pm, a Ford Mondeo pulled out of Clonmel Street on to Harcourt Street and collided with a tram that had just left St Stephen's Green on its way to Sandyford on the green line.
A spokesman for Connex said that the company would co-operate with the gardaí and would also be conducting its own inquiry into what happened.
"The driver [ of the tram] will be interviewed as a matter of course. We will also be looking at CCTV and the tram recording," he said. The tram recording indicates its speed at the point of collision as well as other details such as brake application and whether the horn was used.
The driver of the car said he was shaken by the experience. The middle-aged man, who did not wish to be named, was uninjured.
The front bumper of the car was torn off by the impact and the engine was damaged. There was also damage done to the tram but it could be driven to the Sandyford terminus.
Passengers were stuck on board for around 10 minutes until staff arrived to open the doors. There were no reported injuries. The accident interrupted services into the city for around two hours, a Connex spokesman said. This was the first accident on the green line of the Luas since November 2004.
Cormac Eklot (33) from Ballsbridge was critical of what he claimed was poor communication from Connex to the passengers.