Passengers on the Tallaght Luas line face much longer journey times than advertised, when it opens next Tuesday, because trams are being stalled at traffic lights by cars and trucks blocking yellow box junctions. Frank McDonald, Environment Editor, reports.
Luas tram drivers have been told by Mr Frank Allen, chief executive of the Rail Procurement Agency, that they must put safety first - even if it means over-shooting the journey time target of 43 minutes.
"What we're telling the drivers . . . is that it's going to take a while to reach that and, if there's a trade-off between ensuring that we get the safety right and satisfying someone with a stopwatch, forget the stopwatch," he said yesterday.
There had been "a few incidents" already, mainly involving motorists coming out of side streets and behaving as if there is no tram passing by.
"We are worried about that, you can't get complacent about it," he said. "People have got to be careful."
Altogether, the Tallaght tram line crosses 34 junctions on its 15-kilometre route to the terminus at Connolly Station - including the notorious Red Cow roundabout interchange with the M50, which it is now clearing in 70 seconds
Yesterday, Mr Allen accompanied gardaí from the districts along the route between Tallaght and Connolly Station to familiarise them with the problems. "We're getting great support from the gardaí, but they can't be at every junction." The RPA chief singled out the St John Road junction in front of Heuston Station as the most problematic. "A tram could be waiting there for three sequences of lights while cars and trucks block the junction at the bottom of Steevens's Lane," he said.
According to Mr Allen, "it's entirely a driver discipline issue". Asked if it would take a car to be crushed to bring home the danger to motorists, he said: "I hope not."