Madam, - Your editorial of June 2nd reported on a recent presentation by the Railway Procurement Agency of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport. Reading the editorial, I wondered if I had attended the same meeting. I consulted the Oireachtas record of the meeting and was relieved to find that matters had not been discussed unknown to me.
The editorial cites evidence before the committee meeting as an insight into bad planning and mentions the alleged needless expenditure of €40 million on the acquisition and demolition of Connolly Ramp; the purchase of "hugely expensive Luas carriages, years before they were required"; and what you describe as the mind-boggling design for Luas at the Red Cow Roundabout. You describe the latter as the "Merrion Gates. And treble it."
Taking these issues in turn, the record of the Oireachtas committee meeting shows that the RPA was asked to comment on reports that €40 million was spent needlessly on demolition of Connolly Ramp and we explained that the reports were not accurate and that there was no basis for the €40 million.
The meeting record shows no mention of hugely expensive Luas carriages. However, I can confirm that Luas rolling stock was purchased through a highly competitive international bidding process and represents good value for money. Trams are manufactured to order and one can either pay for storage at the point of manufacture or accept delivery for assembly, commissioning and safety testing. We chose to accept delivery according as trams were manufactured and the last trams will be delivered to RPA later this year, which is hardly years before they are required.
Regarding the Red Cow Roundabout, the RPA presented evidence at the committee meeting that showed that the tram would not cross the roundabout but will cross the M50 on a new Luas bridge. Trams will cross two slip lanes to the roundabout and the outbound carriageway of the Naas Road only when road traffic on these roads is stopped by the existing traffic lights.
We explained that the timing of traffic lights would remain unchanged and therefore the throughput of the junction for road traffic would also remain unchanged. It is true that Luas will pass through three traffic lights but the impact of the traffic lights on tram movements will, on average, be less than one minute in total (compared to a similar alignment without any traffic lights) and this has been factored into our overall running times.
The editorial's suggestion that Luas passing by the Red Cow Roundabout could be compared to Merrion Gates "and treble it" shows a total misunderstanding of light rail as a concept. Merrion Gates is a level-crossing on a heavy rail line, which is controlled by signals and a fully enclosed barrier system. The delay to road traffic is significantly greater than a typical light rail junction given the requirements of such a system to cater for the approach speed of trains, time for lowering and raising of barriers, the need to confirm that road vehicles are not within the barriers, and the time for trains to pass through the crossing.
By contrast, light rail operates in a manner similar to other road vehicles with crossing movements controlled by a normal traffic light type arrangement without the need for barriers. Our trams have a maximum length of 40 metres as compared to a length of 120 metres for a six-car DART train.
The design of the alignment at this point was the subject of a detailed public inquiry in 1998 and the inspector accepted the evidence of the Light Rail Office that it would have a minimal impact on road congestion at this busy junction.
I am disappointed that an Irish Times editorial based on an Oireachtas Committee on an important matter such as how public transport can relieve congestion was not based on more accurate reporting and a measure of balance. - Yours, etc.,
FRANK ALLEN,
Chief Executive,
Railway Procurement Agency,
Parkgate Street
Business Centre,
Dublin 18.