THE LUAS GREEN line is experiencing serious delays this morning.
A signal fault early this morning coupled with greater demand for the Luas since the beginning of the Cross City project has lead to significant and frequent delays.
The Luas said that a number of trams will be redirected, turning at The Gallops rather than continuing to Brides Glen.
Passengers have said signal faults have become a regular problem on the Luas Green Line, with one person saying 20 minutes have been added onto their morning commute. Another passenger said that this was the fourth morning in a row of delays.
“There’s more than 100 people at my stop alone at Windy Arbour and it’s impossible to get on a Luas when it comes as it’s wedged,” one passenger who spoke to TheJournal.ie at 8.15am said.
Seven trams have passed but people can’t get on them.
There’s also a 10 minute delay on the Red Line due to a signalling fault at Smithfield.
In a statement on their website, the Luas said:
“Passengers please be advised that we are currently operating with 10 minute delays on the Green Line due to a technical failure at the Sandyford Depot.
This delay is expected to continue throughout peak this morning. Technicians are on site and are working to resolve the issue. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Fine Gael Senator Neale Richmond said that he has written to the Luas directly to ask them to explain these delays. he said that it was clear that the service couldn’t cope with the demand for the service.
“Understandably vexed commuters once again inundated my office all day yesterday and again this morning with complaints following yet more terrible service.
In the mornings this week alone, delays saw some commuters waiting up to thirty minutes for a tram on the Green line section between the Bride’s Glen and Sandyford stops.
“On Tuesday evening, commuters found themselves dumped out at stops such as Harcourt, Beechwood and Milltown; being told to walk the line as far as Balally as yet another tram had broken down.”
Green Party deputy leader Catherine Martin said that following her request Transdev, who operate the Luas service will be invited to explain the Luas delays to the Oireachtas Transport committee.
“These problems were entirely predictable, and responsibility lies with the Government for poor planning,” she said.
Capacity is a massive issue already, and will only get worse as development at Cherrywood kicks off.
Around 100,000 commuters use the Luas service everyday.
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