The saga of linking up Dublin's two Luas light rail lines has taken a new turn with the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) unveiling its latest "preferred scheme" to run trams up O'Connell Street and down Marlborough Street.
The proposed route from St Stephen's Green, to be announced today, would run as a double track to College Green, where it would change to single track and run north via Westmoreland Street, O'Connell Bridge and along the west side of O'Connell Street.
It would turn into Cathal Brugha Street and then run south along Marlborough Street, crossing the Liffey on a new bridge and continuing via Hawkins Street and College Street to rejoin the double track section at College Green.
A year ago the RPA put forward five route options for the link, called "BX" because it would be an extension of Line B from Sandyford. Its "preferred option" then was a straight run of double-track to Upper O'Connell Street.
But this ran into strong opposition from Dublin Bus, which feared the construction and operation of BX would cause widespread disruption to bus services. Instead, it favoured another route running via Merrion Square.
RPA chief executive Frank Allen said the alternative route would attract fewer passengers because it would serve areas where "not many people want to go to" as well as being longer.
There was also opposition from Dublin City Council, which didn't want to see O'Connell Street turned into a building site once again so soon after completing its €40 million upgrade. It also wanted BX to contribute to urban regeneration.
"We went back to the drawing board to see if we could address these concerns and came up with Option F, running up O'Connell Street and down Marlborough Street," said Mr Allen.
However, a spokesman for Dublin Bus said the revised BX plan would have a severe impact on bus services. "It would run through the central spine of our bus routes where 60 million customers get on and off buses every year," he said.
Bus stops would have to be relocated away from this spine during the three-year construction period, with a consequent loss of customers, while the net gain for public transport would be minimal in the longer term - five to six million a year.
"The RPA admits that 50 per cent of total carryings on Luas have transferred from buses, so the real figure for this link would be three million extra or less," the spokesman said. "We would like to see this looked at in a more comprehensive way."
The revised BX plan would be 65 per cent more expensive than the original scheme favoured by the RPA. It would also involve removing the bus lane and restricting through-traffic on Dawson Street while Kildare Street would become two-way.
South Leinster Street, which links Nassau Street with Clare Street, would also become two-way while Lower Grafton Street would be reserved for Luas, buses and service vehicles. Buses would also be able to use the new bridge over the Liffey.
According to the RPA, benefits of the revised scheme would include improving the pedestrian environments of Dawson Street, Lower Grafton Street and College Green as well as encouraging the regeneration of Marlborough Street.