The consultants appointed to review an underground option for the Luas light rail project in Dublin will be hard pressed to complete the study within six months because of the detailed nature of its terms of reference.
W.S. Atkins, whose appointment was announced earlier this month, is a reputable British firm of transport consultants with major projects to its credit. It has also done some computerised traffic modelling for the Dublin Transportation Office (DTO).
The timing of the study's completion is crucial as the monitoring committee for the EU-funded National Development Plan will decide in spring whether to allocate "all or part" of the Luas budget to other projects, if sufficient progress has not been made.
The 12-page brief prepared by the Department of Public Enterprise for the latest study says it will be based on a comparative evaluation of two broad options - the current on-street Luas project and the alternative of running it underground in the city centre.
The consultants are expected to provide "clear and objective advice on which is the preferred option", in terms of the contribution each of them would make to the overall transport needs of the city and to meeting long-term passenger demand.
The terms of reference also require the consultants to address the following issues under the two options:
Impact on the effective operation of the general traffic system;
Comparative disruption during construction;
Comparative level of transport integration, including costs and benefits;
Comparative land use impacts;
Comparative accessibility of each option (including disabled access and personal safety);
Comparative impact of each option on the implementation of the DTI (Dublin Transportation Initiative) strategy, including consideration of the impact on modal split (cars versus public transport), effective public transport penetration of the city centre and availability of funding;
Comparative capital and operating costs;
Socio-economic costs and benefits of both options;
Likely implementation timetable for each option;
Funding options for construction and operation, including private sector funding, and the comparative financial impact for CIE;
Any other matters which the consultants consider relevant.
The consultants are also being asked to take into account the proposed extensions of Luas to Sandyford and Ballymun as well as the impact of possible longer term extensions of the network to Swords and Cabinteely.
The brief notes that the Luas project for a line linking Tallaght with Dundrum via the city centre has already been developed in detail. It says the consultants will have to decide what level of detail is required on the underground option.
It also says that they should consider inviting written submissions from interested parties and to take these into account "insofar as they are relevant to the terms of reference".
According to the brief, the objective should be to "satisfactorily complete the study within six months from the date of appointment, provided that this is consistent with meeting the overall requirements of the study". In other words, it could take longer.
The consultants yesterday placed newspaper advertisements inviting submissions from the public on "alternative underground options for Luas" or any other matter relevant to their brief. These should be sent to W.S. Atkins, 4 Merrion Square, Dublin 2.