The Dublin Chamber of Commerce welcomed the Government's decision and described it as being in the "best interests of Dublin". The underground option would allow for more trains and have a significantly greater capacity to bring people in and out of the city. The decision was also welcomed by the employers organisation, IBEC, the Automobile Association and the South Dublin Chamber of Commerce.
Mr Noel Carroll, chief executive of the Dublin chamber, said the original proposals for Luas were positive but had many flaws. Chiefly, they did not address the key issues of capacity and integration with other methods of transport. The decision to link with mainline rail, DART and provincial buses at Connolly station was particularly important, as it would allow the public to have seamless transport connections. This would be particularly beneficial in attracting more passengers to Luas. It also threw open the option to extend the system to the docklands.
He stressed that Luas was only one element in the solution to Dublin's transport problems and the Government must ensure that quality bus corridors, park-and-ride and cycleways were implemented without delay.
IBEC welcomed the decision and called for interim short-term action to relieve Dublin's "chronic congestion". IBEC's assistant director of transport policy, Ms Karen Gannon, said the decision was positive in two respects: it provided a rail link to Dublin Airport and linked Heuston and Connolly stations, thereby enhancing the integration of Dublin's transport system.
"As an integral part of the Dublin Transportation Initiative, Dublin light rail, with the other elements of the DTI strategy, has the real potential to be a transport system for the next millennium, if properly managed." Mr Conor Faughnan of the Automobile Association said it was relieved at the Government's decision. It was vital that some of the route should go underground. To have had the whole of Luas overground on Dublin's narrow streets would have proved disastrous for traffic flow.
"We are delighted and somewhat relieved at the decision. The Government has taken the absolutely sensible option. We felt that this always had to be done. It is something of a split-the-difference option. They are not putting the whole system underground, only part of it. It is a fair compromise. The fact that they have decided to put the system underground in the more sensitive areas is absolutely sensible to us. We are glad they have bitten the bullet," he said.
However, Mr John Dunne, chief executive of the South Dublin Chamber of Commerce, while welcoming the decision of the Government to approve a light rail system for Dublin, expressed concern at the "inevitable delay" and additional costs in building parts of the line underground.
He said the chamber was surprised the Cabinet did not give its backing to the clear recommendations of the Atkins report to construct all of the system over ground. The project would now be judged on how quickly and efficiently the decision would be implemented.
"As a measure of that commitment, construction on the lines and other infrastructure should begin immediately, working from the outside in."