First Luas tram is unveiled at exhibition at Earls Court

With an explosion of smoke, a Riverdance-style routine and the strains of Molly Malone, Dublin's first Luas tram was launched yesterday at Earls Court in London by the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke.

Built by Alstom in the French city of La Rochelle, the sleek, 30-metre articulated vehicle had been transported to London on a low-loader and across the English Channel by ferry from Calais to Dover for its inaugural appearance.

It occupies an entire stand at the vast Earls Court exhibition, which is being held as part of this year's UITP (International Union of Public Transport) conference, in front of a mini Irish bar dominated by a panoramic photograph of the Four Courts.

Mr Mike Lloyd, marketing manager for Alstom, said Dublin had been the first to order its new Citadis tram, which had been tailored to reflect "the spirit of the city". But the lilac-and-yellow livery is more evocative of Wexford's GAA colours.

"The baby is born," said Ms O'Rourke as she boarded "this beautiful tram" and headed immediately for the driver's seat to pose for photographs with the Luas project director, Mr Donal Mangan. "Was it an easy birth, on time or over term?" she asked.

The tram's variable message display, which will show passengers the next stop when Luas finally starts running in mid2003, had been programmed all morning to "Welcome the Irish Minister for Public Enterprise, Mary O'Rourke TD".

Mr Mangan explained that the colour scheme was "based on an image of Dublin on a summer's evening". Ms O'Rourke, who was wearing a pink suit, didn't seem too enthusiastic about it, but even less enthusiastic about changing it.

The tram's 60 seats are upholstered in a durable fabric featuring images of historic Dublin landmarks - the Custom House, the Four Courts, the Ha'penny Bridge and Christ Church Cathedral. There is standing room for a further 175 passengers.

Of the 40 trams ordered for Dublin, at a total cost of 84 million euros, 26 will be 30 metres long and the rest 40 metres - an extension made possible by inserting a further module to the configuration.

The first of them will arrive in Dublin next October to be tested at the Luas depot now under construction at the Red Cow interchange on the M50.

They will then arrive at a rate of one a month until the full Luas light-rail service starts in mid-2003.

Mr Mangan said the £500 million project was still on schedule, with work under way at several locations throughout the city - including Dundrum, where foundations are being laid for a huge suspension bridge across Taney Road.

"This is a project that a lot of us have been working at for a long time," Mr Mangan told an international gathering. The tram had been designed to reflect Dublin's new "cosmopolitan era", its young people, life, business and high-tech industry.

In her speech after cutting the official ribbon with a gold scissors, the Minister conceded that the project had gone through "ups and downs". But she said yesterday's launch of the first Luas tram was "a good day for Dublin and a good day for Ireland".

Asked if he ever thought he would live to see the day, Mr Michael Sheedy, CIE's project manager for the past seven years, said he had "always believed in it".