Luas hits pedestrian in Dublin city centre

A pedestrian has been hospitalised after being struck by a Luas tram in the city centre.

The incident happened at about 1.15pm this afternoon when a red-line Luas hit the pedestrian between the Four Courts and Smithfield stops.

The pedestrian, who is not believed to have suffered serious injuries, was taken to hospital by ambulance.

A spokeswoman for Luas operators Transdev Ireland confirmed that the city centre Luas line was out of service for 45 minutes but is now back running on schedule. She said an internal investigation into the incident will be carried out.

Further along the red line there has been a technical fault between the Red Cow and Kingswood. A bus service is available for passengers travelling between the Red Cow, Saggart and Tallaght while technicians examine overhead wires.

In April of this year a woman was killed on her way to work when she was hit by a car which had been struck by a Luas tram.

The incident happened at the junction of Upper Abbey Street and Jervis Street.

In March last year a Garda car and a Luas collided in Middle Abbey Street near the Abbey Theatre.

In 2009 a number of people were injured when a Luas tram hit a double-decker Dublin Bus.

Last month the Railway Procurement Agency, gardaí and Transdev said they were concerned this year could set a new record for collisions between trams and other road users.

The authorities released videos showing motorists breaking red lights and the then minister for transport Leo Varadkar described the actions of some motorists as "dangerous", " irresponsible" and "stupid".

There were 38 collisions between motorists and trams recorded last year - up from 24 on 2012.