Sir, - Underground LUAS costs eight times more than a surface system. But the answer to Barry Keane's query (March 11th) on LUAS costs depends on what Brian Joyce objects to. Since taking office, the Minister for Public Enterprise, Mary O'Rourke TD, has announced two different LUAS policies. In May 1998, the Government decided on an expensive and inefficient option. Brian Joyce said nothing then.
Recently, the Minister said it will cost £300m to provide an underground link between Stephen's Green and Broadstone. This tunnel is less than 3km long.
It is a key part of the 1998 policy. So putting LUAS underground costs over £100m per km.
Surface LUAS costs £12.5m per km according to CIE evidence at a sworn public inquiry on LUAS last December. This includes vehicles, but excludes VAT.
The Minister has already authorised building the Tallaght-Middle Abbey St and Sandyford-Stephen's Green surface lines. These are 14km and 9km long respectively. On CIE figures, it will cost under £290m to build and equip the 23km involved.
The cost of the Minister's tunnel would pay for doubling the LUAS lines she approved last year. These two lines will not be linked. The Minister is repeating the mistakes made when the railways were first built in Ireland over 150 years ago. The lines did not interconnect in Dublin. We have experience of the resulting inefficiencies. However, it would cost less than £10m (three per cent of the tunnel cost!) to link the two LUAS lines approved. Is this what Brian Joyce objects to?
In 1997, the Minister told the Dail twice (September 30th, December 16th) that she would implement the results of a study she commissioned on underground and surface options for LUAS. In April 1998, her consultants recommended putting LUAS on our streets.
They said that it would cost £515m (including VAT, but excluding vehicles and depots) to build a city-wide LUAS network. This would link Ballymun, Cabinteely, City Centre, Clondalkin, Connolly and Heuston stations, a Docklands loop, Dublin Airport, Dundrum, Drumcondra, Finglas, Sandyford, Swords, Tallaght and would cater for demand up to the year 2030.
The Minister may be politically astute. But she has not managed taxpayers' or EU monies for LUAS to good effect. This Government's pandering to some interest groups has put off decongesting Dublin. It also increases risks to health from traffic emissions. We have had enough bad management of transport. Why did Brian Joyce wait so long before going public? - Yours, etc.,
Donal O Brolchain, Secretary, Drumcondra 2005, Griffith Avenue, Dublin 9.