Sir, It has been obvious for some time that the Luas proposal to run trams on the streets of Dublin has many disadvantages.
These disadvantages include lack of passenger capacity, impediments to city traffic generally, visual and noise pollution and disruption to the life of the city during the construction phase.
The excellent articles by Garret FitzGerald have highlighted the fact that the first two of these disadvantages are fundamental flaws and ensure that the LUAS proposal is wholly unsuitable for Dublin. Neither can these flaws be remedied by simple adjustments such as rerouting. In short, the LUAS proposal is a white elephant it is clear that the Government should waste no more time fiddling with it.
The main alternative proposal available of running Dart type trains over ground in the suburbs and underground in the city centre contains none of the LUAS disadvantages. This proposal, developed by the Unified group, involves linking Tallaght (via Templeogue and Harolds Cross), Sandyford (via Dundrum and Ranelagh) and Dublin Airport (via Ballymun and Liffey Junction) to a new central underground station in Temple Bar.
The Liffey Junction station would facilitate access by rail commuters in Maynooth and Blanchardstown.
According to its promoters, the cost of this wide network would be £379m. While this is more expensive than the proposal for two LUAS routes (£220m), it is much more extensive. It involves three routes to the city centre, plus access for Blanchardstown/Maynooth, compared to the two routes proposed for LUAS. In fact, if the Unified proposal were scaled down to only two routes its costs would be similar to LUAS.
Clearly, the Unified proposal now needs to be assessed objectively and with expertise. The Government cannot rely on the Department of Transport and CIE for this assessment. Instead, I suggest that an expert committee be established, drawn from the private and public sectors, to report publicly within three months on the costs and viability of the Unified proposal. Yours, etc., Templeogue, Dublin 6W.