Preferred route for ā¬2bn Cork Luas runs 18km from Ballincollig to Mahon
TAOISEACH MICHEĆL MARTIN SAID THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM WOULD BE TRANSFORMATIONAL FOR CORK CITY
BARRY ROCHE Southern Correspondent
Taoiseach MicheĆ”l Martin has said the building of the ā¬2 billion-plus Luas Cork light rail transport system would be transformational for the city as it would facilitate the opening up of the docklands for the creation of 20,000 new homes and up to 25,000 new jobs.He said the 18km-long light rail system, extending from Ballincollig in the west through the city centre to Mahon in the east, was hugely significant, as Cork aims to be the fastest- growing city in Ireland over the next 20 years with a population targeted to increase by 50-60 per cent.
āHigh-quality public transport projects like Luas Cork are key to delivering the large-scale regeneration and investment planned for Cork, such as the development of the city docklands, expected to deliver 20,000 new homes and almost 25,000 jobs at a 4.2-acre site at Kennedy Quay.ā
Mr Martin was speaking at Cork City Hall at the launch by National Transport Authority (NTA) and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) of a public consultation process where members of the Cork public can give their views on the āemerging preferred routeā.
Luas Cork is part of Project Ireland 2040 and while Mr Martin refused to be drawn on the timeframe for the line, informed sources say that if planning permission is obtained by 2028, the project would then go out to tender with construction expected to take five years after a contractor is appointed.
The emerging preferred route from Ballincollig to Mahon Point shopping centre would feature 25 stops and connect key destinations such as the Munster Technological University, Cork University Hospital, UCC, the city centre, Kent Station and the docklands.
The route would also see the light rail system cross over to the south channel of the Lee to access the city centre and St Patrickās Street and then cross the north channel of the river to run along MacCurtain Street to provide a connection with Irish Rail services at Kent Station.
New bridge
It would involve the construction of a new public transport bridge connecting Kent Station near Horganās Quay with Kennedy Quay on the south side of the Lee as well as new cycling infrastructure along much of its route and the creation of a 1,000-car park-and-ride facility in Ballincollig.
Luas Cork will be designed as a high-capacity system and itās expected that at peak times, with services every six minutes, the trams will carry 2,300 passengers per hour in each direction with journey times of 35 minutes from Ballincollig to the city centre and another 20 minutes to Mahon.
Minister for Transport Darragh OāBrien said Cork had been selected by the European Commission as one of the EUās first climate-neutral cities and Luas Cork would be key to achieving this by encouraging people to shift away from cars, thus reducing congestion and carbon emissions.
Lord Mayor Dan Boyle said Luas Cork had been long awaited and would be a vital transport link as it would provide a real choice to allow more people travel by public transport, but he stressed āthe challenge is to see it constructed and operating in the shortest possible time frameā.
TII chief executive Peter Walsh urged people to engage with the public consultation which runs until June 9th so that the body can hear from as many people as possible before progressing to the next stage of design on the project.