A French firm will be chosen next week as preferred bidder to operate the Luas light rail system in Dublin. Connex, which operates transport services throughout Europe and in Australia, is understood to be placed first in a competition for the €127 million contract to operate the system for five years.
The company will be responsible for the introduction of the largest single public transport service since the DART initiative in the 1980s. It beat rival bids from two other short-listed firms: the French operator, TransDev, and British firm First Group.
CIÉ was eliminated at an early stage in the bid process.
The Government is expected to enter discussions with Connex soon on a contract to operate the system from 2004 to 2009. Three Luas lines will be opened in December 2003, after a €635 million construction programme.
The first line will link Tallaght with Abbey Street via Heuston Station and it will connect directly to a second line from Connolly Station to Abbey Street. The third line will link Sandyford with St Stephen's Green.
Connex runs light rail systems in Bordeaux, Rouen, Barcelona, Stockholm and Sydney, and commuter rail networks in Melbourne and London.
Systems run by the company have a mixed reputation. In Britain, where rail passengers regularly suffer extreme delays due to speed restrictions imposed for safety reasons, the company operates services in south-east London. It lost the south-central franchise in April 2001 when the contract was subject to a new tendering process.
The Connex network in Melbourne is facing a loss of €40 million after difficulties linked to an integrated ticketing system.
Once the company reaches agreement with the Government, it will be responsible for the introduction of the service late next year.
Connex will also be responsible for the operation and maintenance of Luas rolling stock and the management of two Luas depots. Delivery of trams began last year when the Government was accused of exploiting the arrival of the rolling stock for political purposes. The first depot, at the Red Cow in west Dublin, is almost complete.
Luas is expected to carry 16,500 passengers an hour at peak times. The operator will be paid a performance-based fee by the Government and will have to resubmit a tender for the contract in 2009.
Ticket tariffs will be set by the newly established Rail Procurement Agency, which is chaired by Mr Padraic White, a former managing director of IDA Ireland.
It is anticipated that an integrated ticketing system, long delayed on CIÉ's services, will be also introduced. This will enable passengers to use the same tickets on buses, trains and on Luas.
Other groups eliminated earlier include the British firm National Express.
