Tram services on the Luas Green Line in south Dublin are to be expanded at a cost of €100 million.
The line, which links St Stephen’s Green to areas such as Dundrum, Stillorgan and Leopardstown, will soon be able to carry an extra 1,760 passengers per hour in each direction.
The existing 26 Green Line trams will be lengthened and eight more trams will be added to the fleet.
The project will begin next year, following on from the Luas Cross City expansion, which is set to open on December 9th. When it is finished, the capacity on the Green Line will be 8,160 passengers per direction, per hour, based on 24 trams an hour.
Fine Gael Senator Neale Richmond said many people cannot get on the Luas trams during rush hour or the carriages are too packed.
“Last spring I carried out a detailed survey which found that 10 per cent of Luas passengers on the green line cannot get on the first tram that comes along and that 60 per cent never get a seat when they do get on a tram. With varying waiting times depending on what stop you are waiting at, this is becoming even more problematic,” he said.
The National Transport Authority has found the green line is currently operating at capacity during peak times, with crowding common between the Balally and Ranelagh stops.