The Luas public inquiry, due to resume on June 2nd, is expected to be adjourned to give CIE time to recast its project in line with the Government's revised plan for a partial underground in Dublin city centre, The Irish Times has learned. Legal sources said it would be "too dangerous" to go ahead with a full inquiry into the proposed light rail line linking Tallaght with Sandyford when there was a "major question mark" over how the city centre section would be treated. The Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, had an hour-long meeting yesterday with the Luas project director, Mr Donal Mangan, and senior members of his team to discuss the situation following last Tuesday's Government decision.
It is understood that the Minister emphasised the need to make early progress on the project, though she accepted that CIE's application for a light rail order would have to be amended to take account of the decision in favour of a tunnel in the city centre.
The expectation is that CIE will resubmit its scheme for the Tallaght-O'Connell Street route, which remains unchanged by the decision, in time for the public inquiry to resume in the autumn. Assuming approval, work could start on this section sometime next year.
In the meantime, the light rail project team would prepare a separate application for the line from Sandyford to St Stephen's Green which will now require further consultations because of the need to provide a separate depot to store the trams on this route.
This application could be ready in the autumn to go before another public inquiry early in 1999, with construction beginning towards the end of the year or early in 2000. The objective would be to have both lines completed by 2002, which would be close to the original target. Simultaneously, CIE would be working on the design of an extension of the Tallaght line from O'Connell Street to Connolly Station and the Docklands area, with a view to making an application for a light rail order for those sections later next year.
Another task facing the light rail project team is to engage suitably qualified engineers and geologists to carry out the required geo-technical studies for the proposed 2.5kilometre tunnel linking St Stephen's Green with Broadstone.
Mr Mangan said yesterday that, although there was "a lot of technicalities" to be resolved, he regarded the Government's decision as "a major boost for light rail in Dublin" and his team was now "working at full speed" to implement it.
He also said the project team would be working on the proposed Luas line serving Ballymun and Dublin Airport, via the old Broadstone railway line, so that public consultations could get under way on this element of the scheme as soon as possible.
