All aboard the Luas, even if it is only for a few hundred yards By Christine Newman
As the new Luas tram glided soundlessly to a halt yesterday in Sandyford, Co Dublin, onlookers gathered at the side of the track to witness their transport of the future. Local people watched the first live test of the 40-metre tram which will run from Sandyford to St Stephen's Green. The Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, officially unveiled the tram and then took a trip on the public transport, an unusual form of travel for a government minister. Men, women and many children waited at the junction for the tram to arrive. They first had sight of it as it crawled at snail's-pace down the track, leading one local wag, aged about eight, to remark: "It'd better go faster than that!" Once the Minister, the Department and the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) as well as assorted media were aboard, however, it moved off at normal speed, only to come to a halt a few yards down the line as the Minister invited members of the public to take the short trip. After many people eagerly climbed aboard to experience their first journey on the Luas, the tram moved along smoothly while people in the crowd waved, applauded and took photographs. The Minister said: "Luas will play a major role in persuading the travelling public of the merits of public transport." The benefits offered by Luas extended well beyond shorter journey times and ranged from improved quality of life to commercial development in neighbourhoods within the line's catchment area, he said. While yesterday's trip was only a few hundred yards down the track and back, next year it is expected that the 9 km journey from Sandyford to St Stephen's Green will take only 18 to 20 minutes. The RPA chairman, Mr Padraic White, said trams would run every five minutes in peak hours. Each would carry 315 passengers, and the line would accommodate up to 3,800 passengers an hour in each direction. Yesterday's was the first of the 14-tram fleet which is expected to arrive at the Sandyford depot over the coming months. Han Historian of Dutch Metrication, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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