Transport authorities inviting tenders for €1.25bn Luas contract

The National Transport Authority (NTA) and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) are seeking an operator to take up the €1.25 billion contract to run Dublin’s Luas network.

The current operator of the Luas, Transdev, has said it has “no knowledge” of why the NTA and TII have issued a call for new tenders rather than extending the current contract with the French operator.

The TII has issued a call for tenders this week for the contract to operate and maintain the Luas network for an initial period of five to seven years, with options to extend by up to a further five to seven years.

It is expected that the new contract will commence in the fourth quarter of 2026 and has a total estimated value of €1.25 billion.

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The deadline for submission of proposals from operators is April 30th 2025.

The Luas system currently comprises 43km of track, 67 stops, 3 depots and 81 light rail vehicles and the Luas is expected to carry 48 million passenger journeys in 2023.

The new contract will include the operation and maintenance of the planned extension of the Luas Green Line from Broombridge to Charlestown via Finglas, which is expected to open in 2031 and will add a further 4 stops and 4km of track to the system.

Current Luas operator Transdev commenced its six-year contract with NTA and TII in 2019, which expires on November 30th 2025.

Although Transdev’s contract included an extension option for up to five years, NTA and TII have chosen instead to tender for Luas services.

TII and NTA plan to extend the current contract with Transdev by approximately one year, from its current expiry date to when the new contract is set to commence in quarter four of 2026.

In a joint statement from the NTA and TII, a spokesman said that they have chosen to go to tender “for contractual and operational reasons”.

“TII and NTA have commenced the procurement of a new contract or contracts for the operation and maintenance of Luas. The new contract will come into effect immediately following the extended expiry date of the current contract in quarter four 2026,” he said.

“We anticipate a competitive tender process and look forward to its successful conclusion,” he added.

Pierre Jaffard, chief executive of western Europe with the Transdev Group, said the group has “no knowledge” of why the decision was taken not to extend their current contract.

“We, Transdev, as the current operator and contractor, take note of the authority’s decision not to activate the extension clause and to issue a new call for tenders. We have no knowledge of the reasons for this decision,” he said.