Luas docklands plan yet to be assessed

A consultant's study comparing the merits of a bus service serving Dublin docklands with the proposed Luas Line C, is to be commissioned by the Dublin Transportation Office (DTO).

The proposed study which was advertised on the Government's e-tendering website yesterday, comes less than one month after the Government announced that Luas would definitely be extended to the docklands, as part of the 10-year strategic transport plan, Transport 21.

Under the plan Luas is to be operational between the docklands and Connolly Station by 2008. The Luas extension, known as Line C, was previously included in Platform for Change, launched by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in 2000.

However, according to the call for tenders published yesterday the DTO is now seeking "an independent comparative assessment of the merits of the way in which docklands could be served by bus or Luas".

The tender announcement stipulates that the study "is a relative assessment of either mode on this corridor and therefore both modes must be considered fully in an impartial manner". Tenderers are expected to produce "a proposed methodology that will demonstrate a valid comparison between the Luas and bus modes".

However, Fine Gael Transport spokeswoman Olivia Mitchell said the announcement was "laughable".

According to Ms Mitchell, "Luas line C has now been in two transport plans both launched with fanfare by the Taoiseach and it has been talked about for a long time before that.

"Now it appears the DTO is getting around to doing the detailed planning for the route".

Ms Mitchell also said there were implications for other Luas extensions. "Does this mean we will have to see another study on the comparison between a metro and a bus to the airport, because I assume that this study is designed to justify the chosen transport mode. Will such studies now become a feature of all transport inquiries?"

Ms Mitchell said she believed the issue had arisen because the Government had not yet done the planning on any of the transport plans, and it brought into question the timetable announced with Transport 21.