Luas - some of the facts and the fictions

The Oireachtas Committee on Transport raised a number of allegations about Luas yesterday which were rejected as having absolutely no basis in fact. Among the assertions were:

The trams were delivered so early that they will be out of warranty by the time they carry a fare-paying passenger;

A crane tried unsuccessfully for four nights to hoist a tram onto the Tallaght line but was unable because the widths of the tracks and the wheels do not match;

Manhole covers have been lost in the Benburb Street area and were replaced with plywood;

The RPA has a budget for compensation from which it is regularly making payments to those who make claims against it; and

The RPA refused to allow the consortium of builders ABM Joint Venture to attend the Oireachtas Committee on Transport to give their account of why delays have taken place.

However, the RPA also made assertions about which members of the committee had reservations. These included:

Luas did not cause major traffic disruption in the vicinity of the Red Cow roundabout during line construction. This shows it will not disrupt or delay traffic when operational;

The RPA consulted all business and property-owners affected by the route, informing them of the nature and extent of the disruption; and

The delays in the construction of both lines will amount to 12 or 14 weeks.

And the following are the assertions that the RPA management team told the Oireachtas Committee were true:

The same streets have been dug and reinstated several times; and

After Luas opens, there will be a height restriction on the St Patrick's Day parades in Dublin because of the overhead lines.