Pre-school children from the Giraffe and Early Learning centres in the IFSC were given a special preview of the new Luas extension to the Point this morning, five days in advance of the official launch of the line.
The extension of the Red Line which encompasses four new stops at George's Dock, Mayor Square, Spencer Dock and The Point will be officially opened on Tuesday afternoon when free trips will be available between The Point and Tallaght for the rest of the day.
According to the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) the first big test of the extension will come on Tuesday night when Lily Allen plays the 02 - and up to 13,000 people may stream out looking for a quick route back to the city centre.
But according to the RPA's Tom Manning one of the main benefits of the Luas extension will be in breathing life into the IFSC at nighttime, bringing people into the area for concerts and giving people a reason to remain late as the last tram at 12.30a.m.
The route of the new extension will pass the Harbourmaster bar and restaurant and serve many of the corporate lawyers and bankers' offices, as well as the National College of Ireland and a number of new hotels. It will also serve the soon to be completed National Concert Hall and the Point Village.
"It brings the tram into a whole new area of Dublin, it looks more like Boston" said Mr Manning as he pointed out local landmarks including "the Anglo Irish Icon", an unfinished office block at near The Point
From Tuesday most Red Line trams will bypass Connolly station moving seamlessly from Busaras to George's Dock, instead of going to the current terminus at the Luas concourse beside Connolly Station. From Monday just one Luas out of three will serve the Luas concourse, but the RPA points out both Busaras and George's Dock stops are almost as close.
Journey times from the Point to Tallaght is 56 minutes and services will be every s-ix-and-a-half minutes at peak times. Public Consultation for the extension was launched in January 2001 and construction began in June 2007. In building the line the RPA took up old cobbles from Lower Mayor Street, split them in two and reused them between the tracks to maintain the historic character of the area. A bridge across Spencer Dock won the Best Structural Design prize at the Leading European Architects Forum Awards in 2009.
