CIE's planned Luas light rail line from Sandyford to St Stephen's Green would result in "substantial" savings in travel time compared with cars or any other means of transport in south Dublin, a British transport consultant has predicted.
Mr J.K. Steer, managing director of Steer Davies Gleave, which was the principal consultant for the Dublin Transportation Initiative in the early 1990s, said the provision of Luas Line B, as it is called, was an "essential element" of the DTI strategy.
Giving evidence on the first full day of a public inquiry into the plan, Mr Steer said there was an "extremely strong" cost-benefit argument for the line because it would attract many car users in a sector of the city where car ownership was relatively high.
It would also have no negative impacts, largely because it would make extensive use of an existing right of way - the former Harcourt Street railway line - he said. "Overall, the benefits of the project clearly outweigh its costs" - estimated at £100 million.
But Mr Steer warned that the benefits would be reduced if part of the route was duplicated by an underground light rail line to the north side. Depending on where this was located, up to half of the forecast trips on Line B could switch to the underground line.
Mr John Henry, director of the Dublin Transportation Office, told Judge Sean O'Leary - now presiding over his second Luas inquiry - that Luas was "the flagship public transportation system designed to provide an attractive alternative to travelling by car".
He said a major review and updating of the DTI strategy, now under way, would establish the provisional alignments for the extended Luas network announced by the Government last May and "will also look beyond to future long-term development of the network".
Mr Henry conceded that overall progress on the implementation of the various projects and measures contained in the DTI strategy "falls well short of expectations". But he said the philosophy behind it, of achieving a major switch to public transport, had not changed.
The impact of the "slippage" on major investment projects, including Luas, coupled with an increased demand for travel leading to higher levels of congestion, "highlights the urgent need to proceed quickly with the provision of a light rail transit system for Dublin".
Mr Henry described Luas as a "key mechanism for changing public attitudes to public transport as a viable alternative to the car". It would achieve this by providing a safe, comfortable, reliable and efficient means of travel that was sustainable and non-threatening.
He also noted that the new strategic planning guidelines for the wider city region stated that there was "no alternative to a public transport-based solution and that failure to implement the appropriate measures could seriously prejudice the economic and social growth of Dublin".
Mr Donal Mangan, CIE's Luas project director, spent two hours outlining the genesis of the Sandyford-St Stephen's Green line, noting it was one of the four-branch network recommended by the DTI in 1994. It would be 9 km long, with 13 stations or stops.
He said it would also be much easier to build Line B because, unlike the already-approved Line A serving Tallaght, most of it is to be laid on the old Harcourt Street railway line. It might even be completed at the same time as Line A - in the spring of 2003.
However, because of the Government's decision last May to opt for an underground link in the city-centre, both lines were now "stand-alone projects", pending their integration in the future. As a result, separate tram depots would have to be provided.
CIE has invited tenders from suitably-qualified consultants to carry out geological and geo technical studies for a city-centre underground light rail route. These studies are expected to take at least six months and will involve drilling test bore-holes along potential routes.
Mr Mangan pointed out that the plans for Line B included the development of significant park-and-ride sites along the route.
Earlier, evidence was given to the inquiry that CIE's procedures in pursuing the project complied with the 1996 Dublin Light Rail Act. The rest of the week will be spent hearing the remainder of CIE's case before objectors receive a hearing, starting next week.
The inquiry, which is being held at St Stephen's Green House on Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin, is expected to conclude on May 6th.
