‘Vague’ date for Cork Luas route 'simply not good enough'

“A VAGUE deadline” for the publication of the emerging preferred route of the proposed Cork Luas is “simply so not good enough for the people of Cork”, a Labour Party local elections candidate has said.

Peter Horgan was speaking after information obtained by the Labour Party revealed that there is no exact date for the publication of the emerging preferred route , which has twice been delayed already.

The party was informed by the deputy chief executive of the National Transport Authority (NTA), Hugh Creegan, that the spend up to the end of January on the project was just over €2,587,201.

Proposed route

In response to the question about a date for the publication of the proposed route, Mr Creegan said “the publication of the emerging preferred route of the proposed Luas Cork is currently expected to be in quarter two of this year”.

Speaking to The Echo following the latest update, Mr Horgan, who is a candidate in the city’s South East ward, was critical over the delays in announcing the emerging preferred route .

“Over €2.5m spent and no idea where the route will intersect in the city or in areas like Blackrock,” he said.

Mr Horgan said he feared “Dublin-based decisions [are] being made on desktops with no on-the-ground lived experiences. We are expecting the statutory final plans of bus corridors and still have not even seen a preferred route for the light rail, which will intersect with those corridors. Meanwhile those in power either do not care or just are not listening,” said Mr Horgan. “The minister for transport is adopting a hands-off approach to Cork City.

 “It is time for a change on how we approach public transport in this city. It’s time for a public transport champion in City Hall."

Late last year, the NTA had said that work on identifying a precise route for the proposed Luas light rail transit system, which will run from Ballincollig in the west to Mahon Point in the east, was progressing well. 

Discussions

The authority had said that, in discussions with Cork City Council over the summer, “it was agreed that some additional work should be undertaken in relation to the city centre section prior to commencing the public consultation stage”.

The emerging preferred route had been expected to be revealed before the end of 2022. However, this was delayed. It was then expected to be published in July last year but was further stalled to facilitate the additional work on the city centre section.

Commenting following the latest update from the NTA, Labour Party’s spokesperson on transport, Duncan Smith, said it is now a critical point in providing public transport infrastructure right across the State, “especially in Cork”.

“How the agencies that deliver that infrastructure need to be looked at with a critical eye,” the Dublin Fingal TD said.

“Restructuring the board [of the NTA] to ensure a fuller representation outside of Dublin; with on-the-ground experiences, must form part of that, and we in Labour will not be found wanting in progressing that change,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Transport said the Government is “committed to improving public transport options in Cork over the coming years”.

They said a public consultation on the proposed Cork light rail project will launch in the coming months and that the project is “one of a number of public transport projects proposed in the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy to deliver an accessible, integrated transport network that enables the sustainable growth of the Cork metropolitan area, both now and for the decades to come”.