Calls for Finglas Luas link

A BUS service connecting Finglas to the new Luas Cross City line is on the way, but a new campaign is calling for the trams to run through the Northside suburb.

Dublin North West TD, Noel Rock (FG), says he has been told by senior management at Dublin Bus that a new route linking Finglas to the Luas Green line at Broombridge has been secured following a meeting with them.

Deputy Rock says he met with the officials to outline concerns over transport issues between Finglas and the newly opened Luas line.

“This is something I’ve been pushing for since my election to Dáil Éireann and I’m very satisfied that common sense has prevailed,” he said.

“I had been on to both the National Transport Authority and Dublin Bus multiple times on the matter and I’m glad that they’ve managed to agree that the people of Finglas deserve a direct connection to the Luas.”

Deputy Rock says he’s hopeful the bus connection will be a first step to getting a Luas extension to Finglas.

“This is common sense stuff,” he added.

“Finglas buses to town are overcrowded and the new Luas line terminates just 500 metres south of Finglas.”

Meanwhile, local Fianna Fáil councillor, Paul McAuliffe, who’s hoping to take Deputy Rock’s seat at the next election, held a public meeting last week to highlight his campaign to extend Luas Cross City via Finglas to the Metro North at Ballymun.

Cllr McAuliffe launched a website last month to kick start his campaign – D11LUAS.com – where locals can sign up to an online petition.

“With the recent opening of the new Luas line to Broombridge, many locals living in our area have been asking; why stop there?” he said.

“The proposal to develop the Luas in D11 was initially identified in the North Dublin Transport Study yet it has been on put on the back burner by this Government since.”

The 2015 Transport Study to come up with ways of linking the city centre to the airport looked at two options that would have brought Luas through Finglas.

The first, to run an €250 million extension of the Luas Cross City from Broombridge to Finglas, was dismissed at an early stage of the process as it didn’t meet the study’s brief to connect to the airport.

The second option sought to extend the first by bringing the line as far as the airport but this too was dismissed at a later stage due to high cost (€530-770 million) and lengthy journey times.

However, Cllr McAuliffe believes things have moved on since the study and a Luas link to Finglas should be back on the table.

“More and more people are moving to our area to commute to work and college which is putting enormous pressure on our road capacity and bus services,” he argued.

“Despite the huge growth in demand for public transport by commuters across North Dublin, there was just an eight per cent increase in the latest budget for transport services.

“That leaves little scope to progress with vital public transport projects such as Luas D11.

“As part of the future development of light rail service in the city, I believe that extending the Luas through the Dublin 11 area to link with the Metro North at the M50, would provide a long term solution to the growing congestion problems.”

Cllr McAuliffe hosted a public meeting in Finglas last week where the merits of extending the Luas from Broombridge via Finglas to the Metro North Route at Ballymun were outlined.