21km light rail network proposed

Date Published: 30-May-2008

Plans for the construction of a light rail transport system for Galway which could be constructed within three years at a fraction of the cost Dublin’s Luas are set to be launched in the city early next month.

A team of UK-based experts, hired by the voluntary GLUAS (light rail for Galway) campaign, have come up with detailed plans for a €200 million electric train service which would feature two lines, 50 stops, and 19 trams over a 21km network across the city.

The consultants believe that the Galway trams could be built at a cost of €9 million per kilometre, less than a third of the €31million per km it has cost to put the Luas in place in the capital. They estimate they would only have to dig down eight inches, rather than the six feet required for Luas, to put tracks in place on the streets of the city.

On Monday week, June 9, the GLUAS campaign will launch a website which will feature plans for a network featuring two lines, one linking the Cappagh Road with Merlin Park and the other between Bushypark and the Tuam Road, which, they claim, could be put in place within a matter of three years.

The plan envisages the construction of Park and Ride facilities at stations on the outskirts of the city and is seen as …………………….