IF YOU MADE a journey across Dublin’s city centre this morning, you may have noticed something unusual with the Luas Cross City – the new longer Luas tram made its maiden voyage through the peak time traffic.

A total of seven new longer trams are being introduced on a phased basis over the coming months, as Luas operator Transdev and Transport Infrastructure Ireland attempt to tackle the overcrowding issues on the new Luas Cross City green line. The overcrowding has seen many commuters unable to board the trams at peak times in the morning and evening.

The first 55 metre-long tram went into service this morning on an operational run. The tram ran from Brides Glen to Boombridge and back.

The other six longer trams will be introduced every few weeks over the coming months, once all trams are delivered in time.

A spokesperson for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) said that five of the seven longer trams should be in operation by the start of April, with the remaining two coming into service before May.

The Luas Cross City is a huge infrastructure project, one that took almost three years to complete. The first services began running in early December.

Since then, Luas commuters have faced a number of disruptions to their journeys as the TII try to work out signalling issues, which has caused continuous delays to the tram service.

When questioned about delays for people trying to get on packed Luas trams in mid-December, a spokesperson for the Department of Transport said: “Teething difficulties are to be expected while the familiarisation process takes place.

“While it is welcomed that so many new customers are using the extended Green Line, it has meant that some trams are operating at capacity. This will be alleviated in the New Year when seven new 55 metre-long trams will be brought into service on this line.”

As only one longer tram was in operation this morning, it remains unclear if the extra capacity has helped with the overcrowding issues.

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