Cork city chief calls for delivery of light rail system to boost development

THE chief executive of Cork City Council has suggested that the proposed light rail system in Cork city should be delivered now rather than later, to encourage development along its route.

A tram system similar to that of Dublin’s Luas has long been called for in Cork city, and work on the selection of a preferred route through the city centre from Ballincollig to Mahon is ongoing.

The proposed light rail, 17km in length, would connect Cork’s universities, hospitals, the city centre, Kent Station, and the emerging Cork Docklands, a total of 25 stops, and have a journey time of 45 minutes from Ballincollig to Mahon.

Speaking at Cork Chamber’s Business Breakfast, Cork City Council’s chief executive Ann Doherty suggested that rather than waiting for population densities to increase, the light rail system should be built now to encourage and increase development along the route.

Urging people to get behind the delivery of the light rail, she described it as “a really important part of our future”.

She said: “My ask would be why can’t we build it now rather than wait until we have all the population? So, that’s something we should all reflect upon because I think if we put it in early, development will happen around it, which is back to that transport-led development, so maybe that’s something we should all get behind, and getting that light rail in.”

She said Transport Infrastructure Ireland is going to do a non-statutory consultation on the preferred route of the light rail, hopefully at the end of this year or early next year at the latest.

Acknowledging the delays with the announcement of the emerging preferred route, which was due to be announced earlier this year, she said: “It has been delayed, it has been delayed intentionally, and I don’t give any apology for it, because we wanted to make sure that everything was stress-tested in it.”