Cork city needs to progress light rail project as a matter of urgency, Taoiseach says
Computer generated image of the Cork LUAS system as part of the CMATS.
An Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said Cork city needs to progress its light rail project as a matter of urgency, adding that he believes that the best route would need to be along Patrick Street.
He said it was his intention to call on the National Transport Authority (NTA) to approve the route selection for the project.
Mr Martin added that the city needed more connectivity and greater opportunities for the use of buses, and more buses, and he noted that there had been an issue with drivers last year.
“I do think light rail is important, buses are important, public transport, and we’ll continue to invest in that, and also developing the Docklands from a housing perspective is very important, because that would give us the density that I think would really create an extra lung in the city, that would allow the services to grow accordingly."
Mr Martin said he didn’t want to be drawn into specific timelines for the completion of Cork's light rail service, but he believed the selection of a route was likely to be soon.
“My understanding is a route has been selected, some want to look at other routes, there already has been a consideration of that, and we need to get on with these things, because they tend to take an inordinate length of time,” he said.
“That then would be replicated in other cities, but we need to move on with that agenda.”
He said that he had been very critical of how BusConnects had been progressed, but he believed that clearer access routes needed to be created for people going to work and attending schools in the inner core of the city.
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