Preferred Cork Luas route due to be published this week

The preferred route of the €1bn-plus Cork Luas light rail system is due to be published at 11am on Friday, a publication likely to be of great interest to people in Bishopstown and Ballincollig.

The draft route — the emerging preferred route (EPR) — was published last April, with the Luas running 18km from Ballincollig to Mahon Point, through the city centre.

The projected journey time from Ballincollig to Mahon Point will be 55 minutes, with services running every six minutes, and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) expects more than 2,300 passengers per hour at peak times.

In the EPR, the western section starts with a loop around Ballincollig town centre, running from Carriganarra to take in the main street and the link road, before heading east through Clash, where a park-and-ride site is proposed, and on to MTU’s Bishopstown campus.

The EPR had the Luas running along Melbourn Rd, east onto Curraheen Rd before passing CUH and then down Wilton Road, through Dennehy’s Cross and Victoria Cross and on into the city centre.

The preferred route — which supersedes the EPR — looks set to include a 2km extension west of Ballincollig, significant changes in Bishopstown, and what are understood to be minor adjustments at the eastern end.

Revised

According to information received by The Echo, the revised, preferred route will see the light rail turning left before it reaches the western boundary of CUH, heading north and then east behind the hospital, cutting through several housing estates and likely impacting Bishopstown GAA Club and Highfield RFC.

From the limited details available, the revised route will run parallel to the rear boundary of CUH, before rejoining the Wilton Rd at some point towards Dennehy’s Cross and heading toward Victoria Cross and on for the city.

TII has refused to provide information beyond saying the route will be unveiled on Friday, kicking off a fresh round of non-statutory public consultation.

Disappointed

Terry Coleman, Fianna Fáil councillor for the south-west ward, said he was disappointed local people had learned of the route changes in the media rather than from TII.

“However, I have been engaging directly with Bishopstown GAA and Highfield and other stakeholders since the story broke, and I am very happy to confirm that TII have now engaged directly with both clubs, and they have set up meetings with the clubs in advance of the official launch."

Sinn Féin councillor Joe Lynch said he was awaiting the publication of the revised proposals on Friday to examine the impact any changes might have.

“From a Ballincollig point of view, I strongly believe that the use of Station Rd for Luas traffic is absolutely unacceptable and that an alternative route must be found, which I made clear in my submission to TII,” he said.