Strong public support for Luas Cork despite concerns about route changes
Indicative view of Luas Cork on St Patrick's Street. Picture: LuasCork.ie
Local concerns informed almost all submissions to the Luas Cork public consultation on the €2.5bn-plus light rail’s preferred route, with 44.8% focused on controversial route changes in Bishopstown.
However, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), which today published the Luas Cork Preferred Route 2026 Post-Consultation Report, has insisted the report demonstrates strong public backing for investment in high-capacity public transport.
TII noted that 85.2% of all respondents support the building of a light rail in Cork.
The report details the findings from this year’s eight-week public consultation on the preferred route for proposed light rail line linking Ballincollig and Mahon Point.
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That consultation, which ran from April 17 to June 12, saw 1,660 people attend various public events and briefings, and received 1,733 submissions, of which 1,727 were deemed valid.
Of those submissions, 1,539 – or 89.1% - related to local concerns in specific areas.
The greatest number of submissions – 774, or 44.8% - related to the Bishopstown area.
There, considerable controversy was generated in early April when this newspaper reported on April 2 that significant changes to the earlier proposed route would impact upon local sports clubs, schools, and residences.
When the preferred route was published, on April 17, Bishopstown GAA Club said it would “fight to the end” against the proposals, while Highfield RFC said the preferred route presented an “existential threat” to its future.
At the time of the new route’s publication Jerry Buttimer, Fine Gael TD for Cork South Central and Government junior minister for transport, called on TII to listen to local concerns.
In today’s report, comments relating to Bishopstown GAA account for 61.7% of all Bishopstown responses, while comments relating to Highfield account for half.
In a new submission, Mr Buttimer said he believed there was “a legitimate question as to whether additional route options, route refinements and operational configuration could achieve the project’s transport objectives while reducing impacts on sports clubs, schools, public open spaces and residential communities”.
In a press release accompanying the publication of the report, TII said it demonstrated “strong public backing for investment in high-capacity public transport, while also identifying local issues and concerns that will help inform the next stage of design development”.
TII noted that feedback frequently focused on route alignment, access arrangements, local traffic management and potential effects on established communities.
It said local community impacts would require careful consideration, and noted that issues highlighted by participants had included “impacts on communities and sports clubs in Bishopstown; access and traffic in Ballincollig, Ballintemple and Blackrock, and maritime activity on the River Lee”.
There was, TII said, strong public interest in future route extensions and integration with bus, rail, walking, cycling and Park & Ride facilities.
When asked to rank the benefits of Luas Cork, 76.6% of respondents selected frequent, reliable, safe transport, while 71.7% selected the potential to reduce traffic congestion.
The report also finds significant support for future-proofing the network, with many respondents calling for future extensions west of Ballincollig, beyond Mahon Point, and improved connections to Cork Airport and other growth areas.
Lorcan O’Connor, CEO of TII, said the feedback confirmed strong support for Luas Cork while also identifying local issues that required further consideration as the project progresses.
“We are committed to working with communities and stakeholders to refine and develop the project,” he said.
Anne Shaw, CEO of the National Transport Authority, said Luas Cork was a key project under the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy (CMATS) and will play an important role in supporting the sustainable growth of Cork and its metropolitan area.
“We look forward to continuing to work closely with TII and other stakeholders as the project progresses to the planning application stage,” she said.
TII said the findings of the report will now inform the preliminary design stage of the Luas Cork project.
The next phase will include further design refinement, environmental and technical assessments, stakeholder engagement, and preparation for the Railway Order planning process.
“This will include a further opportunity for the public to have their say during a statutory public consultation,” TII said.
In April, Paolo Carbone, head of light rail projects at Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), told this newspaper that he hoped a railway order would be submitted for the Cork light rail service in early 2028.
However, in a reply last month to a parliamentary question from Thomas Gould, Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central, NTA deputy chief executive Hugh Creegan said: “It is currently expected that a railway order will be lodged in Q4 2028.”
In April, Mr Carbone said that after the submission of a railway order, and allowing a year for An Coimisiún Pleanála to grant planning, the project would then go to tender, and construction should begin by 2031.
Asked to confirm that its plans to submit a railway order had slipped back by at least nine months, TII said it remained “firmly committed to the timely delivery of Luas Cork”.
A spokesperson said that while its current target for submitting a railway order was the end of 2028, it was exploring all opportunities to fast-track this timeline in line with the Government’s accelerating infrastructure agenda.
The full Cork Luas post-consultation Report is available at https://www.luascork.ie.
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