— Luas has a projected journey time of 35 minutes from Ballincollig to Cork City Centre, while driving at rush hour tomorrow is estimated by Google Maps to take between 16-26 minutes.
A draft plan for the proposed and much-awaited Luas tram route in Cork City has been criticised as falling short because it is not designed for the frequency and capacity that been previously suggested for light rail in the city, and the lacks priority for the tram route with a lot of on-street sections mixed with cars.
The 18km emerging preferred route for Luas Cork was announced yesterday, running from Ballincollig to Mahon Point, serving destinations including Cork City Centre, Kent Station, Munster Technological University (MTU), Cork University Hospital, University College Cork (UCC), Cork Docklands, and Blackrock.
The criticisms of the draft project come from the Cork Commuter Coalition, a voluntary advocacy group for sustainable transport. An examination of the drawings from this website shows that a much higher percentage of the planned light rail route is on road shared with cars.
Luas in Dublin has very few sections shared with cars, but the plan for Cork includes far more sections shared with cars both in the city centre and in suburbs.
Ciarán Meers, chairperson of the Cork Commuter Coalition, said: “Cork has been waiting for nearly seven years for the proposed route for this Luas. It was with great excitement that we examined the proposal this morning. While we, of course, welcome the long-awaited progress, it appears that this project falls short in several key areas, most notably routing and capacity. As it stands, this proposal gives a second-tier transport system to a top-tier city.”
“The route makes a number of choices that make little sense. On the western end, the route terminates in the centre of Ballincollig, missing out on many key employment centres, such as Dell/EMC, as well as major housing estates. The decision to run a single track with four stops will also create a choke point within Ballincollig, negatively impacting journey times and reducing capacity on the network,” he said.
Meers said that the projected journey time of 35 minutes from Ballincollig to Cork City Centre is not competitive with either bus or car.
He said that on the eastern end, the decision to not use the Passage Greenway, which was a former railway alignment as was originally intended, “means that there will be tight corners and lower speeds through suburban areas in Blackrock and Mahon.”
It is unclear how the original plan to run both light rail and greenway on the former railway route.
The group thinks that because of these choices, the Cork Luas will “spend the majority of its time stuck in traffic even in the outer suburbs of the city.”
The “convoluted loop” in Ballincollig makes any extension to the west of the town “impossible” the group claimed.
“The Cork LUAS suffers from an almost complete lack of grade separation, with vehicle traffic mixed in with the Luas route. With Cork’s traffic congestion ranking it among the ‘worst in the world’, this will slow the Luas route and significantly impact [the] reliability of the service. The Luas should be running on a dedicated corridor in the centre of the road, where it will not get slowed down by cars pulling out of driveways, and vehicles coming from other turning points,” Meers said.
He said that frequency will compare poorly with Dublin, with just 10 trams per hour planned compared to 17 trams per hour in the capital.
Meers said: “This lower service frequency, and usage of shorter vehicles will result in a far reduced passenger capacity, with a change significantly reduced from targets in the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy. CMATS outlines a potential of over 11,000 passenger capacity with 2-minute frequencies at rush hour, or 4,600 passenger capacity with 5-minute frequencies at other times. This plan has cut this significantly, to only 2,300 passenger capacity with 6-minute frequencies at peak hour.”
He said that Cork needs to avoid making the same mistake as Dublin did so that the Luas Cork doesn’t require “expensive, lengthy, and unnecessary upgrades not long after service begins.”
The group said that there are many parts of the emerging preferred route which they are highly supportive of, including creating integrated transportation connections with bus, Luas, and train at Kent Station, which will create a more unified public transport system, as well as the P&R/Mobility hubs in Ballincollig and Mahon.
They also commended the plan for the use of battery power in the city centre, which they said also eases construction within the urban core.
Meers added: “It is important that public consultation is succinct and meaningful, but does not continually drag out an already delayed project, just as BusConnects Cork saw unnecessary extra rounds of consultation drag out and water down the project. Overall, though the Luas Cork is still a major step forward for Cork City, key issues with capacity, speed, and routing need to be addressed if this system is to realise its full potential. Everyone in Cork knows how frustrating it is to be stuck in a bus that isn’t moving due to traffic – if necessary changes aren’t made, this plan at current will simply repeat the same mistakes on a larger scale.”
Meanwhile, the Cork Cycle Campaign said they welcomed the progression of the project and is looking forward to continued engagement on the route.
A spokesperson for the group said: “We’re encouraged by the intention to integrate the new Luas line with the existing and proposed cycling network, and we look forward to working with the Luas Cork team to ensure the best possible outcomes for people who cycle.”
“We are committed to providing constructive feedback on the plans to help create a truly joined-up, safe, and accessible transport system for Cork,” the spokesperson said.
“We’re equally pleased to see positive developments in the Docklands to City Centre Scheme, particularly the inclusion of two-way cycle infrastructure and sustainable transport-focused junction upgrades. These improvements will make a real difference to cycling access between South Docklands and the city centre, opening up safer and more convenient routes for commuters, residents, and visitors alike,” they said.
The campaign added: “We would like to sincerely thank Cork City Council for the opportunity to engage with these projects and to share the insights and feedback of our members. This kind of collaboration is vital to ensuring that Cork becomes a leader in sustainable, people-friendly urban mobility. We look forward to continued engagement and to seeing these transformative projects come to life.”
Further details of the project can be found at Luascork.ie and feedback can be given at consult.tii.ie/luas-cork
Fantastic project. Big problem is our country doesn’t do big transport infrastructure projects well. God only knows when construction will start.
A second line incorporating big populations glanmire, Douglas & carrigaline would of been great.
The mixing of tram & car is bizarre. Hopefully once built the efficiencies of the tram to destination will have the potential to improve dramatically with the eventual removement of cars from tram lanes.