Luas (Tram System Dublin) - Luas Launch - BLuas (Tram System Dublin) - B Luas Launch The original launch date for Luas was to be 2003, but delays in construction saw this date pushed back by a year. An advertising campaign took place to inform the public of the development of the system, while construction was taking place. Construction finished in February 2004 and a period of testing and driver training began. 30 June 2004 was decided on as the official launch date of the Green Line. The first tram went into service for the general public at 3 p.m. Several days of free travel and a family fun weekend took place to launch the system. The Red Line opened on 26 September 2004, with six days of free travel for the general public. Luas Tram Dublin 2004 to Present By November 2006, over 50 million journeys had been made on the system. Around 90,000 Luas trips are made each day. In 2007, 28.4 million journeys were made, there were 27.4 million journeys in 2008 and 25.4 million journeys in 2009. To date, the busiest day on Luas was Friday, 21 December 2007 when 145,000 passenger journeys were recorded. Luas operates without a state subsidy. The service recorded a surplus of €985,000 (€680,000 in 2004) - an achievement well ahead of an anticipated deficit of €2.5 million. On Tuesday, 8 December 2009 the Red Line C1 Connolly to Docklands extension opened. There are four stops: George's Dock, Mayor Square-NCI, Spencer Dock (serving the new Docklands railway station, approximately 350 metres (1,148 ft 4 in) away) and terminating in Point Village, opposite the 3Arena, this extension however bypasses Connolly. Construction started at the beginning of June 2007. Test runs began on the line in September 2009 before the opening. On, 16 October 2010 the B1 extension from Sandyford to Cherrywood opened. Luas Tram Dublin Cross City In June 2010, plans to join the two Luas tracks were finalised. On 20 May 2011 Dublin City Council made submissions to An Bord Pleanála's Oral Hearing into Line BXD stating that the Planning Authority had a serious area of concern with the overhead conductor system in the historical city centre asking for a wire-free zone. Luas Cross City is an extension of the Green Line which links with the Red Line, and continues northwards to Broombridge in North Dublin (interchange with Iarnród Éireann station). The extension began at the existing St Stephen's Green Green Line stop. Construction started in June 2013, with services beginning in December 2017.
It then turns east into Cathal Brugha Street and turns south to run along Marlborough Street, across the River Liffey on the Rosie Hackett Bridge, continues along Hawkins Street and College Street and joins up with the double-track section of the line at College Green. 2012 was the original completion date given in the Transport 21 plans, but construction only started in 2013. The completion date, along with the commencement of passenger services, was December 2017. The RPA applied for a Railway Order application to An Bord Pleanála for a combined Line D / Line BX Luas Line that runs from St Stephen's Green to Broombridge via the city centre and Broadstone / Grangegorman.
On 10 November 2011, the government announced in its 2012-16 Infrastructure and Capital Investment plan that the project to link the Red and Green lines, known as BXD, was to proceed. No other new lines or extensions were being funded. Construction work for the new Rosie Hackett bridge across the River Liffey (connecting Marlborough St and Hawkins St) began in April 2012, on which the southbound Luas BXD track was laid. A Railway Order was granted by An Bord Pleanála for Luas BXD line on 3 August 2012. The project was subsequently branded as Luas Cross City. Cross City opened to passengers on 9 December 2017. Luas Tram Dublin Overview Luas Locale: Dublin, Ireland
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