Cork Airport to make a formal Government submission seeking LUAS connection
'Nobody will forgive us in 20 years’ time if there is no Luas spur to the airport.' Pic: Larry Cummins
Management at Cork Airport will formally make a submission to the Government this week to “safeguard” land for a connecting light rail transport spur to the city.
Cork Airport managing director Niall MacCarthy told the Irish Examiner that the regional hub needs better connectivity as it undergoes a €200m expansion over the next decade. Mr MacCarthy said it is crucial that a Luas connection is added to existing plans for Cork’s light railway network.
“We are supporters of the Cork Luas and love the east-west route, but we will be submitting a paper to Government, as part of the consultation, that there should be safeguarding for a spur out to the airport.
“We’ll be saying: ‘You need to mark out a plot now’, such that you’ll have a future route to the airport from that east-west Luas. Because nobody will forgive us in 20 years’ time if there is no Luas spur to the airport.”
Cork Airport is Ireland’s fastest-growing airport and will serve 3.4m passengers this year, having grown its passenger base by over 50% in the last decade. The airport is forecast to see passenger numbers growing to 5m in a few years, DAA said.
While Mr MacCarthy envisages plans for a Luas to the airport in the future, he said the facility badly needs a better public transport service immediately.
“We believe we’re inadequately served by public transport,” he said. “We’re big fans of Bus Éireann, but we would like 24-hour services. Our busiest time in the morning is 6am. Those people are coming to the
airport at 4am or 4.30am.
“There’s no bus services, so therefore we’d like 24-hour service from Parnell Place up to the airport. I think that would be well used by staff and passengers for late flights and early flights. The Bus Éireann 226 and 225 are great services, but there is scope to give us more services.
“We’d also like better regional connectivity from the regions. We’d love a Killarney service to be stopping off at Cork Airport after it goes into the city. We’d love a Kilkenny service stopping off, and a Waterford service. We’d like those buses after they come to the city to come up to the airport. Because we’ve no vested interest in cars, we want people as much as possible to use public transport.”
Meanwhile, DAA chief executive Kenny Jacobs said a Cork-Dublin air route is “always possible”. The route was last served in 2011, and in the previous decade was served by both Ryanair and Aer Arann.
“It’s always possible, you know, nothing’s ever gone for good,” said Mr Jacobs. “What kind of killed it was too much capacity and too big aircraft. An ATR aircraft, a smaller aircraft similar to that serving Cork-Glasgow by Emerald Airlines, could do it. And there is a type of business user in particular who would use it. I can absolutely see it coming back.
“Look, it comes down to the airline that wants to do it. The road to Dublin is good, the train is good. But as the city grows, I could see it coming back as a form of transportation between Cork and Dublin.”
Investment of €200m at the airport was announced at the weekend, with investment in passenger facilities, including a new mezzanine floor in the terminal which will begin after the summer; a new security screening area; a new and larger duty-free shop; enhanced executive lounge facilities; new airbridges; a long-term car park extension; new boarding gates; airside equipment enhancements; and a 1.7Mw solar farm over the existing Holiday Blue car park.
The ambitious programme will conclude with the demolition and replacement of the old terminal and control tower, with a new pier and extra aircraft parking stands to significantly increase overall airside capacity.
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