Luas fares in Dublin are set to increase in the New Year.

FRENCH metros operating firm Keolis has announced that it has been short-listed by the Rail Procurement Agency for the operating contract for Metro North in Dublin.

A QUARTER of Dublin’s iconic St Stephen’s Green will close to the public in 2009 to allow construction work on a new metro system for Dublin.

THE Green Party outlined the route of a light rail system for Cork and called for the setting up of a dedicated transport authority for the city and county yesterday.

A NEW super-authority is to assume responsibility for implementing the Government’s €14 billion programme to improve public transport services in the greater Dublin region.

DUBLIN’S billion-plus euro Metro North linking the city and airport is set to get the green light within two weeks.

A HIGH-POWERED project group is expected to present their plan for the introduction of Ireland’s long-awaited integrated ticketing system in the autumn, it was learned yesterday.

Rail chiefs predicted today that 100 million passengers would be travelling on the train network when a new underground line through the heart of Dublin opens in 2015.

TRANSPORT Minister Martin Cullen switched on the green light for Dublin’s new Metro system yesterday - but opposition parties predicted a swift derailment for the ambitious plans.

Operators of Dublin’s Luas system today insisted that flaws found on suburban sections of track are not an immediate risk to public safety and repair work is not urgent.

The extension of the Luas service to the Point Theatre in Dublin has moved a step closer this morning following the appointment of an official to get the public's view on the initiative.

A METRO including a circle line linking Dublin’s transport hubs would give the city the world-class service that Transport 21 will fail to deliver, an Oireachtas committee heard yesterday.

A metro which includes a circle line linking Dublin’s transport hubs would give the city the world class service that Transport 21 will fail to deliver, an Oireachtas committee heard today.

Ireland’s new €34.4bn transport plan got underway tonight, with an application for the first Luas extension submitted to the Government.

FIXED-PRICE contracts for all future transport projects will deliver big savings for the taxpayer and ensure the risk of overruns falls on the contractor, Transport Minister Martin Cullen said yesterday.

TRANSPORT Minister Martin Cullen last night strongly stood over his comments that people who legally challenge state infrastructure projects after their approval are robbing money from their fellow taxpayers.

Junior Minister Ivor Callely has reportedly indicated that the cabinet is set to approve plans to build a metro line linking Dublin Airport with the city centre.

Stockbroker turned Government adviser Colin Hunt, whose friends say definitely leans to the right side of Fianna Fáil, is likely to press for further deregulation of bus travel, particularly in urban areas, writes Kyran Fitzgerald.

MOTORISTS driving through red lights have been blamed for a series of accidents involving Luas trams in Dublin.

The Rail Procurement Agency (RPS) is to review signage at intersections on the new LUAS system in Dublin in an effort to reduce the number of collisions involving the trams.

LUAS officials are due to appear before the Dáil transport committee today to explain the large number of accidents involving the new trams in the capital.

Luas proposals originally rejected by the Government, now being reconsidered, represent a shambolic approach to transport policy, it was claimed today.

Officials from the Rail Procurement Agency are due before the Oireachtas transport committee later this week to explain the number of accidents involving LUAS trams in Dublin.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern has ruled out as too expensive the proposed Dublin metro - one of the Government’s central transport commitments in its Programme for Government.

Progressive Democrats Senator Tom Morrissey has called on the Rail Procurement Agency to increase the number of warning signs along the routes of the LUAS tram lines in Dublin.

A man has been hospitalised following a collision between a car and a Luas tram in Dublin city centre this morning.

The Dublin City Business Association is calling on the new Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, to have the two Luas lines to be joined up.

The Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Transport Minister Seamus Brennan have officially opened the second line of Dublin's new LUAS tram system.

The Irish and British governments are considering introducing a special smart card to enable pensioners and other groups to have free access to public transport on both sides of the border.

The Rail Procurement Agency has announced that the second line in Dublin's new LUAS tram system will be officially opened on Tuesday, September 28.

CIE has proposed a DART-type link to Dublin Airport, which it claims would cost €700m less than a planned Metro.

The LUAS light rail system carried 140,000 passengers in its first full week of commercial activity, figures have revealed.

THE Luas service will be launched in Dublin on June 30 with free travel on the Sandyford-St Stephen’s Green line for five days.

The Government is reportedly prepared to subsidise the LUAS light rail system in Dublin if it fails to attract enough passengers to make the service viable.

TRANSPORT Minister Séamus Brennan said yesterday that he expects a make a significant announcement on the €2.2 billion Dublin Metro within weeks.

THE means by which Dublin’s light railway ultimately gets through the Red Cow Roundabout will not delay the introduction of the new tram service next summer, Transport Minister Séamus Brennan declared yesterday.

Fine Gael TD Denis Naughten has called on Transport Minister Seamus Brennan to carry out an immediate review of the Rail Procurement Agency’s entire operations.

THE troubled Luas project could be delayed a further nine months and cost at least an extra €20m it emerged last night.

THE Minister for Transport Seamus Brennan yesterday moved to play down sharp condemnation of the LUAS project, stressing that he has been assured it will be completed on budget and on time.

The Government is unhappy with the way the LUAS construction is being handled by the Rail Procurement Agency.

MAJOR construction work on the development of Luas in Dublin, which has caused severe disruption to city centre traders, is due to finish by the end of December.

The Taoiseach has stated this afternoon that he is not concerned about the awarding of Dublin's Luas contract to Connex.

A plan to re-open the Phoenix Park underground rail line would solve the problem of linking Connolly Station and Dublin Airport at a stroke, Fine Gael transport spokesperson Denis Naughten TD said today.

A RAILWAY passengers’ group in Britain has warned Irish commuters about the track record of the firm awarded the contract to run the long-awaited Luas.