The long-awaited prospect of a light rail system for Galway has moved one step closer to receiving the green light, following confirmation from Deputy John Connolly that a light rail line will be included in the Galway Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy.
Emerging as a subject for consideration during the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Infrastructure and National Plan Delivery, attended by Deputy Connolly, the long-discussed but largely unexplored concept of a LUAS-style service for Galway (Gluas ) was confirmed to be part of plans for the city.
Fianna Fáil spokesperson for transport raised the issue, Deputy Shane Moynihan, who asked whether the Gluas project had reached the planning stage yet, and whether the National Transport Authority (NTA ) still had “ambitions to deliver it under the National Transport Strategy”.
Responding to the query, NTA spokesperson Hugh Creegan said that “while there isn’t a firm plan to deliver a Luas in Galway yet”, the completion of a feasibility study by the NTA in 2024 indicated there could, under the right conditions, “be a case for developing a light rail system in Galway”.
Ultimately, the new Galway Transport Strategy will “have to make a call on the inclusion of light rail”, said Creegan, adding that he “believed light rail will be included, and it is only at that time that design work would kick off”.
Future plans hinge on N6 ring road
At the same meeting, the committee heard that the next stages of development of Galway’s Transport Strategy would hinge on An Bord Pleanála’s forthcoming decision on the N6 Galway City Bypass, which the State regards as being “central to the transport strategy” for the city.
Speaking about the potential progression of the Gluas, Deputy Connolly, Fianna Fáil TD for Galway West, said, “That light rail will be a serious consideration for the Galway transport strategy, which will be welcomed by GLUAS campaigners, commuters, and environmentalists, so this is a positive outcome to emerge from the committee meeting.
“However, the fact that a new transport strategy is dependent on the Galway City Ring Road underlines the importance of An Bord Pleanála expediting a decision on this issue. We have seen in the Cost of Congestion Report that by 2040, traffic congestion will increase to €106.9 million per year, the highest per-capita congestion cost of any city in the State.
“This eventuality does not have to come to pass. Light rail has a vital role to play in combating traffic congestion in the city, as does the ring road. We need both, and we need the N6 planning permission to begin working towards them now.”
