Latest: Dublin transport committee 'hadn't heard' concerns about Luas Cross City
Dublin City Council’s transport committee said today that it was unaware of any "crisis situation" prior to the launch of the Luas Cross City line.
It is understood that Transdev had warned transport officials of problems regarding severe traffic jams and longer-than-expected running times last September.
Since the extensions introduction in December, Dublin Bus journey times have doubled in length, while almost 30 routes have had to be diverted away from College Green to alleviate traffic congestion.
"Well, I think we're seeing information that we haven't seen up to now," said Ciaran Cuffe, chairman of the City Council’s transport committee.
"And it seems clear that both Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the National Transport Authority and Transdev knew there was a problem before the launch, and certainly, as chair of the Transport Committee of Dublin City Council, I hadn't heard that.
"Had we known this, we might have been able to better manage the traffic once the new Cross City Luas was up and running."
Transport bosses were warned of a "crisis situation" facing Dublin's new Luas line months before it opened, it has been reported.
The Cross City line is being blamed for bringing traffic to a standstill around College Green, with Dublin Bus forced to divert nearly 30 routes away from the area.
The Sunday Business Post reports that transport officials were warned as early as September that test runs had led to traffic jams and delays.
Despite the warnings, the €368m line was opened as planned in December.
