Irish Transport Minister applauds successful tram extension
programme

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26 of the 40 Citadis trams built and maintained by Alstom
were modified by local Alstom teams. They added a 10 metre
module supplied by Santa Perpetua site near Barcelona (Spain).
Thanks to the modular concept of Citadis, each tram took just
two weeks to be modified.


Since the start of passenger service in 2004, passenger numbers
have steadily grown, reaching over 27 million in 2007. This led
our customer RPA to commission Alstom in 2005 to extend the 26
thirty metre long trams on the Red Line to 40 metres, thus
creating 40 % more capacity for passengers.



At the Red Cow depot in Dublin, Minister Dempsey commented that
the completion of the programme marked another important phase
in the continuing success story of Luas, with the project
significantly easing congestion at peak times. He added that
the project had been completed on time and to budget with no
disruption to passenger service ; a tribute to all three
companies involved ; Alstom, the Railway Procurement Agency
(RPA) and operator Veolia Transport.



Alstom will provide a further 18 Citadis trams due to enter
service in 2009, as the RPA continues to look at further
schemes to increase capacity. This contract also includes an
option to extend the trams to 53m in length.