Type Light rail Locale Ireland Opened 30 June 2004 | Status Operational Stations 24 | |
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Termini St Stephen's Green
Bride's Glen | ||
The Green Line (Irish: Líne Uaine) is one of the two lines of Dublin's Luas light rail system. The Green Line is currently entirely in the south side of Dublin city. It mostly follows the route of the old Harcourt Street railway line, which was reserved for possible re-use when it closed in 1958. The Red Line and Green Line are not yet connected to each other, with a 15-minute walk between the two closest points.
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The Green Line from St Stephen's Green to Sandyford launched on 30 June 2004. An extension to Cherrywood (Brides Glen Station) was opened on 16 October 2010.
As of 2017, the Green line is operating at near maximum capacity during the morning and evening rush hours, and it experiences mass overcrowding and congestion at these times. To assist in alleviating this congestion, seven new longer trams will be entering service when the Luas Cross City line opens. Platforms between St Stephen's Green and Sandyford are currently being lengthened to accommodate the new trams. The existing fleet of trams on the line will be lengthened over the coming year also.
Differences from Old Harcourt Street Line
Between Harcourt Street and Charlemont, the Green Line takes a large loop east around buildings which didn't exist between 1859 and 1959. As such, there is no train bridge on Adelaide Road for the current line, as there had been for the Harcourt Street Line.
The line then follows the old alignment of the Harcourt Street line from Charlemont station as far as the current Sandyford stop (known as "Stillorgan" on the Harcourt Street line). After Sandyford the line detours over the Leopardstown Road/Brewery Road junction so as to run west around the Leopardstown Racecourse before rejoining the original alignment just north of Carrickmines. The Harcourt Street line had run around the eastern edge of the racecourse, via Silverpark. Remnants of the old Foxrock Station are visible at the back of The Hedgerows in Foxrock.
After this detour around Leopardstown Racecourse, the current line runs roughly along the original alignment with some minor detours, particularly prevalent at Laughanstown.
There are some other cosmetic differences between the Harcourt Street Line and the current Green Line, such as the positioning of the Ranelagh stop. The location of Ranelagh on the former line was at the current Beechwood stop. The old Ranelagh stop was the last stop on the old line before the train reached the city.
Luas Cross City
Luas Cross City (Irish: Luas Traschathrach) is a proposed extension to the Green Line, formerly called Luas BXD. It is planned to run from St. Stephen's Green to Broombridge railway station.
Construction of Luas Cross City, an extension to the Green Line, began in June 2013 and is expected to open in December 2017. The Rosie Hackett Bridge carrying the new line over the river Liffey was opened on 20 May 2014.
The new section is planned to begin at the current city centre terminus, St. Stephen's Green, cross the Red Line near the Abbey stop, and continue northwards, terminating at Broombridge station. There it is expected to connect passengers using Irish Rail commuter services to Maynooth railway station and M3 Parkway railway station.