A significant extension of Luas services is not on the cards currently.
It is very unlikely that a 24-hour Luas service will be introduced in Dublin soon.
This is as the National Transport Authority (NTA) has said that a significant extension of the tram system is "not something that should be progressed at this point.
In a statement to JOE, an NTA spokesperson said the transport authority, along with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, had recently examined the prospect of the Luas operating past 1am.
However, they determined that essential maintenance on the tram system - such as on its overhead cable systems, overhead line equipment and rail works - can only be carried out when all trams are out of service.
"Even with the current schedule in place, the nightly window for that preventative maintenance work to take place is only somewhere between two and three hours," the NTA spokesperson said.
"Further extending hours of service would by definition, reduce the amount of time available for maintenance work, which could result in a diminution of services at other times of the week.
"The Friday-Saturday and Saturday-Sunday sets of engineering hours are particularly valuable on Luas, as the longer window due to the later start on Saturday and Sunday gives extra time for longer tasks, which again are required regularly.
"Were we to regularly run later services on Luas at say weekends, an alternative time would be required to complete these activities."
The spokesperson added that it is difficult to see where this maintenance work could be facilitated without substantially disrupting busy mid-week mornings.
Main image via Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie
