Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 38: To ask the Minister for Transport if the route for the joining of the two existing Luas lines has been selected; if this project will begin and be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41746/06]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) began a public consultation on five potential routes for connecting the two existing Luas lines in November 2005. I understand that the RPA plans to publish a further consultation document in the New Year outlining how all of the route options compare.

I also understand that the RPA is engaged in dialogue with Dublin City Council, Dublin Bus and the Dublin Transportation Office in relation to the implications of the potential routes for bus services and other road users. Subject to a satisfactory outcome to those discussions and the public consultation, the RPA expects to identify a preferred option in the coming months and following this an application for a Railway Order will be made.

The construction timescale will be dependent on the route chosen following the public consultation and the discussions with stakeholders, and on the outcome of the statutory approval process. A second stage of this project will extend the line to Liffey Junction via Grangegorman and Broadstone. Subject to an enforceable Railway Order, the scheduled completion date for the overall project is 2012.

It is important to ensure that this project can be implemented in a way which gives appropriate priority on the road network for both Luas and bus services, while also delivering on the objective of creating an integrated public transport network by linking the two existing Luas lines and extending that link to interchange with the Maynooth and Navan suburban rail services.