page_title: Luas
section_title: Safety
hierarchical_section_title: Luas / Travel on Luas / Safety
caption_attribution_description: English: Luas sign
context_page_description: Luas is a tram/light rail system in Dublin, Ireland. There are two main lines: the Green Line, which began operating on 30 June 2004, and the Red Line which opened on 26 September 2004. Since then, both lines have been extended and split into different branches further out of the city. The two lines, as of 2017, now intersect and connect within Dublin city centre. The system now has sixty-seven stations and 42.5 kilometres of revenue track, which in 2018 carried 41.8 million passengers, an increase of 11.2% compared to 2017.
  Luas is operated by Transdev, under tender from Transport Infrastructure Ireland. The Luas was a major part of the National Transport Authority's strategy. Three extensions to the existing Luas lines have been completed. Construction of a 6 kilometres extension to the Green line to the North city centre and Broombridge, which links both Green and Red lines, began in June 2013 and opened to passengers in December 2017. This is the extension route previously known officially as BXD.
context_section_description: Before Luas was launched, a Safety Awareness Day was held in Dublin city centre. Thousands of reflective armbands were distributed to pedestrians and cyclists, in order to ensure their visibility for tram drivers. This policy seems to have worked as Luas has been described as being "one of the safest transport systems in the world". Both trams and stops are monitored using CCTV 24 hours a day from the central control room, located in the Red Cow Depot.
  Before Luas was launched, it was feared that the tram system would lead to a high number of fatal accidents. So far, however, there have been only four fatalities. There have been many occurrences of cars striking trams, mainly caused by motorists breaking red lights. On 16 September 2009, a Luas collided with a Dublin Bus at the O'Connell Street-Abbey Street Junction. In the collision, 22 people were injured, three of them seriously, including the tram driver. Early investigations suggested that the bus had the green light to move, and that the Luas must have had technical problems. The Luas driver was later charged with dangerous driving, causing harm and operating a tram in a manner which posed risk to others. He was subsequently acquitted of dangerous conduct by the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
caption: Sign warning of Luas track ahead
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "SONY", "Image Model": "CYBERSHOT", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "QuickTime 7.0", "Image DateTime": "2005:05:18 10:00:14", "Image HostComputer": "Mac OS X 10.4", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "282", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "794", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6715", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/320", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2005:03:31 11:48:40", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2005:03:31 11:48:40", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "2", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Spot", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "24", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2272", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1704", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}