Sinclair Knight Merz, as part of a consortium comprising Ballast Nedham (Holland), MVM Rail (Australia) and Ansaldo (Italy), designed the Dublin Light Rail System, known as the Luas (Irish language word meaning ‘speed’). The official opening in June 2004 by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland, Mr. Bertie Ahern, marked the successful conclusion of three years of work for Sinclair Knight Merz.
Sinclair Knight Merz was Principal Engineering Designer for the track, civil, structural and building components of the 675 million Euro project, utilising professionals from Australia, England, Ireland and New Zealand to deliver the project for the Irish Rail Procurement Agency (RPA). The project represents state of the art public transport system for Dublin.
It involves approximately 24 km of twin rail track, plus the associated infrastructure works (tram stops, substations, road works, bridges, drainage works, power/communications). The design includes two depots for the operation and maintenance of the tram fleet. There are also two Park and Ride interchanges, along with all the ancillary buildings.
Sinclair Knight Merz established a team in Dublin to interface with the other consortium partners while the bulk of the design was carried out in the Melbourne office. Our presence in Dublin included the provision of a construction phase service.
The Luas is the first phase of a 10 year plan to address Dublin’s transport problems and will significantly improve public transport in the City area. It is the first project of this type to be delivered in Ireland under a Design and Build Contract. It has been a significant project for Australian engineering and Sinclair Knight Merz to have played a key role in the delivery of a major light rail project in Europe.