The system now has 67 stops and 42.5 kilometres (26.4 mi) of revenue track,[3] which in 2023 carried 48.2 million passengers, an increase of 24% compared to 2022.

(Prior to the later RPA merger with the National Roads Authority to form TII, the tender was originally under the defunct Railway Procurement Agency jurisdiction).

Following this report Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ), the state-owned public transport operator in Ireland, was asked to study the different options.

An inquiry started in July 1997, but was put on hold to investigate the possibility of underground sections in the city centre.

[citation needed] In promotional content from the mid-1990s, journey time from Tallaght to the city centre was predicted to take 30 minutes.

[9] The St. Stephen's Green to Dublin Airport section was dropped before construction began, as it was decided to serve the area by a metro instead.

[14] The first tram went into service for the general public at 3 p.m. Several days of free travel and a family fun weekend took place to launch the system.

[25] On 10 November 2011, the government announced in its 2012–16 Infrastructure and Capital Investment plan that the project to link the Red and Green lines, known as BXD, was to proceed.

It was planned, designed and constructed in two separate stages:[citation needed] This was followed by two extensions:[citation needed] On the south side of Dublin city, the Green Line mostly follows the route of the old Harcourt Street railway line, which was reserved for possible reuse when it closed in 1958, although some diversions have been made.

The 14 initial Green Line '4000 Class' trams, each 40-metre (131 ft 3 in) long Citadis 401 configurations, have a capacity of 358 including two wheelchairs.

[34] Starting in 2007, all the Red line trams were upgraded to 40 metres (131 ft 3 in) by inserting two more articulated sections, with the last one converted by June 2008.

The Railway Procurement Agency has stated (November 2006) that "We still envisage conversion of almost all Luas lines to light metro standard in the long-term".

Paper single and return tickets charge varying fares depending on the number of zones crossed.

The free travel system was created by Ministerial Order (not an Act of the Oireachtas as with many such schemes) by then Minister for Health, Charles J Haughey in the late 1960s and is considered a 'third rail' politically.

Thousands of reflective armbands were distributed to pedestrians and cyclists, in order to ensure their visibility for tram drivers.

[59] Both trams and stops are monitored using CCTV 24 hours a day from the central control room, located in the Red Cow Depot.

[61] The Luas driver was later charged with dangerous driving, causing harm and operating a tram in a manner which posed risk to others.

[citation needed] Luas Security Officers wear tactical uniforms and stab-resistant body vests.

[78] On 8 February 2018 there were traffic delays in south Dublin because the longer 55 metre tram was too long for O'Connell bridge, when it was obstructed by a taxi blocking a junction.

[82] The consequences of the effects of the Irish Twitter had to be dealt with by Luas' workers,[82] Transdev issuing a statement to confirm that this is not the case and ticketless travellers face a €100 fine.

[84][85] In February 2008, a 59-year-old man was struck by a tram at Cookstown Way in Tallaght, sustaining serious head injuries and dying in hospital the following day.

[89] The front section of the tram was derailed in the incident and the driver's cabin was crushed flat against the left hand side of the bus.

[91][92] In October 2011, a 35-year-old Polish man, was struck and killed by a Red Line tram on Steevens Lane near Heuston Station.

[95] On 8 July 2017, a woman died after being struck by a city centre-bound Luas tram at St. James Walk, just past the Fatima stop, in Rialto.

[102][103][104] In January 2019 the website was compromised with a message threatening to "publish all data and send emails to your users" unless 1 Bitcoin was paid in five days.

During the 2007 election campaign, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party both announced plans for tram systems in Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Bray.

[126] As a result of the financial crisis beginning in 2008, a moratorium was placed on future capital projects; as such, no feasibility studies have been completed as of 2017.

[citation needed] In 2018 a revived campaign for a Galway LUAS or "GLUAS" was launched receiving support Independent TD Catherine Connolly.

The campaign claims a 21 km very light rail line with trains every five minutes could be installed for as little as €200 million, and make a major contribution to reducing Galway's traffic.

[127][128] The denial of planning permission for the Galway's second ring-road in 2022 is likely to add pressure to solve the area's traffic problems.