Tender process unveiled for €500m in Luas trams for Dublin and Cork

Last year, Luas carried 48.2 million passenger journeys and the tender documentation says this contract is intended to cover all future LRV requirements that may arise from time to time for any project initiated in the coming 15 years.

It says: “While it is not possible to give a definitive estimate of the value, however, an order of magnitude estimate is calculated to be in the region of €500m for supplies and services that could foreseeably arise under the contract.

TII spokesman Sean O’Neill said on Tuesday the launch of the procurement process for the LRVs “is another significant step forward that will help with the delivery of Luas services well into the future”.

The tender documentation says TII is planning to expand Luas in the greater Dublin area and in addition, TII is also in the planning phase for a new light rail network in Cork city.

The documentation states TII “anticipates that the first order drawn from this contract will be for the replacement of some or all of the current LRVs that were procured in circa 2002 and which currently service the Luas Red Line”.

It says TII intends to place this order on the contract award date or as soon as possible thereafter.

TII has told those considering tendering that any applicants must have had an annual turnover equal or exceeding €500m for the last three audited years. 

In the 53-page tender documentation, TII says it intends to issue an invitation to negotiate in the final quarter of 2024 as part of the tender process and is aiming to award the contract in early 2026.

TII has issued the ‘Information Memorandum and Pre-qualification Questionnaire’ in order to pre-qualify candidates to be invited to tender for the supply of the LRVs. The procurement process for the new LRVs is running in tandem with TII procurement process for the estimated €1.75bn new Luas operation and maintenance contract.

The Luas Operations and Maintenance Contract is to commence operations in 2026 and TII initiated that procurement process in April.