In 2002 we were successful in our bid to supply the traffic control element of the LUAS light rail project with the AMB consortium. Taking 3 years from conception to commissioning, our involvement in the project was the design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of some 60+ traffic intersections including the integration of light rail control under full SCATS adaptive operation.

The design element was carried out in conjunction with our design partners, Advantech Design, Melbourne and included for full traffic design and modelling taking into account traffic flows, tram frequency and the requirements of both the Local Authority (Dublin City Council and South Dublin County Council) and the Railway Procurement Authority. The design had to allow for 3 levels of priority while optimising road usage for all users and incorporated all of the safety features required for tram operation in addition to the extensive safety features already incorporated for traffic and pedestrian use.

The project also included the supply, installation and commissioning of some 47 traffic controllers, 530 traffic signal heads, 150 pedestrian push buttons and all necessary ancillary equipment necessary to complete the installations. A combination of Tyco PSC and Microsense MPC traffic controllers were used and all equipment and programs underwent rigorous acceptance testing by all parties.  All controllers within the Dublin City Council are linked to SCATS and  the Luas Monitoring System, an interface developed by Dublin City Council  whereby Luas can be monitored and managed as part of the general traffic grid. Trams show up on Dublin’s SCATS Urban Traffic Control System as unique road users, and thus can have a unique set of priorities and capabilities associated with them in the traffic control environment.