Commuter chaos after bomb scare hoax call
A BOMB scare sparked commuter chaos in the yesterday prompting Luas operator Transdev to suspend all trams across the capital.
Gardaí have launched an investigation after a phone call was made regarding ‘suspicious activity’ on a Luas tram during rush hour.
A source told the Irish Daily Mail that gardaí treated the call as a legitimate bomb threat, but later determined it to be a hoax.
They are now attempting to find the individual who made the fraudulent report.
Thousands of commuters returning home were discommoded following the threat, which was made between 5.30pm and 5.45pm.
It’s understood a specific tram was not mentioned in the bomb scare so a decision was made to suspend both Luas lines.
‘Passengers please be advised that there are currently no Red or Green Line services operating,’ the Luas stated on social media.
‘We will update passengers in due course. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.’
‘Luas tickets are valid on Dublin Bus for the duration of the disruption,’ it said.
As gardaí began to respond to the threat, a spokesman said: ‘Gardaí are currently working with Luas operators in relation to a phone call made regarding suspicious activity on a Luas tram this evening.
‘No further information is available at this time.’
Dr Jennifer Cassidy, an Oxford University academic, was among dozens of passengers on board a green line tram bound for Sandyford when it was ordered to stop.
‘Well that’s one for the books,’ she wrote on Twitter/X.
‘A bomb scare was called in for both the Green and Red Line Luas. We were all ordered to evacuate the tram.
‘With all trams on each side halted for a while. In true Irish style, I heard, “Ah sure the next stop is not that far. Sure we’ll just walk!,”’ she joked.
A video taken at the Red Cow Luas depot depicts a large number of people disembarking a tram as gardaí assess the scene.
Other footage shows groups of confused passengers standing by the Luas stop at Beechwood as they waited for more information.
‘Everyone was told to get off the Luas at Beechwood without an explanation,’ one commuter later wrote.
‘A man checked the tram and another just told us to leave because of an “emergency”.’
At about 7.15pm, Transdev then confirmed that both lines have reopened.
‘Passengers, please be advised that the Red and Green Lines have now reopened,’ it said on Twitter/X.
‘Please expect delays while we regulate services. Luas tickets remain valid on Dublin Bus.
‘We will update passengers in due course.
‘We apologise for any inconvenience caused.’
‘A phone call about suspicious activity’