NTA confirms no formal plan for Galway LUAS while Ring Road verdict is still out
The National Transport Authority (NTA) has confirmed that a plan for a light rail system has not been made but is feasible as part of the Galway Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy (GMATS). However, its progression is contingent on a decision on the long-delayed Galway Ring Road.
The issue was raised at a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Infrastructure, where the long-mooted proposal for a Galway light rail system, often referred to as the GLUAS, and the Ring Road, was again put to the NTA.
During the meeting, Fianna Fáil transport spokesperson Shane Moynihan asked whether the delivery of a light rail system remained an ambition under the GMATS framework, and sought an update on the planning status of the project.
NTA chief executive Hugh Creegan told the committee that there is currently no “formal plan” in place for the GLUAS. He noted that while a 2024 feasibility study found that a light rail system could be viable under certain conditions, those conditions have yet to be met.
Any consideration of light rail will fall under the Galway transport strategy, which development was halted in May 2025 pending a decision on the N6 Galway City Bypass, commonly referred to as the Galway Ring Road.
No planning work has yet commenced on the light rail proposal, and no further progress can be made until a determination is issued on the ring road scheme.
The €600m ring road project was originally lodged in 2018 and re-lodged in 2023. At that time, construction was expected to begin in 2026, with procurement of a main contractor scheduled for early 2025.
In May 2025, Galway County Council submitted updated documentation to An Coimisiún Pleanála, formerly An Bord Pleanála, including revised development consent applications, an environmental impact assessment report and an updated Natura impact statement.
The continued uncertainty surrounding the ring road has had knock-on effects for a range of other infrastructure and housing projects in the city and county, with developers citing zoning constraints and planning delays linked to the absence of a decision to the bypass.
Galway West TD John Connolly commented: “The fact that a new transport strategy is dependent on the Galway City Ring Road underlines the importance of An Bord Pleanála expediting a decision on this issue.”
“We have seen in the Cost of Congestion Report that by 2040, traffic congestion in Galway is projected to reach €106.9m per year, the highest per-capita congestion cost of any city in the State,” he added.