June 30, 2004
In the Republic of Ireland, the initial stage of the Luas light rail system in and around the capital city of Dublin went into service at 3:00 p.m. (“Luas” is the Irish word for “speed.”)
The first segment of Luas to open was its Green Line, which ran at the time between the suburb of Sandyford to a public park in Dublin known as St. Stephen’s Green. This part of the system was officially inaugurated by Séamus Brennan, Ireland’s minister for transport, at the Sandyford depot.
Free ridership was provided for the first several days to encourage people to try the new system. The Luas Red Line, which originally ran from Connolly Station on Amiens Street in Dublin to the suburb of Tallaght, was launched on September 26 of that year.
Luas is the first transit network of its kind to operate in that part of Ireland since the longtime Dublin tramways — introduced in 1872 — stopped running altogether in 1959. Luas now encompasses a total of 26.2 miles (42.1 kilometers) and 67 stations.
Photo Credit: Brian Shaw (licensed under Creative Commons)
For more information on the opening of Luas, please check out https://www.rte.ie/archives/2014/0630/627453-luas-is-launched-2004/
Additional information on the Luas Green Line is available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Line_(Luas)
Transportation History 
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