A woman’s hair was set on fire by a gang of teenage thugs during a night of chaos on the Luas Red line.

Many residents in Dublin’s south-central area are said to be afraid to use public transport following almost “daily occurrences” of anti-social behaviour and attacks in the area.

A serious incident was reported on the Luas Red Line on the night of January 11 by the tram’s driver while en route to Tallaght.

Luas operator Transdev has since apologised for its security’s “unsatisfactory” response time after a passenger’s hair was set alight by a number of youths. In a further report, the driver said the teenagers responsible were smoking and making racist comments, which prompted him to call for security again.

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He said other passengers onboard were “in uproar” during the incident which took place as the tram was heading from the city centre to Kylemore.

“Passengers were shocked that no security ever [responded to] this incident on the tram,” he said in a logged complaint to the operator.

“Some passengers that were on the tram from The Point to Tallaght never saw a security guard and many advised me they were going to social media about this.

“Passengers heard both my calls to security and the response as they were bet up against the glass calling for help and couldn’t believe what they were hearing.”

The driver is now calling for Transdev to employ permanent security for its trams.

“I am embarrassed to work for the company after tonight’s lack of support, for myself and the passengers,” he continued.

“Luas put ‘help fight racism’ posters up at their platforms, and in 2020 a woman is set alight on a tram and for a 40-minute journey not one security guard was to be seen. This needs to change. A Saturday night on public transport and zero security – a shambles.”

In response, a Transdev spokesperson acknowledged that Luas security staff were slow in responding to this incident.

“Security was deployed elsewhere on the lines at this particular time and did not board the tram on which the incident occurred quickly enough.

“This was not satisfactory, and we apologise to Luas customers and those affected,” they added.

“Security arrangements are continuously under review and have been recently reassessed, particularly in light of recently publicised incidents of anti-social behaviour involving groups of teens in local communities along the Grand Canal close to Luas stops.”

Ballyfermot and Drimnagh councillor Daithí Doolan told the Irish Independent attacks on and around the Luas occur almost every day.

“I use the Luas here all the time with my kids and am very aware of these serious incidents,” he said.

“There’s almost a reign of terror that’s particularly targeted at foreign nationals. I’ve heard numerous stories about these gangs verbally and physically attacking people on the Luas at Drimnagh and also around the canal.

“If we want to ensure that people can travel safely on public transport, gardaí have to be there to protect them and respond accordingly when they are called.”

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