Four people were taken to hospital after a British-registered van collided with a Luas tram at the junction of Blackhall St and Benburb St at approximately 10.40am.

Two Luas passengers and the driver and passenger from the van were taken to hospital after the accident.

Three of the injured were taken to the Mater Hospital and one was taken to St James's Hospital.

The Luas service from Connolly station to Tallaght was temporarily interrupted as fire engines, garda cars and a number of ambulances attended the accident site.

A spokewoman for Connex, the company that operates the Luas, said: "After the accident, our services went from Tallaght into Blackhall and our outbound service went from Connolly Station as far as Smithfield. The emergency services had the scene cleared by about 11.30am, so the service was not interrupted for too long."

While the Connex spokeswoman could not state how many Luas accidents there had been so far this year, she confirmed that there were 36 road traffic accidents involving Luas trams in 2005.

"While it is too early to comment on the cause of today's accident, it is important to point out that the most important thing for us has always been the safety of our passengers, " she said.

"We appeal to all road users to obey the rules of the road. There is a large percentage of accidents involving Luas trams at signal-controlled junctions. We appeal to motorists to pay attention to the red light and never ever 'amber gamble'."

A garda at the accident scene yesterday said that initial indications were that the four injured were not seriously hurt and had been taken to hospital as "a precautionary measure".

Labour Party transport spokeswoman Roisin Shorthall last night called for more signage to alert motorists that they are approaching a Luas junction.

"I know from meeting with the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) that the rate of incidents involving Luas lines is not particularly high, but I still think that more needs to be done to reduce the number of accidents, " she said. "I think it will take a while for people to get used to the Luas as it was only new to Dublin in 2004. I have noticed a lot of people making complaints about inadequate signage and the need for flashing lights to alert motorists. If you get a driver who doesn't know the city very well, and they are trying to make their way around unfamiliar streets, you can see how they might not stop at Luas junctions. We need to have red lights similar to those at junctions where the Dart crosses the road."

Nobody from the Railway Procurement Agency was available for comment when contacted by the Sunday Tribune yesterday.