IARNRÓD ÉIREANN has had to delay its application to construct the Dart underground following discussions with An Bord Pleanála.
The company had been due to apply for a railway order for the project by the end of this month. However, due to “issues” raised by An Bord Pleanála in pre-planning meetings, it has had to look at its plans again; it now hopes to submit an application by the end of June.
A company spokesman said he could not give details of the issues raised by the planning board, but that they related to the detailed design and alignment of the route.
Opposition to the plans from residents in Inchicore, where the line will terminate, was “not one of the issues raised” by An Bord Pleanála and was not the reason for the delay, he added.
The 7.6km underground line, due to open in 2015, will link Heuston station to the Dart line for the first time, with underground stations at Spencer Dock, Pearse Street, St Stephen’s Green, Christchurch, Heuston and with a ground-level station at Inchicore.
However, some residents in Inchicore are opposing the development, claiming that tunnel-boring and station construction in such a densely populated area would make life unbearable.
A recently published report by London-based tunnelling consultants OTB Engineering, commissioned by residents group Inchicore on Track, recommended relocating the construction works a few hundred metres to an Iarnród Éireann works site.
The Dart underground project will involve splitting the current Dart line which runs north-south along the coast and creating a new interchange at Pearse Street. Once built, passengers travelling from the north side will no longer have direct access to Connolly or Tara Street stations. Their Dart will run as normal to Clontarf Road, but will then enter a tunnel at East Wall and continue to Inchicore.
Southside passengers will still have access to Pearse, Tara Street and Connolly.
However, after passing through Connolly, their train will turn west out to Maynooth, Co Kildare. To head north, they will have to change at Pearse.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label Iarnrod Eireann. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iarnrod Eireann. Show all posts
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Monday, 16 March 2009
€100m plan for station is on track
IARNROD Eireann is to press ahead with plans to build a €100m skyscraper to incorporate a new train station in the middle of Dublin, despite the economic downturn, writes Paul Melia.
And it says it is confident of finding a development partner to build a 10-storey, 60-metre-high office development at Tara Street, pictured right in this architect's illustration.
The rail company will apply this month for planning permission to build a €100m office block and new train station which will allow up to 14,500 passengers an hour to access the DART and other rail services.
One of the busiest stations on the network, Tara Street handles 25,000 passengers a day, or 20pc of all people using the network.
DART and commuter services will increase from 12 services per hour each way to 20 after the city centre resignalling project is completed.
The station will remain open during the construction period.
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
And it says it is confident of finding a development partner to build a 10-storey, 60-metre-high office development at Tara Street, pictured right in this architect's illustration.
The rail company will apply this month for planning permission to build a €100m office block and new train station which will allow up to 14,500 passengers an hour to access the DART and other rail services.
One of the busiest stations on the network, Tara Street handles 25,000 passengers a day, or 20pc of all people using the network.
DART and commuter services will increase from 12 services per hour each way to 20 after the city centre resignalling project is completed.
The station will remain open during the construction period.
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
Dublin tunnel could take 20 electric trains per hour
TWENTY ELECTRIC trains per hour - one every three minutes - would run through the planned tunnel linking Heuston Station with Docklands, according to Iarnród Éireann.
But the tunnel is intended not only to provide the missing link between Dart and suburban commuter rail services in Dublin; it will also transform services on the existing Dart line.
Dart trains originating in Bray or Greystones would terminate at Maynooth, while those originating in Howth or Malahide would run through the tunnel to Hazelhatch and, ultimately, Kildare.
Anyone wishing to travel from, say, Dún Laoghaire to Howth (or vice versa) would have to change at Pearse Station, Westland Row; the continuous service around Dublin Bay would cease.
One major benefit, according to Iarnród Éireann, is that the current bottleneck at Connolly Station would be freed up, enabling the company to provide a wider range of rail services.
Another major benefit - indeed, the raison d'etre for this €2 billion project - would be to bring an end to the historic isolation of Heuston Station, knitting it into a new suburban rail network.
The journey time between Heuston and Docklands would be less than 10 minutes, with just three intermediate stops - Christ Church, St Stephen's Green and Pearse Station, all roughly 1km apart.
Along the way, the Dart underground - as the company has branded it - would link up with the Tallaght Luas line at Heuston and Docklands as well as the Sandyford Luas line at St Stephen's Green.
"Every rail line into Dublin will see a massive increase in capacity from this project," according to Iarnród Éireann spokesman Barry Kenny. "Without it, we would have guaranteed gridlock for evermore."
Resignalling at Connolly is intended to increase its throughput from 12 to 18 trains per hour in each direction, including the Maynooth line, but even this would be less than the interconnector's capacity.
The company forecasts that the number of peak-hour passengers using its commuter rail services in the Greater Dublin Area would increase almost threefold, from 22,000 now to 62,000 in 2020.
Mr Kenny said four-tracking the Kildare line as far as Hazelhatch - currently its biggest rail project, costing €350 million - would be "dwarfed" by the investment in the Heuston-Docklands tunnel.
Electrification of the Kildare line to Hazelhatch is provided for in the Government's Transport 21 programme. The Maynooth line would also have to be electrified in order to make Dart Underground work.
Diesel engines would only be used in the tunnel section after hours for maintenance; otherwise all trains would be electric. Anyone travelling to or from Kildare would have to change at Hazelhatch or Heuston. Asked why no station was being provided to serve the Digital Hub in Thomas Street, project manager Peter Muldoon said this area was within walking distance of Heuston or the proposed station at Christ Church.
It is also intended to retain the relatively new station above ground in Docklands, probably as a terminus for the proposed Navan commuter line. This would be 100 metres from the entrance to the underground.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
But the tunnel is intended not only to provide the missing link between Dart and suburban commuter rail services in Dublin; it will also transform services on the existing Dart line.
Dart trains originating in Bray or Greystones would terminate at Maynooth, while those originating in Howth or Malahide would run through the tunnel to Hazelhatch and, ultimately, Kildare.
Anyone wishing to travel from, say, Dún Laoghaire to Howth (or vice versa) would have to change at Pearse Station, Westland Row; the continuous service around Dublin Bay would cease.
One major benefit, according to Iarnród Éireann, is that the current bottleneck at Connolly Station would be freed up, enabling the company to provide a wider range of rail services.
Another major benefit - indeed, the raison d'etre for this €2 billion project - would be to bring an end to the historic isolation of Heuston Station, knitting it into a new suburban rail network.
The journey time between Heuston and Docklands would be less than 10 minutes, with just three intermediate stops - Christ Church, St Stephen's Green and Pearse Station, all roughly 1km apart.
Along the way, the Dart underground - as the company has branded it - would link up with the Tallaght Luas line at Heuston and Docklands as well as the Sandyford Luas line at St Stephen's Green.
"Every rail line into Dublin will see a massive increase in capacity from this project," according to Iarnród Éireann spokesman Barry Kenny. "Without it, we would have guaranteed gridlock for evermore."
Resignalling at Connolly is intended to increase its throughput from 12 to 18 trains per hour in each direction, including the Maynooth line, but even this would be less than the interconnector's capacity.
The company forecasts that the number of peak-hour passengers using its commuter rail services in the Greater Dublin Area would increase almost threefold, from 22,000 now to 62,000 in 2020.
Mr Kenny said four-tracking the Kildare line as far as Hazelhatch - currently its biggest rail project, costing €350 million - would be "dwarfed" by the investment in the Heuston-Docklands tunnel.
Electrification of the Kildare line to Hazelhatch is provided for in the Government's Transport 21 programme. The Maynooth line would also have to be electrified in order to make Dart Underground work.
Diesel engines would only be used in the tunnel section after hours for maintenance; otherwise all trains would be electric. Anyone travelling to or from Kildare would have to change at Hazelhatch or Heuston. Asked why no station was being provided to serve the Digital Hub in Thomas Street, project manager Peter Muldoon said this area was within walking distance of Heuston or the proposed station at Christ Church.
It is also intended to retain the relatively new station above ground in Docklands, probably as a terminus for the proposed Navan commuter line. This would be 100 metres from the entrance to the underground.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
'Huge pressure' to fast track rail tunnel link
IARNRÓD ÉIREANN is under "huge pressure" from the Department of Transport and politicians to make rapid progress in delivering an underground rail link between Dublin's Heuston and Docklands stations.
Project manager Peter Muldoon also said there was "not a peep that the project is being targeted for cuts" by the Government to trim public expenditure - even though it carries an estimated price tag of €2 billion.
Omagh-born Mr Muldoon, who spent most of his working life in the private sector, told The Irish Times he had made a full presentation of the "Dart underground" project to Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey last month.
"The Minister has told us that this is Iarnród Éireann's number one priority, because he wants to get it done," said the company's spokesman, Barry Kenny. "Every aspect of it is being pushed as well as being scrutinised by the department."
The latest plan is now out for public consultation, with meetings taking place over the next week. Tenders are also being prepared with a view to engaging a multidisciplinary team of consultants to take it forward as a public-private partnership (PPP) project.
Consultants are expected to be appointed later this month to prepare an environmental impact statement on the 5.2km (three miles) route, including the excavation of underground stations at Heuston, Christ Church Cathedral, St Stephen's Green, Pearse Station and Docklands.
At Christ Church, the intention is to excavate the amphitheatre of the Civic Offices to install a station there and also a green area on Cook Street just north of St Audoen's Catholic Church, to provide a second means of access to and from the station.
Mr Muldoon said four tunnel boring machines would be used to dig twin tunnels through limestone bedrock, with two starting from Docklands in the direction of St Stephen's Green while the other two would work their way from Heuston towards the Green.
The average depth of the tunnels would be 25 to 30 metres, each with an internal diameter of six metres - sufficiently wide to accommodate an eight-carriage Dart-type commuter train and the overhead 1,500-volt electricity wires.
Some of the tunnelling work, particularly for stations, would involve substantial cut-and-cover excavations and/or "mining" from the surface to minimise the impact at ground level. But Mr Muldoon conceded that there was bound to be some disruption to traffic.
At Heuston Station, two options are being considered. One would involve excavating an underground station beneath the old station hall, necessitating the closure of four platforms, or alternatively excavating part of the vast Guinness transport yard nearby.
Diageo plc, which owns Guinness, has serious concerns about the impact on its freight movements if the latter option was to be chosen.
But given that the company is rationalising its brewery at St James's Gate, Iarnród Éireann expects a "positive outcome". Mr Muldoon said the Civic Offices amphitheatre had been chosen to excavate the Christ Church station because it had already been "archaeologically resolved"; alternative locations in High Street were ruled out because the "risks were too great". He said the excavation would stop short of the old Viking city wall on Wood Quay, just three metres to the south. "We'll be carrying out an archaeological excavation in these areas [on the Civic Offices site and Cook Street] to make sure there are no surprises".
The Dart station at St Stephen's Green would be slotted in beneath the station planned by the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) for Metro North, which would require the excavation of the north-western corner of the Green, including removal of the Fusiliers Arch.
After starting out separately, Iarnród Éireann and the RPA have been holding bi-weekly project meetings over the past year to co- ordinate planning of this multi-level station. It is also likely that tracks for a Luas city centre link will be laid within the enclosure.
Mr Muldoon conceded that Iarnród Éireann's works would have a negative impact on the north side of the Green, facing Dawson Street and Kildare Street, and also on the north of Merrion Square, where an entrance/exit is planned for the station serving Pearse.
He emphasised that the huge cut-and-cover excavation for the Docklands underground station would have no impact on traffic that will be using a new bridge linking Macken Street with Guild Street, as it would all be done on vacant land to the east.
The twin tunnels would be bored some five metres beneath the bed of the river Liffey to take the underground trains to and from Docklands station, where there would also be a direct connection with the Luas extension from Connolly to the Point on Mayor Street.
Mr Muldoon said electrification of the rail lines to Maynooth and Hazelhatch (on the Kildare line) was "fundamental" to the project, though it is not included in the cost estimate. However, he stressed that there was "no fat in this programme whatsoever".
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Project manager Peter Muldoon also said there was "not a peep that the project is being targeted for cuts" by the Government to trim public expenditure - even though it carries an estimated price tag of €2 billion.
Omagh-born Mr Muldoon, who spent most of his working life in the private sector, told The Irish Times he had made a full presentation of the "Dart underground" project to Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey last month.
"The Minister has told us that this is Iarnród Éireann's number one priority, because he wants to get it done," said the company's spokesman, Barry Kenny. "Every aspect of it is being pushed as well as being scrutinised by the department."
The latest plan is now out for public consultation, with meetings taking place over the next week. Tenders are also being prepared with a view to engaging a multidisciplinary team of consultants to take it forward as a public-private partnership (PPP) project.
Consultants are expected to be appointed later this month to prepare an environmental impact statement on the 5.2km (three miles) route, including the excavation of underground stations at Heuston, Christ Church Cathedral, St Stephen's Green, Pearse Station and Docklands.
At Christ Church, the intention is to excavate the amphitheatre of the Civic Offices to install a station there and also a green area on Cook Street just north of St Audoen's Catholic Church, to provide a second means of access to and from the station.
Mr Muldoon said four tunnel boring machines would be used to dig twin tunnels through limestone bedrock, with two starting from Docklands in the direction of St Stephen's Green while the other two would work their way from Heuston towards the Green.
The average depth of the tunnels would be 25 to 30 metres, each with an internal diameter of six metres - sufficiently wide to accommodate an eight-carriage Dart-type commuter train and the overhead 1,500-volt electricity wires.
Some of the tunnelling work, particularly for stations, would involve substantial cut-and-cover excavations and/or "mining" from the surface to minimise the impact at ground level. But Mr Muldoon conceded that there was bound to be some disruption to traffic.
At Heuston Station, two options are being considered. One would involve excavating an underground station beneath the old station hall, necessitating the closure of four platforms, or alternatively excavating part of the vast Guinness transport yard nearby.
Diageo plc, which owns Guinness, has serious concerns about the impact on its freight movements if the latter option was to be chosen.
But given that the company is rationalising its brewery at St James's Gate, Iarnród Éireann expects a "positive outcome". Mr Muldoon said the Civic Offices amphitheatre had been chosen to excavate the Christ Church station because it had already been "archaeologically resolved"; alternative locations in High Street were ruled out because the "risks were too great". He said the excavation would stop short of the old Viking city wall on Wood Quay, just three metres to the south. "We'll be carrying out an archaeological excavation in these areas [on the Civic Offices site and Cook Street] to make sure there are no surprises".
The Dart station at St Stephen's Green would be slotted in beneath the station planned by the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) for Metro North, which would require the excavation of the north-western corner of the Green, including removal of the Fusiliers Arch.
After starting out separately, Iarnród Éireann and the RPA have been holding bi-weekly project meetings over the past year to co- ordinate planning of this multi-level station. It is also likely that tracks for a Luas city centre link will be laid within the enclosure.
Mr Muldoon conceded that Iarnród Éireann's works would have a negative impact on the north side of the Green, facing Dawson Street and Kildare Street, and also on the north of Merrion Square, where an entrance/exit is planned for the station serving Pearse.
He emphasised that the huge cut-and-cover excavation for the Docklands underground station would have no impact on traffic that will be using a new bridge linking Macken Street with Guild Street, as it would all be done on vacant land to the east.
The twin tunnels would be bored some five metres beneath the bed of the river Liffey to take the underground trains to and from Docklands station, where there would also be a direct connection with the Luas extension from Connolly to the Point on Mayor Street.
Mr Muldoon said electrification of the rail lines to Maynooth and Hazelhatch (on the Kildare line) was "fundamental" to the project, though it is not included in the cost estimate. However, he stressed that there was "no fat in this programme whatsoever".
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 11 August 2008
Plans for underground rail line for Dublin to go on public display
THE ROUTE and station plans for the new underground rail line from Heuston Station to Dublin's Docklands, will be put on public display by Iarnród Éireann from tomorrow.
The line, which the company is calling an "underground Dart", will have just five stations along its 5.2km length, at Heuston, Christchurch, St Stephen's Green, Pearse Street and Docklands.
A spokesman for Iarnród Éireann said the company intends to apply for a railway order to build the underground line, which is a Transport 21 project, in autumn 2009 and hopes to complete the project in 2015. While he would not reveal the cost of the project, it has been estimated to be in the region of €2 billion.
The line is one of the most important elements of Transport 21, Iarnród Éireann said, as it will connect a number of services.
At Heuston the line will connect to the Luas Red line; at Stephen's Green it will be linked to the Luas Green line and the proposed Metro North; at Pearse Street it will connect with the Dart and commuter services; while at Docklands it will again connect with the Luas Red line. The Christchurch stop will see this area of the city connected to rail for the first time.
The new line will increase the capacity of Dart and commuter services from 33 million to more than 100 million on completion.
The company is beginning its public consultation phase with a series of four open information meetings to be held over the next two weeks. The meetings will be held by Iarnród Éireann staff between 5pm and 8pm on the following dates:
August 12th: Ashling Hotel, Parkgate Street, Dublin 8
August 13th: Central Hotel, Exchequer Street, Dublin 2
August 19th: St Mary's Youth Club, Strangford Road, Dublin 3
August 20th: Alexander Hotel, Merrion Square, Dublin 2.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The line, which the company is calling an "underground Dart", will have just five stations along its 5.2km length, at Heuston, Christchurch, St Stephen's Green, Pearse Street and Docklands.
A spokesman for Iarnród Éireann said the company intends to apply for a railway order to build the underground line, which is a Transport 21 project, in autumn 2009 and hopes to complete the project in 2015. While he would not reveal the cost of the project, it has been estimated to be in the region of €2 billion.
The line is one of the most important elements of Transport 21, Iarnród Éireann said, as it will connect a number of services.
At Heuston the line will connect to the Luas Red line; at Stephen's Green it will be linked to the Luas Green line and the proposed Metro North; at Pearse Street it will connect with the Dart and commuter services; while at Docklands it will again connect with the Luas Red line. The Christchurch stop will see this area of the city connected to rail for the first time.
The new line will increase the capacity of Dart and commuter services from 33 million to more than 100 million on completion.
The company is beginning its public consultation phase with a series of four open information meetings to be held over the next two weeks. The meetings will be held by Iarnród Éireann staff between 5pm and 8pm on the following dates:
August 12th: Ashling Hotel, Parkgate Street, Dublin 8
August 13th: Central Hotel, Exchequer Street, Dublin 2
August 19th: St Mary's Youth Club, Strangford Road, Dublin 3
August 20th: Alexander Hotel, Merrion Square, Dublin 2.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 7 December 2007
Irish Rail defends €5-a-week car park charges
IARNROD Eireann has defended imposing charges to use its car parks, saying its €5-a-week fee is considerably cheaper than parking in Dublin city centre.
Yesterday, it emerged that thousands of motorists who leave their cars at train stations will face extra charges next year, as the transport company expands the number of pay-parking facilities in the Dublin commuter belt.
Motorists could see the cost of their daily commute soar by more than €250 a year, as the railway company expects to expand the number of fee-based car parks.
"We're dealing with increased services planned under Transport 21, and the vast majority of our car parks are full by 7.30am," Iarnrod Eireann spokesman Barry Kenny said.
"There is ongoing costs in relation to maintenance of CCTV and so on, and €5 a week is not a massive sum.
"This is simply about covering the cost. If there is any surplus, it will be reinvested in the service, but we wouldn't anticipate any. The only other way (to pay for these improvements) is to factor in the cost into the rail ticket.
"People who live within walking distance of stations got into the habit of driving. The car parks now come from a wider catchment area.
Moderate
"The €5 is moderate in terms of time saved by not having to drive to work and paying car parking charges in the city centre."
A car park at Sallins, Co Kildare, which is due to open next month, will have a daily charge of €2 -- or a weekly charge of €5 -- and another car park at nearby Newbridge will also impose a charge.
Other stations where it is planned to impose a fee include Rush, Portmarnock and Lusk in north Dublin, Drogheda, Co Louth, and Coolmine in Dublin 15.
Iarnrod Eireann has said that it is also considering building multi-storey car parks in Drogheda, Coolmine and Portmarnock.
When Gormanston station in Co Meath was opened last September, after it was expanded from 90 to 250 parking spaces, a fee was introduced.
Pay-parking has also been introduced in Leixlip/Louisa Bridge in Co Kildare, while Tullamore, Co Offaly, and Arklow, Co Wicklow, also impose a daily charge.
Recent census figures show that 57pc of commuters drove a car to work in 2006, compared with 55pc in 2002.
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Yesterday, it emerged that thousands of motorists who leave their cars at train stations will face extra charges next year, as the transport company expands the number of pay-parking facilities in the Dublin commuter belt.
Motorists could see the cost of their daily commute soar by more than €250 a year, as the railway company expects to expand the number of fee-based car parks.
"We're dealing with increased services planned under Transport 21, and the vast majority of our car parks are full by 7.30am," Iarnrod Eireann spokesman Barry Kenny said.
"There is ongoing costs in relation to maintenance of CCTV and so on, and €5 a week is not a massive sum.
"This is simply about covering the cost. If there is any surplus, it will be reinvested in the service, but we wouldn't anticipate any. The only other way (to pay for these improvements) is to factor in the cost into the rail ticket.
"People who live within walking distance of stations got into the habit of driving. The car parks now come from a wider catchment area.
Moderate
"The €5 is moderate in terms of time saved by not having to drive to work and paying car parking charges in the city centre."
A car park at Sallins, Co Kildare, which is due to open next month, will have a daily charge of €2 -- or a weekly charge of €5 -- and another car park at nearby Newbridge will also impose a charge.
Other stations where it is planned to impose a fee include Rush, Portmarnock and Lusk in north Dublin, Drogheda, Co Louth, and Coolmine in Dublin 15.
Iarnrod Eireann has said that it is also considering building multi-storey car parks in Drogheda, Coolmine and Portmarnock.
When Gormanston station in Co Meath was opened last September, after it was expanded from 90 to 250 parking spaces, a fee was introduced.
Pay-parking has also been introduced in Leixlip/Louisa Bridge in Co Kildare, while Tullamore, Co Offaly, and Arklow, Co Wicklow, also impose a daily charge.
Recent census figures show that 57pc of commuters drove a car to work in 2006, compared with 55pc in 2002.
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 16 March 2007
Cullen still to sign-off €139m commuter upgrade
TRANSPORT Minister Martin Cullen, still hasn’t signed the Railway Order which would enable work to start on Cork’s €139 million commuter upgrade.
Nearly five months after a four-day oral hearing into the project was completed, the minister hasn’t signed off on the order.
He has also refused to outline whether there is any reason for the delay in replies to two Dáil questions.
It looks increasingly unlikely that Iarnród Éireann will be able to complete the reopening of the Cork-Midleton line by the target date of July next year — just 15 months away.
Midleton-based TD David Stanton has repeatedly asked the minister what the position is and he has become increasingly concerned that a cohesive plan to make the project as attractive as possible to commuters is not coming together properly.
The delay is puzzling many people, especially as nobody objected in principle and any problems encountered at the oral hearing seem to have been dealt with almost there and then by senior Iarnród Éireann officials.
In March 2004 then Minister for Transport Seamus Brennan said he hoped the railway would open in two years. Later Iarnród Eireann officials said early 2008.
Yesterday a spokeswoman for Mr Cullen said he was still studying the inspector’s report, but couldn’t say when he would make a decision on the Rail Order.
“It is quite an extensive report,” she said.
While the railway corridor remains intact, Iarnród Éireann will still have to put down the lines, erect signalling, bridges and three fully automated railway stations with park and ride facilities along the line.
These stations are to be built in Midleton, Carrigtwohill and North Esk, near Glanmire.
In addition there is to be an upgrade of the Mallow line with new stations in Kilbarry and Blarney, but that won’t be completed until some time after the Cork-Midleton line is up and running.
“As it stands, it looks unlikely that the Cork-Midleton project will be finished by the target date of July 2008. The population of Midleton continues to increase, leading to worsening traffic congestion on all roads in both the town and surrounding area, in particular during rush hours. There is clearly a demand
for an efficient and affordable rail service to Cork, which should help combat the traffic problems,” Mr Stanton said.
Midleton Town Council member Ken Murray said he didn’t believe that a vital piece of infrastructure, namely the town’s northern relief road, would be anywhere near ready to coincide with the opening of the local railway station.
“The CPOs have been done, but there’s no start-up date for the project. Without the relief road people won’t be able to get through the town to the railway station. There’s been a lot of ranting and raving at town council meetings about this. It’s imperative the railway and northern relief road are done together,” Mr Murray said.
He added that he was “very disappointed” Mr Cullen was taking so long to sign off the Railway Order.
At the four-day oral hearing, which started in Midleton Park Hotel in late October, a number of Iarnród Éireann officials said they hoped to start construction on May 21 this year and commence driver training in 2008, with the official opening on July 29.
In its first year of operation the service is expected to carry 1.74 million passengers, rising to two million by 2010 and four million by 2015.
Sean O’Riordan
© Irish Examiner
Nearly five months after a four-day oral hearing into the project was completed, the minister hasn’t signed off on the order.
He has also refused to outline whether there is any reason for the delay in replies to two Dáil questions.
It looks increasingly unlikely that Iarnród Éireann will be able to complete the reopening of the Cork-Midleton line by the target date of July next year — just 15 months away.
Midleton-based TD David Stanton has repeatedly asked the minister what the position is and he has become increasingly concerned that a cohesive plan to make the project as attractive as possible to commuters is not coming together properly.
The delay is puzzling many people, especially as nobody objected in principle and any problems encountered at the oral hearing seem to have been dealt with almost there and then by senior Iarnród Éireann officials.
In March 2004 then Minister for Transport Seamus Brennan said he hoped the railway would open in two years. Later Iarnród Eireann officials said early 2008.
Yesterday a spokeswoman for Mr Cullen said he was still studying the inspector’s report, but couldn’t say when he would make a decision on the Rail Order.
“It is quite an extensive report,” she said.
While the railway corridor remains intact, Iarnród Éireann will still have to put down the lines, erect signalling, bridges and three fully automated railway stations with park and ride facilities along the line.
These stations are to be built in Midleton, Carrigtwohill and North Esk, near Glanmire.
In addition there is to be an upgrade of the Mallow line with new stations in Kilbarry and Blarney, but that won’t be completed until some time after the Cork-Midleton line is up and running.
“As it stands, it looks unlikely that the Cork-Midleton project will be finished by the target date of July 2008. The population of Midleton continues to increase, leading to worsening traffic congestion on all roads in both the town and surrounding area, in particular during rush hours. There is clearly a demand
for an efficient and affordable rail service to Cork, which should help combat the traffic problems,” Mr Stanton said.
Midleton Town Council member Ken Murray said he didn’t believe that a vital piece of infrastructure, namely the town’s northern relief road, would be anywhere near ready to coincide with the opening of the local railway station.
“The CPOs have been done, but there’s no start-up date for the project. Without the relief road people won’t be able to get through the town to the railway station. There’s been a lot of ranting and raving at town council meetings about this. It’s imperative the railway and northern relief road are done together,” Mr Murray said.
He added that he was “very disappointed” Mr Cullen was taking so long to sign off the Railway Order.
At the four-day oral hearing, which started in Midleton Park Hotel in late October, a number of Iarnród Éireann officials said they hoped to start construction on May 21 this year and commence driver training in 2008, with the official opening on July 29.
In its first year of operation the service is expected to carry 1.74 million passengers, rising to two million by 2010 and four million by 2015.
Sean O’Riordan
© Irish Examiner
Saturday, 17 February 2007
Navan rail link
This from Paul Murphy in the Meath Chronicle:
A CLAIM that Navan’s case for a rail link with Dublin has been harmed by the development of villages like Ratoath into towns at the expense of Dunshaughlin was made this week by the Meath on Track lobby group.
The organisation says that demand for the rail line will be calculated by potential users on foot and within a short drivi8ng distance of a Dunshaughlin station.
Meanwhile, local TD and Minister for Communications Noel Dempsey has welcomed the invitation to people in Meath to express their views on the route of the proposed rail line between Dublin and the county. Fine Gael TD Shane McEntee said that good progress was being made on the Dublin to Dunboyne rail link.
Two separate public meetings on the Dublin-Navan project were held in the county last week but were not well attended.
In a statement following the consultation, Meath on Track said that a failure to develop Dunshaughlin as part of the land use strategy would undermine the project. Spokesman Proinsias MacFhearghusa said: “There will be no capacity allocated to trains from Navan in the Docklands station. This will be allocated now to Maynooth and Dunboyne. Fifteen minute interval capacity for Navan will now be contingent on the proposed e1 billion DART inter-connector tunnel which will run underground from the Docklands station via Dublin’s southside on to Heuston Station.
“Minister Martin Cullen stated clearly when he turned the sod on the Docklands station that it would provide city centre capacity for Navan trains,” he said.
The campaign group said that the consultants’ likely location for Navan station would be off the Trim Road on the old alignment. “They are not interested in a
northerly progression as the level crossing gates close to the hospital are a problem, supposedly, although not for the highly busy Sandymount gates in Dublin which takes a train every five minutes.
“I pointed out at the consultation meeting that Navan is notoriously difficult to get through because of traffic, and Kells and north Meath commuters will add to that problem unless there is a northern park-and-ride facility near the former Navan Carpets site to cater for them,” Mr MacFhearghusa said.
He added that a consultant had stated at the meeting that there used to be level crossing gates on the Trim Road which would have to be reinstated, “but I corrected him to state that there used be a bridge at that point which could be reinstated.”
MOT said that the present consultants for the project had not used the Ove Arup recommendation from the 2002 report for a park and ride at Bective to tie in with the proposed M3 interchange at Cannistown, but would now consider it.
Minister Dempsey said this week that Iarnrod Eireann and Meath County Council were seeking local views on the proposed rail line and he urged people to participate fully in the process. “The consultation is a step forward in the process and a step closer to seeing the rail line realised,” the Minister said, adding that he had fought to have a specific inclusion in the new National Development Plan on the delivery of the Navan rail line.
“It is Meath residents and commuters who will benefit from the proposed line and, therefore, any decision that is made will affect them directly. It is only right that they be included in the decision-making process,” he said.
Suggestions and proposals can be made to Navan Scoping Study Team, Iarnrod Eireann, New Works, Track and Signals HQ, Inchicore, Dublin 8, or alternatively email info@meathcoco.ie
A CLAIM that Navan’s case for a rail link with Dublin has been harmed by the development of villages like Ratoath into towns at the expense of Dunshaughlin was made this week by the Meath on Track lobby group.
The organisation says that demand for the rail line will be calculated by potential users on foot and within a short drivi8ng distance of a Dunshaughlin station.
Meanwhile, local TD and Minister for Communications Noel Dempsey has welcomed the invitation to people in Meath to express their views on the route of the proposed rail line between Dublin and the county. Fine Gael TD Shane McEntee said that good progress was being made on the Dublin to Dunboyne rail link.
Two separate public meetings on the Dublin-Navan project were held in the county last week but were not well attended.
In a statement following the consultation, Meath on Track said that a failure to develop Dunshaughlin as part of the land use strategy would undermine the project. Spokesman Proinsias MacFhearghusa said: “There will be no capacity allocated to trains from Navan in the Docklands station. This will be allocated now to Maynooth and Dunboyne. Fifteen minute interval capacity for Navan will now be contingent on the proposed e1 billion DART inter-connector tunnel which will run underground from the Docklands station via Dublin’s southside on to Heuston Station.
“Minister Martin Cullen stated clearly when he turned the sod on the Docklands station that it would provide city centre capacity for Navan trains,” he said.
The campaign group said that the consultants’ likely location for Navan station would be off the Trim Road on the old alignment. “They are not interested in a
northerly progression as the level crossing gates close to the hospital are a problem, supposedly, although not for the highly busy Sandymount gates in Dublin which takes a train every five minutes.
“I pointed out at the consultation meeting that Navan is notoriously difficult to get through because of traffic, and Kells and north Meath commuters will add to that problem unless there is a northern park-and-ride facility near the former Navan Carpets site to cater for them,” Mr MacFhearghusa said.
He added that a consultant had stated at the meeting that there used to be level crossing gates on the Trim Road which would have to be reinstated, “but I corrected him to state that there used be a bridge at that point which could be reinstated.”
MOT said that the present consultants for the project had not used the Ove Arup recommendation from the 2002 report for a park and ride at Bective to tie in with the proposed M3 interchange at Cannistown, but would now consider it.
Minister Dempsey said this week that Iarnrod Eireann and Meath County Council were seeking local views on the proposed rail line and he urged people to participate fully in the process. “The consultation is a step forward in the process and a step closer to seeing the rail line realised,” the Minister said, adding that he had fought to have a specific inclusion in the new National Development Plan on the delivery of the Navan rail line.
“It is Meath residents and commuters who will benefit from the proposed line and, therefore, any decision that is made will affect them directly. It is only right that they be included in the decision-making process,” he said.
Suggestions and proposals can be made to Navan Scoping Study Team, Iarnrod Eireann, New Works, Track and Signals HQ, Inchicore, Dublin 8, or alternatively email info@meathcoco.ie
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