A REVIEW of transport investment priorities may result in 20-year plans to serve Dublin airport with a rail spur from the Dart line being revived as an alternative to the Metro North project.
A spokesman for Iarnród Éireann confirmed yesterday that it had been requested by the Department of Transport to provide further details on the proposed rail spur which would branch off the Malahide Dart line at Clongriffin.
In the Dáil on April 20th, Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar said a Dart extension to the airport and Swords was one of the options being “rated according to their contribution to economic and transport objectives, including employment potential”.
The other projects included in the current review are Metro North, which would run from St Stephen’s Green to Swords; Dart Underground, a tunnel linking Heuston with the Docklands; and a city centre link between the two existing Luas lines.
“Notwithstanding funding difficulties, I will seek to ensure that at least one of these projects will proceed. I will examine all realistic options for delivery, including on an incremental, phased basis if possible, with the involvement of private funding, the Minister said.
He told Dessie Ellis TD (SF) that the reason Metro North and Dart Underground were to be public-private partnership (PPP) projects was that “even during the boom no one thought it would be possible for the exchequer to spend the billions of euro needed to pay for them”.
No estimate for the 16km Metro North has been officially released, but it is likely to cost €3 billion, mainly because 10km of the line would be underground.
The estimate for Dart Underground has been put at €2 billion, although it could cost more.
“The two projects, if they are to proceed, can only do so as PPPs. If we did not have the funds for them during the boom out of taxpayers’ money, we definitely do not have the money now,” Mr Varadkar said.
However, he added that it would be possible for the city centre Luas link or a Dart extension to Dublin airport to go ahead with exchequer funds “because they are much less expensive than the other two projects”. Each has a price tag of about €400 million.
The proposed Luas link, known as BXD, would run from the current terminus at St Stephen’s Green through the city centre, via College Green, Westmoreland Street and O’Connell Street, and onwards to Broombridge, via the disused midland railway line.
The Dart spur would branch off the Malahide Dart line at Clongriffin and run to Dublin airport and onwards to Swords. The Minister accepted that plugging it into an already busy rail section could cause congestion problems.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label dart planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dart planning. Show all posts
Friday, 6 May 2011
Thursday, 1 July 2010
Dart underground rail plan lodged
The formal application for the Dart underground rail project in Dublin was lodged with An Bord Pleanála yesterday.
If approved, the Dart underground will deliver a high-capacity rail line through the city centre.
The twin-bore tunnels will connect the northern and Kildare rail lines with underground stations located at Spencer Dock, Pearse, Station, Stephen’s Green, Christchurch and Heuston Station, as well as a surface Dart station at Inchicore.
It is estimated that close to 7,000 people will be employed each year during its proposed construction.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
If approved, the Dart underground will deliver a high-capacity rail line through the city centre.
The twin-bore tunnels will connect the northern and Kildare rail lines with underground stations located at Spencer Dock, Pearse, Station, Stephen’s Green, Christchurch and Heuston Station, as well as a surface Dart station at Inchicore.
It is estimated that close to 7,000 people will be employed each year during its proposed construction.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Dart underground application delayed
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
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
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Tender process for Dart Underground begins
THE PROPOSED “Dart Underground” line linking Heuston Station with Spencer Dock took a step closer to reality yesterday when Iarnród Éireann flagged it in the EU’s Official Journal.
Describing the notice as the first phase “in what is set to be a year of major significance in the development of Dart Underground”, the rail company stated that an application for a Railway Order for the project is due to be lodged next month.
Dart Underground is to be procured as a public private partnership (PPP) project, and the publication of an indicative notice outlining its scope and duration is the first stage of a competitive process to select a private sector partner.
The proposed 7.6km line will run through Dublin, with underground stations at Heuston, Christchurch, St Stephen’s Green, Westland Row and Spencer Dock as well as a new station at surface level in Inchicore.
According to Iarnród Éireann, Dart Underground “will, for the first time, link all rail systems together into an integrated and cohesive network”. This would include the northern, Kildare and Maynooth commuter lines, the existing Dart line, intercity services, Luas and Metro.
Twin tunnels, each containing a single track, will be excavated at an average depth of 24m (nearly 80ft) below ground level. The tunnel entrances will be at Inchicore and in the Docklands.
The project would facilitate two high-capacity Dart lines, proposed as Drogheda/Howth to Hazelhatch and Maynooth to Greystones. Dart trains on the northern line would bypass Connolly Station, enter the tunnel at Docklands and emerge at Inchicore. Iarnród Éireann said this would free up Connolly Station, currently a major bottleneck, and facilitate a new high-frequency Dart line “with greatly increased capacity from Maynooth through Connolly and all the way to Greystones”.
With trains operating “up to every three minutes”, it said the project — a key element of Transport 21 — “will complete the transformation of the Greater Dublin Area’s rail service capacity from 33 million passenger journeys annually now to over 100 million passenger journeys.”
Iarnród Éireann said it intended to publish a contract notice in the EU’s Official Journal in the second quarter of 2010, which would set out a process to “pre-qualify” potential private partners who would be invited to tender.
Interested parties who register their interest will receive the Dart Underground market consultation brochure, which includes a questionnaire and invites views on the scope and procurement of the contract. Replies are due by March 4th.
Iarnród Éireann has prepared a “reference design” to support its application for a Railway Order at the end of March. It said that addressing regulatory and planning issues early in the procurement process would provide greater certainty to bidders.
Under the PPP contract, the successful private partner would be responsible for the design, construction, financing, commissioning, operation and maintenance of the tunnel, stations and associated facilities over 25 to 35 years.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Describing the notice as the first phase “in what is set to be a year of major significance in the development of Dart Underground”, the rail company stated that an application for a Railway Order for the project is due to be lodged next month.
Dart Underground is to be procured as a public private partnership (PPP) project, and the publication of an indicative notice outlining its scope and duration is the first stage of a competitive process to select a private sector partner.
The proposed 7.6km line will run through Dublin, with underground stations at Heuston, Christchurch, St Stephen’s Green, Westland Row and Spencer Dock as well as a new station at surface level in Inchicore.
According to Iarnród Éireann, Dart Underground “will, for the first time, link all rail systems together into an integrated and cohesive network”. This would include the northern, Kildare and Maynooth commuter lines, the existing Dart line, intercity services, Luas and Metro.
Twin tunnels, each containing a single track, will be excavated at an average depth of 24m (nearly 80ft) below ground level. The tunnel entrances will be at Inchicore and in the Docklands.
The project would facilitate two high-capacity Dart lines, proposed as Drogheda/Howth to Hazelhatch and Maynooth to Greystones. Dart trains on the northern line would bypass Connolly Station, enter the tunnel at Docklands and emerge at Inchicore. Iarnród Éireann said this would free up Connolly Station, currently a major bottleneck, and facilitate a new high-frequency Dart line “with greatly increased capacity from Maynooth through Connolly and all the way to Greystones”.
With trains operating “up to every three minutes”, it said the project — a key element of Transport 21 — “will complete the transformation of the Greater Dublin Area’s rail service capacity from 33 million passenger journeys annually now to over 100 million passenger journeys.”
Iarnród Éireann said it intended to publish a contract notice in the EU’s Official Journal in the second quarter of 2010, which would set out a process to “pre-qualify” potential private partners who would be invited to tender.
Interested parties who register their interest will receive the Dart Underground market consultation brochure, which includes a questionnaire and invites views on the scope and procurement of the contract. Replies are due by March 4th.
Iarnród Éireann has prepared a “reference design” to support its application for a Railway Order at the end of March. It said that addressing regulatory and planning issues early in the procurement process would provide greater certainty to bidders.
Under the PPP contract, the successful private partner would be responsible for the design, construction, financing, commissioning, operation and maintenance of the tunnel, stations and associated facilities over 25 to 35 years.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
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