Long-delayed MetroLink can get planning permission this year, Eamon Ryan insists

 Metrolink has been a very very long time in coming. Must be one of the longest such projects to be at inception phase for so long. 

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan has said he believes the long-awaited Dublin MetroLink will be granted planning permission this year. The €9.6 billion project, which will link Swords and Dublin Airport with the city centre, is due to be considered at An Bord Pleanála oral hearings from February 19th. Jack Chambers, the Minister of State for transport, told the Sunday Times this week that “based on delays for other transport projects, it is unclear at what point the department will receive a decision on MetroLink”. Speaking on Newstalk’s The Anton Savage Show, Mr Ryan said he remained confident that it would receive planning approval this year and be built by the early 2030s.

Read the full article @ The Irish Times

Article uploaded by BPS Planning & Development Consultants LTD

No funds for Metro North plan

MINISTER FOR Transport Leo Varadkar cast doubts on the Government giving the go-ahead to the Dublin Metro North rail project during its term in office.

He said it was a good project and would benefit his Dublin West constituency enormously.

“I would love to be able to deliver it to my constituents during my term in office, but it is the most expensive project by a mile and requires both private and public finances, neither of which are available, apparently, although this may change,” he added.

Mr Varadkar said the Government would not do anything to prevent Metro North, the Dart underground and the Luas BXD line going ahead in the future.

“If it is not possible for all, or any, of those projects to proceed during the term of this Government, we will ensure they get to the end-of-railway stage and have planning permission so that they will be shovel-ready when it is possible to proceed,’’ he added.

Dessie Ellis (SF) said Metro North had so far cost €150 million. He said the Government was talking about raising €5 billion, some of which would go towards job creation.

“I am not necessarily saying I agree with the selling off of State assets, because I do not, but I believe this project would deliver a lot of jobs,” he added.

Mr Varadkar said he had previously expressed the view that he would favour the sale of State assets if the money could be reinvested in the economy.

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

Metro North and Dart Underground 'deferred'

METRO NORTH and Dart Underground are to be dropped by the Government next month following a comprehensive review by Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar of “big ticket” transport projects.

According to well-placed sources, the two schemes will be “deferred” indefinitely on the basis that neither can be funded in the current climate, even under public-private partnership (PPP) arrangements.

Even though construction costs are considerably lower than they were during the boom and estimates for Metro North were a closely guarded secret, it is believed the scheme would cost at least €3 billion.

Given that Dart Underground – billed as the “missing link” that would transform Dublin’s disparate suburban rail services into a network – was likely to cost €2 billion, the combined total would be €5 billion-plus.

For political reasons, the term “deferred” will be used, rather than “abandoned” or “cancelled”, with Mr Varadkar holding out hope that both could be built when economic conditions improve.

CIÉ’s proposal for a rail spur to Dublin airport from the Dart line at Clongriffin in north Dublin is also widely seen as a non-runner. “It’s a daft idea and the cost would be enormous,” one source said.

But the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) is optimistic that the Government will go ahead with plans for a city centre link between the existing Luas lines, with a spur to Broombridge on the Maynooth line.

The link, known as Luas Line BXD, has already been the subject of an oral hearing by An Bord Pleanála and the board’s approval for a railway order to facilitate its construction could be issued as early as next month.

It would run from St Stephen’s Green via Dawson Street, Nassau Street, lower Grafton Street, College Green, Westmoreland Street, O’Connell Street and then on to Broombridge on a currently disused rail line.

The line would be split in the city centre, with southbound trams running via Marlborough Street across a new bridge to Hawkins Street and College Street before rejoining the main route in College Green.

“If there are no further cutbacks, BXD would fit within the reduced capital spending envelope for transport projects, primarily because of its affordability,” an RPA source told The Irish Times yesterday.

“The Government is keen to stimulate the engineering sector and BXD could be done from its own resources. But the bigger capital projects [Metro North and Dart Underground] will have to be deferred,” he said.

Another source said PPP projects for the metro and Dart schemes would involve “crazy money” to service the debt. Interest rates would be “prohibitive”, especially with the financial markets in turmoil now.

This is recognised by the final two bidders for the Metro North PPP, the Celtic Metro Group, which includes Mitsui and Barclays Private Equity, and Metro Express, which includes Bombardier and Macquarie.

RPA chief executive Frank Allen, whose term of office was due to end this month, has had his contract extended for a further year, pending the agency’s proposed merger with the National Roads Authority.

The RPA has spent nearly €200 million on preparatory work for Metro North, which would run from St Stephen’s Green to Swords, via Dublin airport. The project was finally approved by An Bord Pleanála last October.

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

Transport review may look at old plan for rail spur from Dart to airport

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

Further delays to Metro North 'not an option'

FURTHER DELAYS to Metro North in Dublin are “not an option” and could undermine the State’s ability to seek investors for other major infrastructure projects, according to unpublished Government briefing material.

Officials at the Department of Transport say the options facing the Government are to either scrap the proposed 18km rail link from St Stephen’s Green to Swords or proceed quickly with enabling works.

They say the two bidders involved in the procurement process for the planned Metro have invested significant sums of money in keeping their teams mobilised.

“If the project does not proceed based on this competition it is highly unlikely that bidders with the requisite skills would invest the substantial sums required to put another bid together,” the briefing material states.

“This could also have a serious impact on the credibility of the Government as a counter-party for PPP [public-private partnership] deals for other major infrastructure investment projects.”

Fine Gael and Labour’s programme for government does give a firm commitment to funding Metro North, but it pledges to support high-capacity commuter services subject to cost-benefit analysis.

The full extent of the exchequer budget for the project has not been disclosed as officials say the figures are commercially sensitive. Well-placed sources, however, say it would be in the region of €3 billion.

The latest estimates on the business case for the Metro, prepared by the Railway Procurement Agency, estimate it would yield €2 in economic benefits for every €1 spent on its construction.

Officials also estimate that it could create about 4,000 construction jobs, as well as 2,000 other posts linked to the project during the construction period.

Records indicate the State has already spent about €135 million on planning, diverting utilities and works on heritage for Metro North.

A further €45 million is expected to be spent on similar works this year, according to records released under the Freedom of Information Act.

This brings the total spend on Metro North to almost €175 million before the project has received formal Government approval.

While the Fianna Fáil-Green Party coalition agreed an undisclosed budget for the project in January 2008, it will fall to the new Government to confirm whether it intends to proceed with the project.

Last Mayr the board of the European Investment Bank approved a loan of up to €500 million for Metro North.

Two consortiums have been short-listed to build the Metro.

Some commentators have advocated scrapping Metro North and focusing on the proposed Dart Underground scheme on the basis that it would be cheaper, benefit more passengers and yield a greater economic return.

This project involves a tunnel linking the Docklands and Inchicore which would provide underground stations in the city and link existing rail systems such as the Luas and Inter-city trains.

In unpublished records, department officials say a straight comparison between Metro and the Dart Underground are difficult as they have different objectives.

They state, however, that the Metro plans are at a much more advanced stage, while the Dart Underground could take another 12 months for planning approval.

Given the pressure on the public finances, the previous government announced last year that it would not be possible to fund the Dart project in the near future.

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

Metro North manager says project has broad support

THERE WAS a broad public and political consensus behind Metro North and a new government was unlikely to halt it, the project manager claimed yesterday.

Answering questions at an Engineers Ireland seminar on tunnelmaking, Rob Leech said he did not believe Metro North would become “like Lima” in Peru.

In Lima, he explained, the government had spent heavily on enabling works for new railways but the project had been suspended, with the result that people had made houses out of the viaducts.

Mr Leech also dismissed what a speaker referred to as the “Edinburgh situation”, a reference taken to mean the delivery and display of trams for a new light-rail system for that city some years before the completion of the tram line.

About €135 million has already been spent on enabling works and planning for Metro North and the Railway Procurement Agency said yesterday that €45 million had been provided for it in the Budget. This brings the total spend on Metro North to almost €200 million before the project has received Government approval.

Both Fine Gael and Labour refused to give an absolute commitment to the project yesterday, claiming such a move would be “irresponsible” before assuming office and seeing the full costs.

Simon Coveney of Fine Gael said the party would like to see the project completed, but had reservations about money being spent before a final decision.

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore also refused to commit the party to the project in advance of the financial cost. A party spokesman said, however, that any money spent on “enabling works” would not be wasted as it would “still be there in five of six years time”.

Asked if uncertainty surrounding final approval and compulsory purchase orders could result in “an economic corridor from St Stephen’s Green to Swords being sterilised” for the best part of 10 years, Mr Leech said he did not think so.

Contracts for significant enabling works would be awarded early next year. “Until we sign the public-private partnership we can’t say the project will go the full way . . . but it is a note of confidence that the Government said it will support enabling works over the next year or so.”

He said the agency had met Opposition transport spokesmen and “Labour and Fine Gael were broadly supportive” of the project.

A note of caution was sounded by Tim Brick, executive director of the Irish Academy of Engineering. He warned that public consultation by way of An Bord Pleanála and environmental assessments had failed to win public support in a wide range of projects from the Shell to Sea campaign to the Dublin Port Tunnel.

As a former deputy city engineer responsible for the Dublin Port Tunnel, he said valuable experience of tunnelling and the physical work had been gained, but formalised public consultation through environmental impact statements and planning was not achieving consensus.

“Anyone who thinks building civic consensus, public relations and direct and media contact with the public are a project add-on is mistaken.”

Mr Brick said experience with the Dublin tunnel had thought him “the media obsession with controversy must be suborned and contested. If you are in the headlines, the news is usually bad and the media appetite insatiable.”

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

Metro North still on track, says director

THE Metro to Dublin Airport can be bankrolled by private cash and is still on track, the project's director claimed yesterday.

Despite the restraints on finances, the Metro is still economically viable, he said.

Rob Leech, Metro North project manager, told an Engineers Ireland seminar that high-quality integrated public transport was a key feature of the most successful cities worldwide. He said there had been "some extraordinary claims that it would cost €5bn to build Metro North".

"Even at the height of the boom it would have cost far less than that," he added.

At a time of falling construction costs they expected to get unprecedented value.

Metro North was being developed under a public private partnership arrangement. This means the private sector initially funds the majority of the costs.

The State contributes in two ways -- a part contribution to the construction cost and later annual payments, spread over a long period of time, payable only when the metro is running.

John Power, Engineers Ireland director general, predicted Metro North had the potential to create 4,000 direct jobs and a further 2,000 indirect jobs.

Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent

www.buckplanning.ie

Government signals end of line for Metro North

THE Government has signalled that the Metro North light rail system to Dublin Airport may be scrapped -- despite being given the green-light by planners yesterday.

In a clear indication that the €2.5bn project was under threat, Tanaiste Mary Coughlan said the money might not be available to build the line.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen also refused to say if the project -- which would create up to 4,000 jobs -- would go ahead.

An Bord Pleanala yesterday granted planning permission for the 15km light-rail project which will link St Stephen's Green with Swords.

The Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) has already spent €130m and plans to spend another €85m next year on pre-construction works. But it cannot go ahead until the Government signs off on the project.

Transport Minister Noel Dempsey yesterday said a formal decision would be made at the end of next year.

Mr Cowen also refused to commit to the project.

"Obviously discussions on the capital programmes are still ongoing and, so, you know, I can't speak for the Government until the Government make decisions on these matters," he said in Brussels.

Ms Coughlan was also pointedly vague. "This is only a board decision. The issue of whether there will be the financial wherewithal to provide Metro North is still a matter of consideration by the Government," she said.

The comments appear to flag a major U-turn as they come just three months after Mr Cowen insisted the project would go ahead.

At a high-profile launch of the Government's capital spending programme in July, he said the money was available and it would proceed.

The Dublin Chamber of Commerce last night warned if the project was scrapped or delayed it would cause serious "reputational" damage for the State, particularly when other major infrastructure projects were planned in the coming years.

Reputation

"There is a reputational damage if major capital projects like Metro North are delayed or don't go ahead," a spokesman said. "It's not to be under-estimated. People have spent €5m-€10m apiece getting their tenders ready.

"If the project doesn't go ahead at all, from an international point of view there will be a problem for Ireland in attracting overseas expertise to build large projects."

Metro North will be capable of carrying 20,000 passengers an hour with 10km of the system underground.

The journey time from Dublin Airport to the city centre is estimated to be around 20 minutes.

An Bord Pleanala yesterday gave permission for a scaled-down version of the line, cutting three stops, a park-and-ride facility and rail depot from the project.

The line has been reduced from 18km to 15.7km.

In a decision contained in a 1,700 page report, the board approved the scheme from the Estuary stop north of Swords to St Stephen's Green.

It includes an underground link from the city centre to Ballymun where it will cross the M50 on a flyover bridge.

But the depot, stop and park- and-ride facility at Belinstown have been refused permission along with stops at Lissenhall and Seatown.

An Bord Pleanala said as the depot was at the end of the line, it was "more likely to result in inefficient empty running of metro vehicles and extended travel for staff".

An alternative site for the depot at Dardistown, south of Dublin Airport, should be considered, it said.

Building will proceed once the Government approves a cost-benefit analysis of the project. This is not expected before the end of next year, and after the two groups bidding to build the line submit their best and final offers.

The RPA welcomed the decision, saying it provided "sufficient clarity" for the project to proceed.

Paul Melia
Irish Independent

www.buckplanning.ie

Planning board grants permission for Metro North

AN BORD Pleanála has granted permission for the Metro North, but has cut three stops and 2.3 km of track from the line sought two years ago by the Railway Procurement Agency.

The cuts will mean a new railway order, the planning application for rail infrastructure, will have to be submitted for aspects of the project. An Bord Pleanála said it was too early to say whether a new oral hearing would be required.

Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey yesterday said the metro was a “priority public transport project for this Government”, but would be subject to a cost-benefit analysis before the Government signed off on the project.

Doubts have been cast on the project’s viability in the current economic circumstances. Labour leader Eamon Gilmore recently said the project would be “shot back” if Labour was in power.

The line was to have been 18km long, running from St Stephen’s Green to Bellinstown in north county Dublin. However, the railway order granted by the planning board yesterday eliminates the final two stops, Lissenhall and Bellinstown, as well as Seatown, the stop closest to Swords town centre.

A new railway order is necessary because Bellinstown was to have been the location for a depot for the metro and for a landfill to take the spoil material from the construction.

The board said the 36-hectare depot site at Bellinstown, which would house stock and other ancillary services for the line, was too far from Dublin airport or Swords for efficient operations of the service. It also noted the site was prone to flooding and while engineering solutions could minimise the flood risk, this might push floods into neighbouring communities.

The land to be used to bury the spoil from construction was “good quality agricultural land” and the proposed “extensive landfilling” was not justified, the board said.

The board has directed the railway agency to submit a new application for a relocated depot at Dardistown immediately south of Dublin airport at a point where Metro North and the proposed Metro West would intersect. The application must also deal with a management plan for the construction spoil. With the exception of enabling works such as moving underground utilities, the board said construction could not begin until the new railway order was approved. The board could not say how long it would take to made a decision on the new railway order.

The railway agency yesterday said it had already developed proposals for a depot at Dardistown and would apply for permission for the depot in the near future.

Lissenhall and Bellinstown had been earmarked as new centres of residential development before the property crash. While there has been some apartment development, particularly at Lissenhall, stops at these locations were eliminated by the board because they would “promote a pattern of development and an unsustainable use of land unlikely to be supported by future travel demand in the short to medium term”.

The Seatown stop was rejected because there were sufficient stops for the Swords area and it was not justified by current or foreseeable growth in population.

Notwithstanding objections to the construction of the metro in the city centre, most notably from businessman Colm Carroll, who owns nine city-centre gift shops and runs the “No to Metro North” campaign, it said the scheme’s benefits would outweigh the short-term impact of construction.

It said the metro would not adversely affect any protected structure or national monument. However, it conceded the construction phase would have “serious impacts” on the Dublin region, particularly adjacent to the city centre, Ballymun and Swords stops.

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

Metro North should go ahead as planned, says Broughan

METRO NORTH should proceed as planned, former Labour transport spokesman and TD for Dublin North East Tommy Broughan has said, despite comments by party Leader Eamon Gilmore that Labour in power would not go ahead with the project "in the short term".

Mr Gilmore was speaking on the Marian Finucane Show on RTÉ Radio on Saturday.

He said Labour would "redo" the National Development Plan and prioritise those projects likely to create the most jobs. "Metro North would be shot back," he said.

His comments have been supported by Joan Burton and Róisín Shortall, Labour TDs representing north Dublin.

Work to build the line from St Stephen's Green to Dublin airport and the north of the county is set to begin next April pending approval from An Bord Pleanála later this month.

Mr Broughan, who was Labour transport spokesman until last summer when he lost the party whip after absenting himself from a vote on the legislation to ban stag hunting, said he had not heard the interview with Marian Finucane, but that the construction of the Metro had clear economic benefits.

"I think it's a very important investment in the economy. It's vital to bring Dublin's transport infrastructure up to 20th century standards, let alone 21st century. It should go ahead as planned."

The fact that the Metro would be built through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) with private investment repaid over a long-term period, meant it would not worsen the current economic situation, Mr Broughan said.

"I don't see what it has to do with the current economic circumstances. It's like a hire purchase agreement, it's paid over a long-term period," he added.

However, the party's finance spokeswoman Joan Burton, who last year said proceeding with Metro North "as soon as possible" was a "no-brainer", yesterday said availability of funding for the project would have to be examined.

"I am a well-known supporter of the Metro, but it is now a question of phasing . . . Clearly just right now the availability of funding and the ranking of funding in order is something that has to be looked at."

Mr Gilmore's comments were made in the context of the funding "crisis" in which the Fianna Fáil-led Government had left the country, Ms Burton said.

"Eamon was just saying that we have to look realistically at the Metro in terms of the crises we have been left in."

In a statement last year Ms Burton said construction would likely be "revenue neutral" to the taxpayer.

Dublin North West TD Róisín Shortall said she remained a strong supporter of the Metro but that it "may have to be put back" for financial reasons. "I think what Eamon Gilmore said was that the Metro is up for review. Everything in the National Development Plan is up for review."

The project was reliant on private sector funding which was unlikely to be forthcoming in the short to medium term.

"There seems to be very little interest from the private at the moment . . . The private sector isn't likely to want to get involved and so it's very hard to see it happening this year or next year."

Joe Costello, who took over from Mr Broughan as transport spokesman and represents Dublin Central could not be contacted yesterday.

Fine Gael and the Green north Dublin TDs strongly criticised Mr Gilmore's comments and said postponing the project would jeopardise jobs.

Fine Gael health spokesman Dr James Reilly said he was shocked by Labour's attitude to the project. "They claim they will invest in jobs and critical infrastructure . . . Now is the time to invest in jobs in Dublin North."

Former Green Party leader Trevor Sargent said Mr Gilmore did not understand how economic recovery was achieved.

"It is abundantly clear that Labour will cause more damage to the economy by making short-termist decisions that will be counterproductive to job creation," he said.

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

Divisions in Labour over Metro

Metro North should proceed as planned, former Labour transport spokesman and TD for Dublin North East Tommy Broughan has said, despite comments by party Leader Eamon Gilmore that Labour in power would not go ahead with the project "in the short term".

Mr Gilmore was speaking on the Marian Finucane Show on RTÉ Radio on Saturday.

He said Labour would "redo" the National Development Plan and prioritise those projects likely to create the most jobs. "Metro North would be shot back," he said.

His comments have been supported by Joan Burton and Róisín Shortall, Labour TDs representing north Dublin.

Work to build the line from St Stephen's Green to Dublin airport and the north of the county is set to begin next April pending approval from An Bord Pleanála later this month.

Mr Broughan, who was Labour transport spokesman until last summer when he lost the party whip after absenting himself from a vote on the legislation to ban stag hunting, said he had not heard the interview with Marian Finucane, but that the construction of the Metro had clear economic benefits.

"I think it's a very important investment in the economy. It's vital to bring Dublin's transport infrastructure up to 20th century standards, let alone 21st century. It should go ahead as planned."

The fact that the Metro would be built through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) with private investment repaid over a long-term period, meant it would not worsen the current economic situation, Mr Broughan said.

"I don't see what it has to do with the current economic circumstances. It's like a hire purchase agreement, it's paid over a long-term period," he added.

However, the party's finance spokeswoman Joan Burton, who last year said proceeding with Metro North "as soon as possible" was a "no-brainer", yesterday said availability of funding for the project would have to be examined.

"I am a well-known supporter of the Metro, but it is now a question of phasing . . . Clearly just right now the availability of funding and the ranking of funding in order is something that has to be looked at."

Mr Gilmore's comments were made in the context of the funding "crisis" in which the Fianna Fáil-led Government had left the country, Ms Burton said.

"Eamon was just saying that we have to look realistically at the Metro in terms of the crises we have been left in."

In a statement last year Ms Burton said construction would likely be "revenue neutral" to the taxpayer.

Dublin North West TD Róisín Shortall said she remained a strong supporter of the Metro but that it "may have to be put back" for financial reasons. "I think what Eamon Gilmore said was that the Metro is up for review. Everything in the National Development Plan is up for review."

The project was reliant on private sector funding which was unlikely to be forthcoming in the short to medium term.

"There seems to be very little interest from the private at the moment . . . The private sector isn't likely to want to get involved and so it's very hard to see it happening this year or next year."

Joe Costello, who took over from Mr Broughan as transport spokesman and represents Dublin Central could not be contacted yesterday.

Fine Gael and the Green north Dublin TDs strongly criticised Mr Gilmore's comments and said postponing the project would jeopardise jobs.

Fine Gael health spokesman Dr James Reilly said he was shocked by Labour's attitude to the project. "They claim they will invest in jobs and critical infrastructure . . . Now is the time to invest in jobs in Dublin North."

Former Green Party leader Trevor Sargent said Mr Gilmore did not understand how economic recovery was achieved.

"It is abundantly clear that Labour will cause more damage to the economy by making short-termist decisions that will be counterproductive to job creation," he said.

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

Metro North is 'essential', says Dublin business body

DUBLIN CHAMBER of Commerce has dismissed fears that construction of Metro North will cause major disruption for city centre businesses, and welcomed the news that work could begin on the project in April.

It has also criticised the city’s current transport infrastructure as “inadequate”, and said investment in the metro was needed to attract new business to Dublin.

“The construction of Metro North is essential to tackling the transport deficit in order to attract new business and make Dublin a better city to live and work in,” said Gina Quin, Dublin chamber chief executive.

She said the chamber had spent the past two years working with the Railway Procurement Agency, Dublin City Council and other agencies to minimise disruption during the construction phase.

Ms Quin said an agreed traffic-management plan would ensure that access was maintained to all premises fronting on to the works for pedestrians and those whose mobility was impaired. All car parks would be maintained, and adequate footpath widths and crossings would be provided.

“Dublin’s traffic congestion has cost business billions and jobs coming to Ireland. The public transport story as it stands focuses on the problem of getting people from A to B. But it’s more than that. It’s also about protecting our environment and creating clusters of industries or businesses.

“Projects like Metro North and the Luas are vital, not just to move people around more efficiently but to stimulate economic growth as well,” said Ms Quin.

The agency said yesterday that work on the long-awaited Metro North line from St Stephen’s Green to Dublin airport and north Co Dublin would begin in April.

Following delays in the planning process, An Bord Pleanála last month wrote to the agency stating its intention to issue a decision on the railway order for the metro by the end of October.

However, several city businesses are now calling for the Government to cancel the project or postpone it until the economy recovers. Businessman Colm Carroll, who owns nine gift shops in the city centre, has recently launched No To Metro North, a campaign to stop the project which he said would “rip the whole city apart”, costing thousands of jobs and closing firms.

Drew Flood, general manager of Cliff Town House, formerly Bentleys on St Stephen’s Green, is also critical of the project. “It’s going to be like Baghdad. It would be like taking the Champs Elysées, taking Mayfair, and turning it into Baghdad. It will be the death knell of Stephen’s Green and the death knell of Grafton Street.”

Independent MEP Marian Harkin last night joined opponents of Metro North, describing it as “ unrealistic and unnecessary”.

“Cost-effective organisations like the Western Development Commission are threatened with closure while multimillion euro vanity projects such as Dublin’s Metro North are to proceed without any proof that they are needed and can stand up to financial scrutiny.

“Having regard to the fact that Dublin airport is now very well serviced with public and private transport operators from all over Ireland, and that the Port Tunnel is currently under-used, the major original justification for Metro North is gone.”

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

On the wrong track: four city centre business owners on why metro north should be mothballed

Interviews by OLIVIA KELLY

RAY MOONEY

GENERAL MANAGER OF THE THE STEPHEN’S GREEN HIBERNIAN CLUB

The Stephen’s Green Hibernian Club founded by Daniel O’Connell has been operating from 9 St Stephen’s Green for 170 years. The building itself dates from 1740. In 2005 the club spent €3.4 million restoring the building, including €200,000 on its rare ceilings.

“The ceilings date from 1759 and are reputedly the finest examples in Europe; we’ve been told they’re priceless. We recently had a group of 47 architects come to look at them. Yet the RPA have made no reference to them,” said Ray Mooney, the club’s general manager.

Vibrations from the construction work are probably the biggest threat to the building. The Dart underground line, which will involve tunnelling directly under the building, represents the single greatest risk, Mr Mooney said, but the combined effect of this, the Metro and Luas BXD was his biggest worry.

“We lodged objections to all three, the Metro the Dart and the Luas, but our main objection is that they haven’t looked at the combined effects of all three.”

The location of the Metro station has dictated the location of the Dart underground platform which is being located underneath the club. The Office of Public Works in its remit to protect the park prevented the works from being moved further into St Stephen’s Green, Mr Mooney said. “It seems that ducks are more important than jobs.”

The club, with its 1,400 members, employs more than 30 people. Mr Mooney said a 10 per cent loss in business could close it down.

“There will be a 22ft high hoarding outside the window. Who is going to want to be sitting in our dining room looking out at that?”

COLM CARROLL

CARROLL’S IRISH GIFTS

Colm Carroll has spent 30 years buildings up his business, Carroll’s Irish Gifts. He now employs 200 staff in nine shops in Dublin city centre, seven of which, he says, will be directly affected by the Metro construction.

Mr Carroll was initially supportive of Metro North, with the caveat that it would not affect businesses in the city centre. However, he said it was clear from the plans that would not be the case. “This will rip the whole city apart. All the main thoroughfares of the city are going to be dug up. No matter what spin the RPA puts on minimising the impact of the Metro North works on businesses, even a relatively small impact is too much with businesses in such a fragile state.”

While the numbers of businesses which lodged objections with Bord Pleanála in relation to the Metro project indicates the large level of concern over construction impact, Mr Carroll believes a great many businesses, which are struggling to cope with daily pressures, have not thought through the implications of the project.

For this reason he has launched the No To Metro North campaign. Mr Carroll has displayed posters in his shops from St Stephen’s Green to O’Connell Street saying the Metro will “kill Dublin city”. He is also calling on businesses in the city to lobby the Government to stop the project before it is too late.

“When the original Luas lines were being built the turnover of retailers fell by between 30 and 60 per cent; that was during the good years and over a much shorter time than what is being proposed for Metro North.”

He said in addition to the costs of the construction there would be a huge tax loss to the exchequer of a massive slowdown in business as well as increased dole payments for the workers who would inevitably lose their jobs.

In terms of his own business, Mr Carroll believes he will not survive the construction process. “There will be times when people won’t have access to our stores, won’t even be able to see our stores behind the hoardings. We need to stop the madness.”

He said tourists would not come to the city during the construction. The loss in tourist revenue would clearly have an effect on his business, but he said the potential loss of tourist revenue to the city would be €1.45 billion a year.

NOELLE CAMPBELL-SHARPE

OWNER OF ORIGIN GALLERY, HARCOURT STREET

Wire barriers, “mountains” of earth, rubble, large machinery and almost constant noise are Origin Gallery owner Noelle Campbell-Sharpe’s memories of the construction of the Luas Green line in Harcourt Street.

As a resident as well as a business owner, she was apprehensive about the project long before construction began, but said she had no real concept of what was to come. “It all came on very suddenly. Suddenly there was just devastation in the street. We didn’t visualise before hand; and the RPA certainly didn’t visualise for us what was going to happen.”

Ms Campbell-Sharpe said she had been told that construction of the Harcourt Street section of the line would be up to eight months.

“The gap between what they said would happen and what occurred was massive. At the start they said it would be a matter of seven or eight months; it was almost two years.”

The lack of information on how long the building works would take and the ongoing changes to the completion date made it very difficult to plan exhibitions and shows.

One of the main difficulties in running her business was access. At times it was virtually impossible to get into the building.

“We certainly almost went out of business. We had to close on occasions and we were very close to closing up completely.

Harcourt Street was a no- go area.”

JOSEPHINE KELLIHER

OWNER OF RUBICON GALLERY, ST STEPHEN’S GREEN

As a builder’s daughter, Josephine Kelliher, owner of the Rubicon Gallery, understands that you can’t legislate for every eventuality when it comes to a construction project.

“I’d have a fairly pragmatic sense of the variables that happen around building work. I don’t know if you can ask any contractor to stipulate the exact length of a build or exactly how it will run; they just don’t know before they break ground.”

Any meetings she has requested with the RPA have been granted, and they have answered her questions as far as they can. However, she says that doesn’t give any guarantee she’ll be able to remain open during the build.

“I have huge concerns about accessibility during the build. I have been given clear assurances about accessibly, but I know the road outside will not be accessible to traffic.”

Her concerns about access to the building relate not just to customers, but to getting art works into the building. It is likely that paintings will have to be carried from Dawson Street to her building, which may not be possible during construction because of dust and dirt.

“One of the most disturbing things at this point for my business is the level of uncertainty and doubt; it means you can’t make business plans.”

She said the Metro was a “hugely ambitious undertaking” which would undoubtedly benefit the city in the long term.

“The end result will no doubt be a more navigable city. But with my business hat on I’m petrified. I have my doubts we will be able to stay open during all of this.”

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

City centre business already counting cost of major construction on St Stephen's Green

Some Dublin businesses say their livelihoods will be threatened by the Metro project even if it benefits the city in the long run, writes OLIVIA KELLY

NEXT MONTH An Bord Pleanála will issue its decision on the railway order sought two years ago by the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) for the construction of Metro North.

The 18km line would run from St Stephen’s Green to Belinstown north of Swords, with 17 stops including Dublin airport, Ballymun, Dublin City University and the Mater hospital. If the railway order is granted as expected, initial work will begin on the line next April, the RPA said.

These “enabling works”, which largely involve diverting utilities, will take approximately a year, with full construction work starting in 2012 and, the agency said, finishing in 2016.

Around the time the decision is due, hearings will begin on the RPA’s application for the Luas BXD, the cross-city line designed to link up the original Luas Red and Green lines and the Dart Underground line, which falls under the remit of Iarnród Éireann.

The Luas line is no longer in the Government current capital programme; the Metro and Dart Underground remain. Regardless of when construction on these lines goes ahead, all routes ultimately converge on the north west quarter of St Stephen’s Green, making it for several years the biggest construction site in the State.

One of the most prominent businesses on this part of the Green is the Fitzwilliam Hotel. Its brochure promotes the “tranquillity and calm” of its location, a statement that may have to be amended when construction begins.

Hotel owner Michael Holland has already moved to minimise the risks of a prolonged construction period outside his front door. Through a legal agreement reached with the RPA he has secured the relocation of escalators to the station, the continuance of vehicular access to the front door, and guarantees on the hours of construction, as well as dust and pollution mitigation measures.

Securing these guarantees came at a price, which he said few other businesses could afford.

“A business like ourselves, a large strong business can manage to put together teams of experts. €400,000 is the cost of the submission we made to the planning process – very few businesses could afford that. The system is grossly unfair.”

Despite these measures the hotel will have to install additional glazing “at considerable expense” in order to ensure the comfort of guests. The hotel learned an expensive lesson during the construction of the Luas Green line, when a senior executive from an international firm was woken at 3am by drilling. As a result the hotel lost a corporate account worth €300,000 a year.

“Disruption directly on our hotel will be reduced. Needless to say there will still be a serious impact, but our concern is for the city generally. What the RPA is promoting is a Celtic Tiger era project. We couldn’t be in a more different place today. It is absolutely the wrong time to inflict such a major infrastructure project on the city.”

Proponents of the scheme say this is short-sighted thinking. The construction phase will undoubtedly be tough, but the compensation will be a top-class rail infrastructure which will be of huge benefit to the city. Mr Holland doesn’t agree.

“The Metro is an incredibly expensive commuter system we don’t need. It might be different if it was a dedicated airport metro, like the Heathrow Express, but it’s not. There are too many stops on it, business people won’t use it, and I’d wonder if tourists would either when there are dedicated airport buses that go non-stop to the city centre.”

If the Government insists on pursuing the Metro, and the Dart and Luas projects, they should at the least postpone construction until the economy picks up, Mr Holland said, to give small businesses a better chance of coping with the upheaval, and so finance is there to do all three concurrently.

“To contemplate going ahead with three different projects over three different time frames will destroy Dublin city. Small businesses will shut down. Nobody wants to come into a city that’s half shut. That is what will happen if they attempt this before there is full economic recovery.”

Diagonally across the proposed construction site from the hotel, restaurateur Susannah Jackson of Il Posto said experience of other construction on the Green has left her with very specific concerns about the Metro work.

“A building nearby was getting some refurbishment done and it involved pile drivers. There were rats running up and down the road. They didn’t get into the restaurant, but it was all we could do to keep them out.”

The restaurant is tied into a lease for the next 10 years, and for most of this time, Ms Jackson estimates, the area will be a construction site.

“I don’t think any of us can continue through this. We’ve fought very hard to stay open during the recession and the ash cloud, even if we made it through the construction, what sort of place is it going to be afterwards?”

Drew Flood, general manager of the Cliff Town House, formerly Bentleys, a few doors down, has very clear views on what sort of place the Green will become.

“It’s going to be like Baghdad. It would be like taking the Champs Elysees, taking Mayfair and turning it into Baghdad. It will be the death knell of Stephen’s Green and the death knell of Grafton Street.”

Unlike the Fitzwilliam Hotel, Mr Flood says, he does not have the resources to mount a legal challenge to the specific aspects of the project that affect his business. “We’re at the mercy of the RPA. We don’t have the money to hire lawyers – we just have to wait and see what happens to us, and whatever happens, it seems we just have to take it.” The construction plans for the Metro alone would make it impossible for the business to operate, he said.

A large sum of money was put into the refurbishment of the building, to develop a high-end restaurant and boutique hotel which caters to a loyal clientele, Mr Flood said. That business is now under serious threat.

“The only hospitality business required on St Stephen’s Green for a 10-year period will be making bacon rolls.”

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

Metro North work to begin in April despite calls for rethink

WORK ON the long-awaited Metro North line from St Stephen’s Green to Dublin airport and north Co Dublin will begin in April, the Railway Procurement Agency has said.

However, several city businesses are calling for the Government to cancel the project or postpone it until the economy recovers.

Following several delays in the planning process, Bord Pleanála last month wrote to the RPA stating its intention to issue a decision on the railway order for the Metro by the end of October.

The agency said if the railway order was granted as expected next month, it would be able to start enabling work on the line in April 2011.

One prominent businessman, Colm Carroll, who owns nine gift shops in the city centre, has recently launched No To Metro North, a campaign to stop the project which he said would “rip the whole city apart”, costing thousands of jobs and causing the closure of businesses.

However, the RPA has hit back at Mr Carroll’s claims, and said Metro was essential to the long-term viability of the city.

The enabling works due to start in April – moving utilities, such as gas, and pipes or broadband lines – would have “some impacts”, said project director Rory O’Connor, but new services would be installed before the old ones were cut and the work would be done in sections to minimise traffic disruption.

He said during the construction phase proper, from mid-2012 to 2016, work sites would become “more noticeable”. The front of St Stephen’s Green would be closed to through traffic from Dawson Street to Glovers Alley, with the exception of the set-down area in front of the Fitzwilliam Hotel.

Apart from this area there would be no road closures in the city, but Westmoreland Street would be open only to public transport. Access would be preserved to all premises for servicing and deliveries, with “local diversions” where necessary.

Although the cross-city Luas BXD line no longer has funding under the Government’s current capital programme, Mr O’Connor said that, pending the approval of Bord Pleanála, the RPA still intended to install Luas track at the Metro construction sites, avoiding the need to dig up these sites later when funding is available for the full Luas project.

Mr O’Connor said the construction of Iarnród Éireann’s Dart Underground “will largely run in parallel” with the Metro. However, as the Luas and Dart were separate projects only now at the start of the planning process, there was no guarantee they would be granted planning in time to link up with the Metro construction.

Many calls were made for all three rail schemes to be dealt with as one project, but Mr O’Connor said this was never a realistic option.

“It was not practical for a number of reasons. All three are big enough as they are in terms of trying to raise private financing in the market. You couldn’t get funding if you tried to tie two of them together.”

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

Digging up Dublin: six years, two drills, one big traffic jam

Traffic chaos could be on its way back to Dublin with the building of the proposed 18km-long Metro North railway, but its project manager claims the multi-billion-euro plan will cause minimal disruption to those living around – and above– the construction.

A great big bore: the route the proposed Metro North will take through Dublin city and it will pass some famous landmarks such as Trinity College and the Spire

The first step in a process that will bring traffic chaos back to Dublin's widest thoroughfare will begin next month with the anticipated granting of a railway order for Metro North, the largest ever civil-engineering project in Ireland.

The project will involve the removal of historic statues, the tearing up of St Stephen's Green and the partial draining of its lake, the demolition of buildings, tunnelling under homes, the revision of bus routes, the spending of billions and the employment of thousands .

Twin boring engines will rattle their way under the surface of the capital, crawling at 15 metres per day for around two years until their epic underground voyage reaches its 11km-long conclusion.

"It's a very significant undertaking. It's 18km long and there wil be a lot of complex work in the city centre," project manager Rob Leech told the Sunday Tribune.

"It compares very well with [a project in] Vancouver which is just opened. It's uncannily similar in terms of length and numbers of stations and they have the same sort of constraints [in the city] that we have here."

While those behind the project are awaiting the final order and permission from the government, things are already underway.

Two tender 'packages' for works have already been released, one in relation to St Stephen's Green and the other for a heritage contractor to take care of statues and monuments.

The enabling works, which will kick in at the beginning of next year, are essentially those carried out to lay the groundwork for the mammoth build – utilities like gas and water pipes, electrical and communication lines, all scattered and winding their way around the underground caverns of the capital, have to be moved to allow for the tunnel.

Soon, work will be carried out on Westmoreland Street and O'Connell Street as well as at Parnell Square and on the Mater Hospital campus.

There will be significant utilities works between Albert College Park and Santry Avenue, over a stretch of about 2.3km, and minor works are required at St Patrick's teacher training college, all along the route of the train line that will bring passengers from the city to Swords in less than half an hour.

Digging on O'Connell Street will be carried out in a piecemeal fashion over 12 to 15 months in order to stick to the ethos of the project: minimal disruption to the public.

"What we have committed to is keeping two lanes of traffic open at all times so that even when there is work going on the lanes will still be there," said Leech. "All access will be kept open to retail outlets and car parks. While there is construction, and it will involve certain disruption, there are key objectives that we have held onto."

The main contract for the stations and the drilling of the tunnel will be awarded towards the end of 2011 with most of the heavy works beginning in 2012. The target date for completion is 2016. This will be followed by a period of trial runs with passengers anticipated by early 2017.

Metro North will feature 17 stations, nine underground and eight at surface level, with a 3km stretch of a six-metre high viaduct at the northern end of the line.

"The [trains] will travel at at least 70kmph but there is nothing to stop them running faster than that," said Leech. He explained that the capacity could rise to as much as one train every two minutes, in line with the London Underground.

The project manager is keen to allay the fears of residents who are concerned about giant mole-like machines boring through the rock beneath their homes. North Dublin residents had similar fears during the construction of the Port Tunnel.

"We have had extensive consultation with the public and home owners and have introduced a property protection scheme," said Leech.

"We can never say never. Tunnelling by its very nature does cause vibration which does cause minor cracking [but] if it is demonstrative of cracking we will pay to have it rectified."

Sunday Tribune

www.buckplanning.ie

Metro - Irish Times letter

Madam, – Your Editorial (May 17th) is eloquent on Metro North. However, instead of
jumping to untested conclusions, The Irish Times should be demanding to see the analysis that purports to show Metro North really is a good investment for Ireland. That is a highly debatable claim.

No cost benefit analysis was done of the proposed 18 km Metro from St Stephen’s Green to Belinstown, north of Swords. Some analysis was done of a much shorter 10 km route from Dublin City Centre to Dublin Airport.

That analysis is only available in heavily redacted form, but shows that the option was a bad investment. There is good reason to believe the current larger proposal is not viable either, not least given that the outlook for patronage has dropped sharply from that of the boom years when Metro North was conceived. In the present crisis there is no excuse for a failure to assess transparently a capital investment proposal costing about €5 billion, before deciding to build it.

Further, in demanding an efficient public transport system, you lament the cuts in Dublin bus numbers and Government bus subsidies. You should be aware that one-third of Metro North passengers will be taken from existing parallel bus routes, and those services will be cut accordingly. Metro North will therefore have a significant detrimental effect on the environmentally positive bus usage you support. – Yours, etc,

MATTHEW HARLEY.

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

Metro North hearings put back to March so public can view changes

AN BORD Pleanála hearings into Metro North, the proposed underground rail link between St Stephen’s Green and Swords, have been suspended, at least until March.

The suspension is to allow the public and interested parties to review changes to three aspects of the project’s design. The changes cover the Mater hospital, Ballymun and Seatown stops.

The Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) said the changes to the hospital stop will include a second entrance, accessed from Eccles Street, within the proposed national paediatric hospital.

The agency said this enabled it to move emergency ventilation fans, part of the station structure and emergency escape routes a further 20m away from the Mater Private hospital.

Changes to the Ballymun and Seatown stops were more minor in nature, but utilised lands not identified in the original environmental impact assessment.

The changes can be viewed on the RPA website and at its officers and at An Bord Pleanála.

The deadline for submissions on the changes is next Monday.

Detailed plans for the scheme first went on display in September 2008. The inquiry also recently heard that compensation claims which go to arbitration may not be settled before Metro North is operational, currently thought to be 2015 at the earliest.

Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

Construction of Metro North set to be delayed

It may be early 2011 before heavy construction work begins on the proposed Metro North rail line because of delays caused by requests for further information by An Bord Pleanála.

An oral hearing into the proposed multi-billion euro light rail line between St Stephen’s Green and Swords in Dublin began in April, but was suspended after An Bord Pleanála requested a significant amount of extra information from the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA).

An RPA spokesman said the agency was working ‘‘flat out’’ to submit this information by October.

Two consortiums have gone through to the ‘best and final offer’ stage for the contract to build the Metro. The Metro Express consortium includes AIB, Transdev and Sisk; while the Celtic Metro Group is composed of foreign operators and headed by Japanese investment group Mitsui.




One well-placed source said there was ‘‘a degree of frustration’’ at the suspension of the oral hearing, which would delay the planning process by at least six months. ‘‘It is hard to see why this information could not have been requested much earlier in the process, or why the planning inspector wasn’t supplied with this information in the first place by the RPA. This adds additional costs to our bid, and also delays the granting of the Railway Order.

‘‘We can only put in our best and final offer when this is signed off,” the source said. ‘‘Realistically speaking, it will be autumn next year before the winner’s blueprint will be fine-tuned, so it could be 2011 before heavy construction actually starts.”

However, RPA spokesman Tom Manning disputed this claim and said they would be ‘‘ready to go on enabling works’’ if and when the Railway Order was granted for the project. ‘‘We are working flat out to assist the board and we expect the oral hearing will be re-convened after they have received the extra information.

The Railway Order application is part of this process, and we have had meetings with the two consortiums to outline our position,” he said.

Separately, The Sunday Business Post understands that the two consortiums will not request any capital from the government at the initial stage of the project and will instead offer a 100 per cent ‘mortgage’ on the project - to be paid back over a period such as 25 years.

Sunday Business Post

www.buckplanning.ie

Bridge go-ahead depends on Metro North

DUBLIN City Council has been given permission to build a €15m public transport bridge over the Liffey.

But the Marlborough Street bridge will only go ahead if Metro North gets planning permission and the Government decides to approve the multi-billion euro light rail system.

The Department of Transport, which will fund the project, said work on the new bridge linking Marlborough Street and Hawkins Street would only begin once Metro North is approved by the Cabinet.

The planning application for Metro North, which is with An Bord Pleanala, says that the Marlborough Street bridge will be used to reduce traffic congestion in the city centre when construction works begin.

It will take 18 months to build and cost €15m.

Paul Melia
Irish Independent

www.buckplanning.ie