Irish Rail investment cutbacks

[WatcherZero]

Inevitable really for a government that has to drastically cut spending but of three major projects already under way (Metro North, the Luas link-up, and Dart Underground) the government says it believes it can only afford to finish one (and even that is unsure) in the next five years and the rest will be put on indefinite hold.

Work on the proposed €4bn Metro to Dublin Airport has already cost €135m; the Dart Underground €40m; and a further €8.2m has been spent on the link up between the two unconnected Luas lines in Dublin city centre.

http://www.independent.ie/national-...fers-with-euro183m-already-spent-2614032.html

 

[GM078]

Inevitable really for a government that has to drastically cut spending but of three major projects already under way (Metro North, the Luas link-up, and Dart Underground) the government says it believes it can only afford to finish one (and even that is unsure) in the next five years and the rest will be put on indefinite hold.



http://www.independent.ie/national-...fers-with-euro183m-already-spent-2614032.html

I can't see most of those projects happening before the end of the decade. Fine Gael were looking at alternatives to Metro North such as a 5'3'' gauge branch to the Airport, but the problem with that is the Northern Line would still need extra tracks to handle it. KRP 2 seems to be going ahead, but this will need Dart Underground to go ahead in order to take full advantage of it. One alternative to Dart Underground would be to electrify the line through the Phoniex Park Tunnel (would probably require lowering of the track to alow for the OHLE). But Connolly doesn't have the capacity, so any new services would need to go to Docklands - that would mean reworking Glasnevin Junction so that trains could run directly from Docklands to Islandbridge.

Ah well, all I can say is I'm glad we got all the ICRs when we did, sure they're boring and their arrival saw the mkIIIs withdrawn prematurely but had they been held on to by now we would have a fleet of carriages in need of replacement/refurbhisment and not a cent to do it with. It's just a pity a decision on the above projects couldn't have been made a few years earlier.

 

[Csalem]

Logically it would be the interconnector but I suspect the most likely will be the metro. If it were to happen it would have to be soon as I can't see them being allowed to have O'Connell Street ripped up in 2016.

 

[island]

Metro North I think needs to happen most. It's laughable that a country's three largest airports have no rail links.

 

[GM078]

According to Leo Varadkar no annoucement will be made until September as to which of the three projects will go ahead... As Csalem said if it is Dart Underground it will want to be underway soon as they won't want O'Connell St. dug up for the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising.

The Luas link-up seems to be the one the least noise is being made about... it's hard to say which of Metro North and Dart Underground is the most worthy. On the one hand it is odd that our main Airport is devoid of a rail link but it is adequatley served by bus routes... Of course Metro North will serve many other areas than just the Airport, including DCU.

It will be interesting to see if the powers that be woudl give consideration to electrifcation works on the line through the Phoniex Park Tunnel. It would be a longer route (not serving St. Stephens Green and other key areas) and would ideally require (a) reconfiguration of Glasnevin Junction to allow trains run to Docklands from Islandbridge or (b) extra capacity at Connolly, which is nigh impossible given the physical location of the station. As it stands Docklands is probably less than ideal to many passengers travelling to the city centre, though with the Luas connection perhaps no less ideal than Heuston is. Either way it would cost far less than the DU project.

 

[Ivo]

Whilst I agree that Metro North does need to be given priority, just how much would the Luas connection cost? How can they reasonably say that one project will go ahead at the expense of the others when their respective costs are so vastly different?

 

[Csalem]

Luas connection is actually a line to Broombridge on the Maynooth line. Personally I think it is a bit of a farce because there is no connection for passengers. The lines will just intersect with a connection for ecs movements. No tram will run from Heuston to St. Stephen's Green and therefore seems pointless. In all fairness it could be included in Metro North since the metro works will dig up half the city centrre it should be possible to lay the luas line down when restoring road surfaces.

As for Docklands station it is not attractive to anyone. The new suburban timetable more than likely will see M3 Parkway trains diverted into Connolly as a way of boosting passenger numbers.

 

[daikilo]

According to Leo Varadkar no annoucement will be made until September as to which of the three projects will go ahead... As Csalem said if it is Dart Underground it will want to be underway soon as they won't want O'Connell St. dug up for the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising.

The Luas link-up seems to be the one the least noise is being made about... it's hard to say which of Metro North and Dart Underground is the most worthy. On the one hand it is odd that our main Airport is devoid of a rail link but it is adequatley served by bus routes... Of course Metro North will serve many other areas than just the Airport, including DCU.

It will be interesting to see if the powers that be woudl give consideration to electrifcation works on the line through the Phoniex Park Tunnel. It would be a longer route (not serving St. Stephens Green and other key areas) and would ideally require (a) reconfiguration of Glasnevin Junction to allow trains run to Docklands from Islandbridge or (b) extra capacity at Connolly, which is nigh impossible given the physical location of the station. As it stands Docklands is probably less than ideal to many passengers travelling to the city centre, though with the Luas connection perhaps no less ideal than Heuston is. Either way it would cost far less than the DU project.

This could mean: to date we can afford one, tell me how you can allow me to fund all three. This is a no-brainer for any supplier wishing to show loyalty.

 

[GM078]

I think the PPP model needs to be pushed further than it is, some will argue that we'll be in further debt down the road, but at least in the interim PPPs could create much needed employment. There is potential for the three projects to go ahead under this system, though I am beginning to question the need for them in their current format. For instance, does the Airport link halve to be a Metro? Could it not be done as a Luas route perhaps combined with the proposed BXD line? Some money could be saved as it would mean standardised equipment, less depots, etc... To an extent Metro North will cover much of the BXD line's function anyway.