[Article] DART partly closed at WEEKENDS for 18 months

ixoy

I'm in shock. I just read this in the Irish Independent:

THE Dart rail network will be shut every weekend for the next year and a half.

The public is being given just four days warning of the extraordinary move which will disrupt the weekend travel plans of thousands of Dubliners and visitors to the city.

The big closure comes in two phases.

The first, starting on Saturday, involves the entire Dublin southside Dart line from Pearse Station to Greystones. It will be closed every weekend until next June at the earliest.

After that the northside and city centre Dart sections will be closed for a further nine months as part of an upgrading programme costing €176m.

The public, already reeling from Luas and the 'Mad Cow' roundabout chaos, is only being given four days notice of the massive disruption. The shutdown was approved by the board of CIE last January - but the news will only be released this morning.

Amazingly, no provision has been made for special buses to run from the closed Dart stations, as transport chiefs prepare for the Christmas gridlock.

The decision has sparked fears that the thousands of people left without weekend services will be forced back into their cars, increasing congestion around the city. Traffic problems have worsened since the contracts were signed in August but it is now too late to change them.

To do so would leave Iarnrod Eireann facing massive compensation from the contractors, it was learned.

The move is bound to cause travel problems for thousands of shoppers and workers using the Pearse-Greystones line.

Christmas shopping, the rugby internationals and the St Patrick's Day parade are among a huge number of major public and sporting events which will be hit. When the weekend shutdowns finish next June the northside Dart line will face a similar fate.

Asked why the work was not carried out on individual stations without disrupting the entire southside line, an Iarnrod Eireann spokesperson said they had to shut down the power as part of replacing overhead lines.

There was no option but to shut down the entire network, he said.

"The contractors can execute this for us and for the taxpayers most effectively by taking a large chunk of the network at a time," he added.

"There is no way you can make an omelette without breaking an egg," the spokesperson said.

The decision to opt for weekend closures was made to minimise the impact on the 90,000 peak-time passengers who use the Dart on weekdays.

The Dart is used by 50,000 people on Saturdays and 37,000 every Sunday.

The plan is to increase peak capacity on Dart by 30pc by building longer platforms capable of handling trains with more carriages.

Dublin Bus has been asked to double the number of buses operating on routes adjacent to the Dart on the southside (routes 7, 45, 46A, 59 and 84). But there will be no special buses from Dart stations and those holding Dart or commuter rail season tickets will have to go to their Dart stations to look for bus passes.

What the FCUK?! Of all the... I mean how can they..? Have they even THOUGHT the consequences through? Is there any little brain cell in their heads that will allow them project the consequences of these actions?!

I use the DART to get home every weekend. Fortunately, I can get a bus almost as directly but not everyone can. This could be adding hours on to people's journeys. And what compensation will they get from CIE? May a tanoy announcement, "We're sorry to announce that all the trains north have been cancelled [pause] due to operational problems at [pause] everywhere." Yeah, that's worth it. And no a bus pass is no compensation if you have to take two buses in place of one train journey.

CIE: bunch of incompetent twats.

And as for giving us four days notice? I spit on you, I SPIT ON YOU.
:mad: :mad:

commuterised

I heard this on the radio this morning and then checked it up online just to make sure. I can't believe they've only given 4 days notice to people who use the service at weekends. This is going to cause chaos coming up to Christmas.

I just don't understand why no-one has a brain, they are urging us to get our cars off the roads and use public transport and now they're pushing us back onto the roads.
fools

Borzoi

As Marion Finucane said this morning:
"I thought it was Aprils Fools Day"

Surely this is final proof the Iarnrod Eireann feel their job is to run a railway, and not to provide a public transport service.

Really for this piece of idiocy the board should be sacked as a group, the chief engineer replaced - preferably with the Spainiard who put the Madrid metro system in.

kamobe

I live in Blanchardstown, work in Bray, and go to college in Maynooth. The only way I can do this is using the trains. I have to work at least 20 hours a week, which means working saturdays.

If this is true, it basically means I have to quit my job, because there is no way I could make it out on time (9 on saturdays) using the busses.

dmeehan

i wasnt surprised at all...
its just typical of irish rail, nothing new here

ixoy

Originally posted by Borzoi
As Marion Finucane said this morning:
"I thought it was Aprils Fools Day"

Me too. I looked for a disclaimer at the end of the article. Something saying "CIE later admitted it was a joke". Obviously they knew they're going to slaughtered by the public, and wanted to stave off the bloodbath. And we're meant to bleedin' well sympathise with them and support their call not to broken up?! Well you've just shot your chances to hell with about 60,000-70,000 customers. Congratulations :rolleyes:

Really for this piece of idiocy the board should be sacked as a group, the chief engineer replaced - preferably with the Spainiard who put the Madrid metro system in.

Ah but we can't put the Spaniard in - he sounds competent. Would you really feel it was an Irish rail system if it was done well and within budget?
What's the betting it will run beyond 18 months, cost twice as much as predicted, and won't work properly in the end... Here's the link to them putting a positive spin on it. They spend most of the page talking about the great benefits of this work rather than focusing on how it's going to uttrely fcuk up people's plans. My favourite bit is at the end of the announcement because it's the Irishrail classic:

Iarnrod Eireann wishes to apologise to customers for the inconvenience this may cause.

Are they taking the proverbial or what?

Scruff

****s sake, it was a pain in the arse having to get off at Pearse instead of Tara Street for the last few months but this if ****ing rediculous. Why the **** cant they work from 1 am to 5am for 4 nights a week? They extra money they'd have to pay would be countered by not losing revenue at the weekends.
kuntz!

Mr E

What's the betting it will run beyond 18 months, cost twice as much as predicted, and won't work properly in the end...

Don't forget the ticket price hike by the end of it to make up for lost revenue.... :rolleyes:

- Dave.

Scruff

They're talking about it on newstalk 106 at the moment. seems they say they're working through the night during the week an all weekend from the last train friday night until the first train monday morning.

People who have monthly or yearly rail tickets will be issued with rambler tickets for the bus.

All stations to get wheelchair access.

Overhead lines need to be upgraded....

FinoBlad

I can't believe people are moaning about this, its great news.

TUTS

Whats all this Dart malarky?? Sure ye can all buy bicycles.......
ha! :rolleyes:

BuffyBot

Fair enough the work needs to be done, and people will be inconvenienced. I cannot for the life of me see why they haven't or couldn't organise a rail replacement bus service.

Walls

Do you BELIEVE this!! It's outrageous!! It is a serious inconvenience for me - for others it will be disastrous!

Kenshin

What. The. Fuck.

I'm completely dependant on the Dart, so now I can't go anywhere on weekends?

I don't think they'll be able to hold this up for long

Mr E

There are calls for all work on the lines to be suspended on the 4 weekends before xmas. Which is something, I suppose....

- Dave.

Victor

Southside DART services face disruption
From:ireland.com
Tuesday, 7th October, 2003

South Dublin and Wicklow residents face months of commuter disruption with the announcement that there will be no weekend DART services south of Pearse St station until the middle of next year.

Iarnród Éireann said last night the lines are being closed to allow for the first phase of the €176 million track and station upgrading designed to increase the capacity of DART services by 30 per cent.

The weekend service suspension begins this Saturday and the upgrading work will take place every weekend between Grand Canal Dock and Greystones until "mid-2004".

The company said improvements were needed in order "to allow DART capacity keep pace with our growing city".

Under the second phase of the work, some weekend services will be disrupted for up to 18 months. As well as the DART, the Dublin Connolly to Arklow/Rosslare service will also be affected under phase one. Extra buses will be provided to cater for commuters on all cancelled services.

Dublin Bus will double the number of buses operating on routes adjacent to the DART in south Dublin, including routes 7, 45, 46A, 59 and 84. Under the first phase of the upgrading, the maximum capacity on the DART every hour in each direction will be increased to 16,000, from 11,800 currently.

Platforms will be lengthened to facilitate eight-carriage DARTS, instead of the six-carriage trains currently in use.

The power supply network will also be upgraded in order to facilitate the bigger trains, and stations will be enlarged in order to accommodate higher passenger numbers.

All stations will have full wheelchair accessibility and a new turn-back facility will also be built at Dún Laoghaire to accommodate the larger eight-carriage trains.

Mr Peter Cuffe, DART upgrade programmer manager, said Iarnród Éireann had planned the works for weekends in order to avoid disruption to those travelling on weekdays. "We will move into the stations late on Friday nights after the last DART has gone and work around the clock through to early Monday morning so we can do a full week's work in a weekend, which is off-peak time for our DART and commuter services," he said.

The second phase of upgrading is to be completed by October 2005. An additional 40 new DART carriages are on order to coincide with the DART upgrade project, entering service in 2005. Iarnród Éireann has also ordered 80 new commuter rail cars, costing €115 million. They will service the greater Dublin area.

A €43 million rail car servicing centre to maintain this fleet is being constructed in Drogheda, and will be completed shortly.

A €117 million redevelopment of Heuston Station in Dublin is also nearing completion.

gmt

I wonder what they are going to do with the seven day tickets now since they got rid of the 10-journey tickets some months ago. I will probably end up queuing for a return ticket every morning.

DART-FART (sorry for being childish)

Victor

Title highlighted

Victor

http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/breaking/1625787?view=Eircomnet

Iarnrod Eireann castigated over DART plans
From:ireland.com
Tuesday, 7th October, 2003

Iarnród Éireann has been condemned for its announcement that weekend DART users face up to 18 months of disruption as the line is upgraded.

Weekend services on the south side of the city from Grand Canal Dock to Greystones will cease this week for at least nine months. As well as the DART, the Dublin Connolly to Arklow/Rosslare service will also be affected.

Once this refurbishment is finished, work will begin on the northside line to Howth. It is expected the upgrade, which will cost €176 million, will be done by October 2005.

Dublin Bus said this afternoon it will double bus capacity on southeast Dublin routes over the weekends to facilitate DART customers. Iarnród Éireann will also supply Dublin Bus tickets for Rail Only Weekly, Monthly and Annual Ticket holders.

The Dublin City Business Association and the Small Firms Association claimed the disruption would have a huge negative effect on trade.

Mr Eoin Ryan, Fianna Fáil TD for Dublin South East and chairman of the Dáil Committee on Transport, said it was an "absolute disgrace".

He said: "The fact that the planned closure comes as a surprise to the vast majority of Dublin commuters is a clear indication that any information campaign carried out by the company was clearly inadequate."

Mr Ryan called for a transport users group to be established to prevent such "shoddy" treatment in the future.

Progressive Democrats TD for Dún Laoghaire Ms Fiona O'Malley described the row as a PR debacle for Iarnród Éireann. She said it was "an utterly contemptible way" to treat the public. "To give customers four days notice of such a dramatic suspension of service is unacceptable," she added.

Fine Gael spokesman for Dublin, Senator Brian Hayes, said commuters holding monthly or annual tickets should receive a refund.

The Labour Party's transport spokeswoman, Ms Roisín Shorthall, a Dublin North West TD, accused Iarnrod Éireann of showing "contempt" for DART users.

"Only four days notice has been given of closure of the southside line with piecemeal alternatives being put in place," she said. "Of course the upgrade . . . is welcome and overdue. But to do so in such a shoddy manner is a slap in the face to the thousands of people who regularly use the DART."

The Green Party transport spokesman and Dublin South TD, Mr Eamon Ryan, said the announcement has turned into "yet another tale of transport woe for the capital" due to the lack of notice. "The people of Dublin will accept the hardships that come with the construction of new public transport infrastructure, but only if they believe that there is a well co-ordinated plan in operation," he said.

Sinn Féin south Dublin representative Mr Daithí Doolan also criticised the length of notice given. "As a resident of Pearse Street and user of the DART I know firsthand how much this will inconvenience local people," he said. "The least we might have expected is a reasonable amount of notice."

However, Iarnród Éireann rejected the claims, insisting it had mounted a public information campaign to inform commuters of their plans.

Iarnród Éireann spokesman Mr Barry Kenny said: "We announced this work back in March when we had funding approval and obviously at that stage we were very clear that throughout the programme of works there would be closures of sections of the DART."

He also rejected concerns the work could take longer than planned. "By doing a full week's work at the weekend that's how we target it, that's how we get it done quickly and efficiently," he said.

Mr Kenny said the work will be suspended for two Saturdays in the run-up to Christmas to facilitate shoppers.

So people that go from Bray or Greystones into dun Laoghaire or town to shop/cinema/socialise etc at the weekend will have to get the bus.
Many won't bother.
A downturn in business is very likely.
Getting parking will be even more totally nightmarish than it is already.
and as for stopping the work for the two w/ends before Xmas, if people put off their shopping till then, oxygen masks will be needed in the shops.

Iarnród éireann should be re-named to adequately reflect it's bungling...
Any suggestions??

Victor

http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/travel_alerts.asp?action=view&news_id=87

€176m DART Upgrade begins this weekend by Media & PR
The largest investment in rail services in the Dublin area since the DART launch in 1984 begins this weekend.

The first phase of the DART Upgrade, costing €176 million, will see peak capacity on DART and commuter services through the central area (Connolly-Pearse) grow by over 30%, and will ensure that all stations currently inaccessible or partially accessible to mobility-impaired customers will be fully upgraded. The improvements are designed to allow DART capacity keep pace with our growing city, and will be completed by October 2005.

As a result, Iarnród Éireann will commence DART Upgrade works south of Pearse, between Grand Canal Dock and Greystones every Saturday and Sunday from this Saturday 11th October through to mid- 2004. No DART or Commuter services will operate at weekends during this time south of Pearse Station. Intending customers should make alternative arrangements - Dublin Bus will double the number of buses operating on routes adjacent to the DART on the Southside (Routes 7, 45, 46A, 59 and 84). Provision will also be made for weekly and monthly DART/Commuter Rail Only season ticket holders for travel on scheduled Dublin Bus services at weekends.

Furthermore, Dublin Connolly to Arklow/Rosslare services will also be affected at weekends. Bus transfers will operate on all Arklow and Rosslare services between Dublin and Greystones or Arklow, and delays of up to 40 minutes may result.

Phase 1 of DART Upgrade, to be completed by October 2005, will deliver:
· Platform extensions to facilitate the operation of 8-carriage DART and commuter trains through the entire DART area, increased from the current 6-carriage maximum
· Power supply upgrades to enable 8-carriage services to operate; replacement of overhead lines across network
· Improved station infrastructure to enable the safe and reliable accommodation of increased passenger flows
· All stations without accessibility or with limited accessibility will be fully upgraded, including new stations at Bayside and Howth Junction
· A bay platform turn-back facility at Dun Laoghaire to accommodate 8-carriage trains
· Additional sidings and storage facilities to accommodate the increased number of DART vehicles to be operated on the network

Phase 1 will see the maximum capacity for customers per hour per direction increase from 11,800 currently to 16,000.

The DART Upgrade project is driven by a need to deliver capacity in response to demand from routes feeding into the city centre area - DART, Northern commuter, Maynooth, and Arklow routes. A record 24.3 million DART and Commuter passenger journeys were made last year, up 20% in five years, with major growth forecast. Daily numbers travelling by DART have increased from 35,000 when the service began in 1984 to 90,000 today.

Lengthening of DART services from six to eight carriages will be facilitated by a separate investment of €80 million in forty new DART carriages, from Mitsui in Japan. These will enter service in 2005, to coincide with the completion of DART Upgrade.

Schedules of the DART Upgrade project on other sections of the DART network will be confirmed with contractors shortly. However, weekend services on different sections of the network are expected to be affected for approximately 18 months.

A spokesperson for Iarnród Éireann said "the DART Upgrade will deliver a dramatic increase in capacity on DART and commuter services, allowing thousands more commuters daily to escape gridlocked roads and avail of our services. We are delighted to also finally resolve all accessibility issues for our DART stations, to ensure all our customers can enjoy the benefits of our major investment programme."

On the service alterations throughout the works, the spokesperson said "we have planned these works to avoid affecting our customers on busy weekdays. We will move into the stations late on Friday nights after the last DART has gone and work around the clock through to early Monday morning so we can do a full week's work in a weekend, which is off-peak time for our DART and Commuter services."

A second phase of the DART Upgrade is planned which will involve resignalling the city centre to increase the maximum number of DART and commuter services through the central area from the current 12 trains per hour in each direction to 16tph in each direction.

Iarnrod Eireann wishes to apologise to customers for the inconvenience this may cause.

DART Upgrade is funded by the Irish Government, under the National Development Plan 2000-2006, and the European Union's European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Peace

Every ****er in a position in power in this country is a cu*t

Winters

WHY are Iarnróid éireann the only rail operator in Europe who believes that the key to getting more people on the trains is to extend their length insted of increasing their frequency?

This is pure stupidity. Already the DARTs are less frequent then they were in 1986. Iarnróid éireann are a pure fcuking joke. Hearld was out this evening with the front page stating that this would cost Dublin €300million. I think Iarnróid should be investigated or sued for damages. I know where I work there will be a HUGH drop off in customers due to the stopping of DARTs.

FinoBlad

dammed if you do and dammed if you don't,

pity they couldnt spend the money on customers that would appreciate the investment and put up with the inconvenience

Victor

Don't say ye weren't warned.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=88648&highlight=DASH
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=116683&highlight=DASH
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=101186&highlight=DASH

And how many silver Mercedes drivers use the DART for shopping? [/rhetorical question]

Mr Eoin Ryan, Fianna Fáil TD for Dublin South East and chairman of the Dáil Committee on Transport, said it was an "absolute disgrace".

sligoliner, time to pass around your business card.

Borzoi

While mulling over this fiasco today it occured to me, what are they going to do with the train drivers?

Given the notorious history of poor union management relations, in particular to do with rosters, are we looking at a situation where the train drivers who are rostered for w/e work will be paid for doing nothing?

Victor

Can people tone down the language please.

Originally posted by Borzoi
Given the notorious history of poor union management relations, in particular to do with rosters, are we looking at a situation where the train drivers who are rostered for w/e work will be paid for doing nothing?

Make 'em work the Northside - or give them annual leave. Either way It's a nice way to keep them away from overtime.

Originally posted by Scruff
Why ... cant they work from 1 am to 5am for 4 nights a week? They extra money they'd have to pay would be countered by not losing revenue at the weekends

1am-5am x 4 nights = 20 hours a week, allowing for set-up and clear-up times perhaps 15 productive hours.

Midnight Friday to 5am Monday = 53 hours. Allowing for set-up and clear-up times perhaps 45-50 productive hours.

ferdi

Edited and banned. Talk to me when you have a civil mouth - victor

ixoy

Knowing those unionised gits, they'll probably get paid for the routes they're not working and be given a special bonus at the end because of the trauma of getting off of work...
Naturally though there'll be a 10% fare increase to pay for all this, but I think that's fair: don't you?

Ro

Everyone that lives between Howth and Howth Junction put up with this earlier this year and I don't think there was anyone on here moaning about it. But as soon as they start on the Southside!

Considering they'll be working every night and from Friday through until Sunday there's no reason to complain. The people that are objecting probably aren't the ones standing on the platform every morning watching train after train pass them by because there's no room.

K!LL!@N

It beggars belief.
I had been told that something like this would be happening a few weeks back, but i dismissed it because it seemed so ridiculous.
I'm so pissed off about this.
I have to work weekends out in East Point and the dart was so handy for getting out there.
Now i don't know what i'm gonna do. Probably have to bus it into town and then get a dart.
Or else get a bike and cycle all the way or something like that.

Just one thing i'd be curious about.
Are the train drivers and station attendents taking a pay cut for all the days they won't be working?
I'd say it's safe to assume they aren't because if they were the whole thing wouldn't be going ahead.
The union would have none of it.

I don't think we should stand for it.
I mean, it's a public service, a state owned company paid for by tax payers and there's been no consultation process with the public.
This shìt could only happen in this country.

Killian