Trinity and the Metro

Time Magazine

Right, so in the eternal search for procrastination I've been googling the tunnels. Since its recent contract with TCD, Google is now in cahoots with the Provost to hide the knowledge of our famous tunnels from those pesky undergraduate Pensioners. As a result of this frustration and eternal quest for procrastinating the temporary rote-learning of derivations of the Chain Rule in Rⁿ space, myself and europerson distracted ourselves with the impending destruction of our underground by choo-choo trains ten metres beneath the ground.

The Buildings Office have a fairly nice summary of the proposed Metro lines, albeit a little out of date now that the government seem to have chosen the Central Route, as can be viewed by the blue line in this MS Paint drawing.

The Metro will seemingly enter College grounds at the South Frederick Street-Nassau St junction and tunnel under the James Ussher Library, the Berkeley Library, the Museum Building, the Rubrics and Botany Bay. Work is set to commence in 2008 so hopefully I will have left the Rockin' Ussher prior to this, as "due to the nature of the ground conditions it would be likely that some vibration would be felt during tunnel boring." So you'll be left with a rockin' Ussher, a shakin' Berkeley and an even more annoying Lecky.

A few concerns entered me and europerson's collective consciousness. The Ussher has a basement. In fact, it kinda has two. Will our dear friends in the RPA suddenly take a bee-line for the Periodicals, or more importantly the Map Library, if they're only going ten metres below surface? If they go a little deeper, will that Corrs CD be found less than a decade after it was sent as far away from a CD player as possible?

Passing the Ussher, what about the famous tunnels-of-death connection from the Berkeley to the Old Library? Surely they can't destroy that?! I expect there shall be an indignant letter of protest from Dr. Benson to that petulant Minister Cullen any day now.

And then they fire through New Square. I fear not for the croquet ladies, but what about the graveyard that they are said to be tunneling through? Might the Rubrics ghost be found around Stephen's Green in years to come, only to catch the 23:35 home? God forbid he'd miss his stop and end up at the airport, I can only imagine what the US Immigration services would make of him.

Finally it would cut through all of the eastern end of Botany Bay of which I know there to be cellars and tunnels. What is to be had of them? Not to mention our own little coal bunker behind the fence opposite Pearse St Garda station? Where are me and europerson going to pretend our nuclear bunker is going to based if that has to go? Have the Department of Transport considered such grave and horrid effects on the poor lives of the Pensioners of the College of the Holy?

Well, maybe if they take the CD of The Corrs with them not all will be lost.

ilovemybrick

Ibid wrote:

Right, so in the eternal search for procrastination I've been googling the tunnels.

when i procrastinate i go in the tunnels. admittedly these ones are a little tame but we used to explore all the way around. twas cool.

http://www.bebo.com/PhotoAlbumBig.jsp?MemberId=7124656&PhotoNbr=1&PhotoAlbumId=189811243

InFront

Forget the libraries, what will become of croquet?! Those guys will be handcuffing themselves to their wickets when they get word of this shambles. You can't play croquet with the ground moving beneath you!

xeduCat

Ibid, while I respect your ability to avoid doing any study, I'm afraid you're a bit behind the times: see my previous thread here. (In short, the selected route avoids TCD entirely).

InFront

Not to get tooo political by the way, but this was actually promised as part of the FF-PD partnership for Government manifesto in 2002... to be in place by 2007.

Agreement (... Big Long PDF) Page 13:

We will develop the metro for Dublin on a PPP basis making the maximum use of private financeand achieving a link to Dublin Airport by 2007

Tricity Bendix

ilovemybrick wrote:

when i procrastinate i go in the tunnels. admittedly these ones are a little tame but we used to explore all the way around. twas cool.

http://www.bebo.com/PhotoAlbumBig.jsp?MemberId=7124656&PhotoNbr=1&PhotoAlbumId=189811243

An excellent picture there entitled "neil the pervert". Would have made a great campaign poster and slogan.

I'm still waiting for my invitation to go poking around Iain's holes. So far he's only let Enda have a go.

b.ie curious

b.ie curious wrote:

An excellent picture there entitled "neil the pervert". Would have made a great campaign poster and slogan.

I'm still waiting for my invitation to go poking around Iain's holes. So far he's only let Enda have a go.

As you well know, I did not invite Enda..

he somewhat forced himself upon me!

Time Magazine

original_psycho wrote:

As you well know, I did not invite Enda..

he somewhat forced himself upon me!

You clearly asked me if I wanted to go down. I'd never tried it before and I found it really interesting.

In fairness.. we were all quite pissed..

Yes, Enda wasn't the only one down there!!

BrenC

I want to head down before they;re gone.

I got down as far as the security door once but it was sealed.