M3 railway bridge at Cannistown seems to be missing

IIMII

Well, there are various degrees of blocked, and it is more likely that the project will be blocked for cost rather than engineering reasons because of this.

Ask if is this an insurmountable engineering problem, the answer is no.

Ask if a fix will be expensive, causing closure of the M3 for a time, resulting in additional CPO's, and the construction of massive embankments, and possibly help kill off the project because of cost, I'd say yes.

Either way, whatever about the challenges that existed previously I think think this is the final nail in the coffin of the Navan rail project. This can only be viewed as a cynical act on the part of either IÉ or the NRA, or possibly both in cooperation with the Department of Transport.

Its funny how the bridge needed to bring the railway to the Park and Ride at Pace (after the second M3 toll plaza on the way to Dublin) is being built, but that the bridge needed it to bring it beyond the toll plaza (and into competition with the tolling company) has mysteriously vanished.

I think the message is Dunboyne is being built, but not beyond Dunboyne or indeed to Navan. DWCommuter point re the absense of a bridge just north of Pace on the Trim road enhances that arguement.

Remember the only reason we talk about a direct link to central Meath is beacuse there was previously the direct railway line to Navan. What made building a modern line into Meath possible was the remaining path of the old line as the cuttings, embankments, bridges and viaduct remain.

Bit by bit, since 1998 the reopening project has seen cost after cost added to the project, from €millions worth of sewerage pipe for Kilometres along the alignment from Dunshaughlin to Bellinter, 14 interactions with the M3 as Victor pointed out above, an attempt to build on the alignment at Navan on the Trim road and the odd house.

Since 1998, each little blockage and now these major blockages are underming the reopening drip by drip, and in doing so the credibility that the line was every really government policy.

Ham'nd'egger

IIMII, if you can clarify this for me

Last night I looked at some PDF plans from Irish Rails page on the Dunboyne/Pace line and there is a bridge at the Pace station around the M 3 turn off for the line to go forward beyond the station; it proceeds for 500 metres. Am I to assume that this is not present in Pace first off and secondly, if this amendment was made to the plans of the M 3, how can the developer not have allowed for the Cannistown site? Is this pig headed ignorance of the line and BP's orders or do you feel that Irish Rail have acceded to not ever re-opening the line? My understanding is that there is no Railway Abandonment Order on the line so there is (in theory) a conflict in culling the lines route without same.

IIMII

Hamndegger wrote: »

Last night I looked at some PDF plans from Irish Rails page on the Dunboyne/Pace line and there is a bridge at the Pace station around the M 3 turn off for the line to go forward beyond the station; it proceeds for 500 metres. Am I to assume that this is not present in Pace first off

The Pace bridge is going in - see below. The railway goes beneath the road through this partially completed tunnel

Hamndegger wrote: »

how can the developer not have allowed for the Cannistown site?

I reckon it is impossible that it could have been overlooked, though Cannistown is a borderline area between two different sections on the M3.

Hamndegger wrote: »

do you feel that Irish Rail have acceded to not ever re-opening the line?

I reckon when all this comes out in the wash, Iarnród Éireann will have been found to have been leading us on a merry dance for years knowing they had abdicated their rights privately - that is speculation for the moment though

Hamndegger wrote: »

My understanding is that there is no Railway Abandonment Order on the line so there is (in theory) a conflict in culling the lines route without same.

I'm not sure about that, but the land was sold off and there have been numerous developments recently on the line so God knows how that would play out.

Ham'nd'egger

Thanks for the clarification, IIMII.

I am aware that there has been much property sold en route but generally this would be passed on with the understanding that it can be bought back for railway use in the future. There is some development on the alignment but for the most part, it is fairly flat land with river bridges over the Boyne and Tolka being the major engineering challenges; but in general some minor diversions would be made with reasonable ease. Interesting to note that in Faber-Maunsell study of the line, it went for the old line with some slight deviations. It also suggested a figure circa €96 million for property/land purchasing on the track bed should it be re-opened; does this report allow for M 3 costs?

So now, can we assume one of four options?

1. The M3 consortium know about one Bord Pleanala stipulation about the rail line needing bridging in places but they do not know about other places.
2. The M3 consortium know about it and are willing to retro-fit a crossing point for the line (Most likely above the M 3).
3. Irish Rail/RPA are not willing to or do not plan to ever re-open the line and have not publicly stated this.
4. The M 3 consortium are plain ignoring the order of same for whatever reason.

IIMII

Hamndegger wrote: »

I am aware that there has been much property sold en route but generally this would be passed on with the understanding that it can be bought back for railway use in the future.

This is unclear. There have been claims by ex-CIÉ employees that buy-back clauses were inserted in the terms of sale. Apparently when 1000m of the Navan-Kells line was reopened for Tara Mines, these were used according to a CIÉ rep involved in that. Nothing concrete to go one and no idea where to check to be honest.

Hamndegger wrote: »

river bridges over the Boyne and Tolka being the major engineering challenges

The Tolka passes beneath the railway 3 times. All three crossings including the one at Pace are likely to retained. The Boyne bridge at Bective is in mint condition and has been kept clear of ivy and maintained by it's owners. If the Milltown viaduct was retained, I'd say this will too

Hamndegger wrote: »

Interesting to note that in Faber-Maunsell study of the line, it went for the old line with some slight deviations. It also suggested a figure circa €96 million for property/land purchasing on the track bed should it be re-opened; does this report allow for M 3 costs?

FM didn't account for the M3. All of the reports going back to the 1998 IÉ report use the alignment from the viaduct through Cannistown to Navan, including the recently completed Scoping Study and the in progress Comparative Cost Analyses on the the routes to the west of Dunshaughlin

Hamndegger wrote: »

So now, can we assume one of four options?


3. Irish Rail/RPA are not willing to or do not plan to ever re-open the line and have not publicly stated this.

The likely scenario is 3, and that the ball was IÉ's to drop, and they dropped it. I can't see the NRA bulldozing the railway without covering their back-sides

Ham'nd'egger

Thus far, there hasn't been any issues with land as far as Pace insofar as anything that has not come to light publicly so I'd suspect that further on the route would be as such. I know that the Navan line was used for storage some years after it closed so it's disposal was not immediate. The Harcourt Street line was subject to a similar arrangement and kept fairly clear from heavy development on it's trackbed. I would know where one could check CIE records about same if it is any use to you. I knew the Bective bridge is intact; I was thinking of engineering bridges if in the event of diversion of the line needing as such.

On my 4 options, I'd be less inclined to go for 3 simply as for the M 3 to build a bridge gives rail an option with little to no cost to Irish Rail though how well informed they kept themselves is another question. Given that the M 3 has been besieged with planning and other problems throughout it's development, I can't help but think they are ploughing away and to Hell with the consequences. To the best of your knowledge, has Irish Rail or the RPA been contacted by any lobby group/State Body/County Council/Environmental Group with regards to the alignment being surrendered or otherwise? Meath County Council refer to passenger rail a lot in the Navan development plans and even talk of two rail stations in the town so they ought to be interested in this.

IIMII

Hamndegger wrote: »

I would know where one could check CIE records about same if it is any use to you.

That would be very handy

Hamndegger wrote: »

Given that the M 3 has been besieged with planning and other problems throughout it's development, I can't help but think they are ploughing away and to Hell with the consequences.

That is what I thought originally. I've often stopped the car to look at works on what I suppose you might describe the 'non-controversial' sections even as far south as Pace and the contractors don't react happily to observers even taking a passing interest in the works. There seems to be a siege mentality even amongst the contrators, something that didn't exist on the N2 project

Hamndegger wrote: »

To the best of your knowledge, has Irish Rail or the RPA been contacted by any lobby group/State Body/County Council/Environmental Group with regards to the alignment being surrendered or otherwise?

Well, the 1998 report recognised that the old route was a preferred option, and that carried through to the 2008 Scoping study where all of the 'preferred routes' used that section.

All of the deviations seriously considered related to Dunshaughlin, Kilmessan and where the M3 encroaches onto the aligment south of Dunshaughlin at Rathbeggan.

The only 'if-y' comment I remember was from Iarnród Éireann's Barry Kenny on radio where he said that they didn't own the land anymore so developments on the route weren't a matter for IÉ

Hamndegger wrote: »

Meath County Council refer to passenger rail a lot in the Navan development plans and even talk of two rail stations in the town so they ought to be interested in this.

I think that LUTS (Land Use and Transportation Study) even had three stations for Navan.

The problem with Meath County Council is that they already have dirty hands from the Dunshaughlin Sewerage Scheme in 2005 - €25m spent laying a sewerage pipe and manholes along the route of the railway, which effectively blocks the railway for that stretch and will cost a song to fix.

Mind you they have just spent a couple of €million on the Dunshaughlin bus lane project at great inconvienience to locals and N3 commuters for over a year, only to rip it up a year later to put in new water pipes. It is possible that the sewerage pipes, the missing bridge and the Dunshaughlin bus lanes are all part of the Meath malaise that seems to creep into every major project up here.

Whatever about courting controversy on the N3 and in the N2 ending a fine motorway on a badly designed roundabout that cars crash into and trucks overturn on ever other week, generally the NRA seem to do things properly.

If you read through spongebobs contribution above where he pasted an exerpt from the M3 hearings, there is a part where it is explained that Iarnród Éireann raised objections to the absense of a bridge on the basis that the alignment would be compromised but then subsequently withdrew their objection. The only reason there is a bridge at all is because the residents took Iarnród Éireann's dropped objection and secured the bridges themselves.

The problem is if IÉ walked away from the alignment during the hearings, isn't it possible that they might have 'indicated' in a private memo to the NRA that they no longer required the alignment?

MCC planning office have been saying the bridge is going in all along. So if it is isn't, either the NRA is breaking the rules or IÉ gave away the bridge

T-max

I wonder having read this thread, if anyone knows an engineer responsible for this Section from Siac Ferrovial ? They might just be able to clarify what is proposed.

loyatemu

ask the NRA - they're generally quite good at responding to queries.

spacetweek

loyatemu wrote: »

ask the NRA - they're generally quite good at responding to queries.

There's been quite enough speculation on here. This matter can be resolved easily enough by asking the right people. Let's not fill in the blanks lest we lose the run of ourselves.

IIMII

The absence of an embankment carrying the M3 over the disused railway line is fact.

It's the reason for the absense that is the cause of speculation.

I don't think any reason given by the NRA or IÉ will adaquately explain why ABP/MCC bridge plan wasn't implemented. The former argued against the bridge, the latter walked away from it.

I'll bet my bottom dollar that we'll all be treated to PR along the lines of "plans for reopening Phase 2 of the Navan rail link from Dunboyne to Navan are progressing in line with Transport 21 timeframes. The M3 has been designed to facilitate reopening the line."

In cases like this, you don't listen to what they are saying, you look at what they are doing.

Still it would be good to hear an official explanation.

Sponge Bob

IIMII wrote: »

Still it would be good to hear an official explanation.

The official explanation is that the Fir Bolgs never actually went away but got jobs in CIE instead or joined FF in Meath . :cool: .

Then the Tuatha De Danann swept across the plains of Meath .

The following is what ensued according to my own recent FoI request on the Navan Line from the Dept of Transport
!!!

IIMII

The jungle drums say that IÉ say that construction of an embankment to facilitate the railway is the NRA's responsibility and that the NRA know this.. As clear as mud.

Just on an aside, it was mentioned above that the Tolka crossess beneath the line 3 times. It's actually 6 times. In 2 of those instances, the Tolka is little more than a stream. Of the remaining 4, I think 2 bridges are being retained and a third (a girder bridge at Pace station carpark) is being removed. The sixth is just north of the start of the Trim Road bridge and what will happen there (if anything) is anyones guess.

DWCommuter

The cannistown conumdrum continues.

All bodies involved are so far ignoring my requests for information. I have sought clarification on whether ABP stipulated that the M3 should go over the railway alignment on an embankment with a "box" built in to allow the railway alignment stay intact. This is the accepted understanding of what was meant to happen as the ABP ruling refers to a similar structure at Pace. This is under construction. (The OP has a photo of it on the thread)Furthermore, I had an engineering colleague of mine look at the site yesterday. The realigned local road now obstructs the course of the railway. Part of the original embankment (south of the M3) has been bulldozed from the periphery of Bective RFC. (it was on a falling gradient as it headed towards the site of the M3 works.) The only way the railway can cross the M3 now is by increasing the gradient on the approach from Dublin over a distance of approx. 3km and building a viaduct similar to the luas structure in Cherrywood to cross the local road, the site of the current M3 compound and the motorway itself. It would be the biggest railway (luas excluded) structure built in Ireland since the 19th century. This is not speculation. This is fact. Any knowledgeable person visiting the site will atest to this.

So far I have no doubt that someone somewhere is taking the piss out of campaigners for this railway. The costs involved are already prohibitive and this blatant compromise of the alignment in an era of so called comittment to reopening the railway is nothing short of scandalous. However, Im still atempting to see the apparent drawings on file with MCC. The only speculation at the moment is the exact plan for getting across the M3 in cannistown. But what is fact is that the reopening of the Navan line along the original route (preferred route by all accounts) has been bulldozed into a high cost and major engineering arena.

Im going to keep at it. because I believe that Dempsey, IE and MCC have been leading people up the garden path and they can't hide forever. When I discovered the sewer main a few years back, alarm bells rang, but this latest escapade is the icing on the cake.

Sponge Bob

DWCommuter wrote: »

Im going to keep at it. because I believe that Dempsey, IE and MCC have been leading people up the garden path and they can't hide forever. When I discovered the sewer main a few years back, alarm bells rang, but this latest escapade is the icing on the cake.

Just so you know what you are dealing with . Noel Dempsey Promised Navan the COMPLETE line by MARCH 2004 . He fooled the whole of Meath 9 years ago when he said as follows below, why should he bother stopping the lies now ??? eh ???

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054948917

Government Set To Approve New Rail Service
By Anne Casey, Meath Chronicle, Sat, 6th March 1999

The proposed new rail service to Navan and Dublin took a step closer to reality this week as the government looked set to approve a massive overhaul of the suburban rail system.

The Minister for the Environment, Noel Dempsey, has predicted that a rail link with Navan should be in place in less than five years, and insisted that any passenger railway coming into the county could not be allowed to stop short of Navan.

The Cabinet is believed to be ready to approve a confidential report on suburban rail, which provides for a new inland rail link to Navan, serving Clonsilla and Dunboyne.

Proposals are also being discussed regarding the possibility of taking a route through Blanchardstown and Dunshaughlin to Ratoath and Ashbourne.

According to Minister Dempsey, bringing the rail service to Navan is at the top of the agenda. He pointed out that the Strategic Planning Initiative signalled that Navan was to become a dormitory town of Dublin and said that any housing initiatives would have to be linked with public transport developments.

The proposals have been warmly welcomed throughout the county , with Minister Mary Wallace, pledging to keep pressure on to ensure that government and EU funding is made available for the project.

The Fine Gael leader, John Bruton, welcomed the proposals, pointing out that he had been pursuing this project with his colleague Mary Sylver, for a long time. He warned, however, that it was essential adequate parking and platform space be provided and that there be enough rolling stock provided to ensure a proper service.

He also stressed the importance of having regular services for people coming from Dublin to Meath to work as well as for those commuting to Dublin.

The chairman of Navan Urban Council, Colr. Jim Holloway, outlined the necessity for a rail link by pointing out it was unacceptable that the people of Meath, and Navan in particular, should have to endure the hazards of traffic congestion on the main roads network.

"Sustainable development in the county and a good quality environment demands that this rail network be in place," he said.

Navan Urban Councillor Tommy Reilly said that he would be putting on pressure to ensure that the rail line didn't stop at Dunboyne, but would be continued to Navan. He pointed out that the population of the town was rising and roads in the area weren't able to cope.

IIMII

Word is that bridge plan is being redrawn up at this very moment for Cannistown to comply with ABP

Sponge Bob

IIMII wrote: »

Word is that bridge plan is being redrawn up at this very moment for Cannistown to comply with ABP

Who is redrawing it and who intended not to comply with the ABP ruling .

More importantly who will enforce this ABP ruling ??

Who undrew it ???

lord lucan

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Who is redrawing it and who intended not to comply with the ABP ruling .

More importantly who will enforce this ABP ruling ??

Who undrew it ???

whoever it was obviously read this thread and realised they'd been rumbled:D

Victor

I think the townland is Kennastown with the familiar name of Cannistown.

http://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=53.616064,-6.670659&spn=0.000668,0.010943&z=17

http://maps.epa.ie/InternetMapViewer/mapviewer.aspx - you need to zoom in - its few km south of Navan. You can see the the archaelogical trenching.

Bird's eye view (be careful when moving about, its right at the edge of bird's eye area and can revert to a nothingness). The alignment is obvious if you go a little bit north or south - behind the houses. http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCP&cp=sy2gtngf9pjp&style=o&lvl=2&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=27943303&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1

IIMII

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Who is redrawing it and who intended not to comply with the ABP ruling?

Eurolink is redrawing it. I haven't been able to find out the why of it

Victor wrote: »

I think the townland is Kennastown with the familiar name of Cannistown.

http://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=53.616064,-6.670659&spn=0.000668,0.010943&z=17

That's it. The kink in the roadway is the old stone railway bridge in the pic

Victor

One or two fields west there were a number of minor archaelogical finds

http://www.m3motorway.ie/Archaeology/Section3/

IIMII

It seems that Eurolink took on the contract for the M3 and agreed to design and build the M3 including ABP recommendations.

It seems that MCC have "reminded" Eurolink of this and in recent days Eurolink have consulted IÉ in order to redraw plans for a motorway underbridge (road over rail).

MCC claim that the site of the Dunboyne bridge is further advanced than Cannistown, though by looking at the photos that is most definitely not the case.

The implication being that a bridge was always going in, though that is clearly untrue. Why are they redesigning a bridge now when the tar for the M3 was on the melting pot? And why does it need redesigning?

Cannistown is almost ready to be tarmaced, Dunboyne is still a big empty field with no construction on the M3 itself (N3 has been rerouted but not near rail bridge site).



It will be interesting to see how they (IÉ / Eurolink) intend to raise the M3 when the new Cannistown local road bridge over the M3 (above) prohibits a high embankment to take the M3 over the railway.

Does this mean that the railway will have to be sunk below the M3?

They could always put in the motorway equivilant of a "humpback bridge"

Victor

IIMII wrote: »

Does this mean that the railway will have to be sunk below the M3?

Possibly. However there is a stream a few hundred metres south along the railway alignment that sets a certain minimum level.

IIMII

Deleted User wrote: »

They could always put in the motorway equivilant of a "humpback bridge"

I think you might be right. Or maybe a slight raising of the M3 coupled with a minimal cutting. But there isn't great headroom on that new Cannistown road bridge. I wouldn't be surprised if it is for the chop

Victor wrote: »

Possibly. However there is a stream a few hundred metres south along the railway alignment that sets a certain minimum level.

Yes, and the line is rising all of the time anyhow as it climbs from the Boyne valley up to Navan.

Well, they have said now that they are going to build a motorway underbridge as at Dunboyne - let's see how they do it, and if they can do it in a way that does not heap work/cost on IÉ if they ever get around to reopening the railway.

I still blame IÉ - how can they have carried out a "detailed Scoping Study" only six months ago where they must have consulted with the NRA/Eurolink and have ignored this missing bridge?

Sponge Bob

IIMII wrote: »

I think you might be right. Or maybe a slight raising of the M3 coupled with a minimal cutting. But there isn't great headroom on that new Cannistown road bridge. I wouldn't be surprised if it is for the chop

I still blame IÉ - how can they have carried out a "detailed Scoping Study" only six months ago where they must have consulted with the NRA/Eurolink and have ignored this missing bridge?

Only €2m wasted this way , instead of €20m, there's value for ya

IIMII

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Only €2m wasted this way , instead of €20m, there's value for ya

You know, that's a very good point.

DWCOMMUTER above mentioned the line of the new Cannistown road section crossing the allignment at grade now too, we may now end up seeing 3 new bridges.

The M3 rail bridge, a new cannistown/M3 road bridge and a new Cannistown/Rail overbridge.

Sponge Bob

Its all Noel Dempseys fault that Navan will NOT have a direct ( or indirect ) rail line to Dublin , just for the record.

The man is an arrogant clown ....but then again the 'victims' elected him so they deserve not to have a rail line in Navan for Darwinian reasons !

Elect a Pomeranian with fluent German out there next time lads . It may well work out better in the long term.

IIMII

This weeks Meath Chronicle

Dempsey offers reassurance on Govt’s commitment to Navan rail line
23/07/2008

Transport Minister Noel Dempsey has reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to building the Pace to Navan rail line, as a local Fianna Fail councillor warned that he would not support further zoning for housing in the town unless full transport infrastructure was put in place to support an increased population.
The local minister issued his commitment after Fianna Fail party colleague, Councillor Shane Cassells, sought an assurance on the future of the rail project in the context of the review of the Navan Development Plan which is underway and the climate of cost-cutting by the Government.
Cllr Cassells said that the railway must be more than 50 per cent funded by the Government. It was not acceptable to envisage funding it by “mass development”. In that case, the people of Navan would lose out, he claimed.
Navan Area Council discussed submissions on the draft development plan last week. Another Navan councillor, Jim Holloway of Fine Gael, maintained that provision by the Government for construction of an underpass at the intersection of the proposed rail line and the M3 at Cannistown, a necessary move to facilitate development of the line to Navan, would have indicated “serious intent” with regard to the project. However, no funds had been spent on this.
Cllr Holloway maintained that the status of the Dunboyne–Navan section of the line was fundamentally different from that of the section from Dublin to Pace. “The underpass for the railway at Dunboyne is being constructed and is visible for all to see,” said Cllr Holloway. “Nothing of this nature is planned or in place at Cannistown.”
Cllr Cassells, meanwhile, said it would be pointless for councillors and officials to invest huge time and work in reviewing the plan unless the existing commitment to build the Pace to Navan link was confirmed. Cllr Holloway described it as “imperative” that councilors knew that a railway would be delivered to Navan, and soon, in the context of drawing up the town’s new development plan.
Focusing on phase two of the Dublin to Navan rail project, the minister in a statement this week said it was anticipated that this phase would be “opened and in operation in 2015, in accordance with Transport 21”.
Mr Dempsey recalled that Iarnrod Eireann completed a scoping study in December 2007 in which it examined nine routes, concluding that the project was economically viable. “Two of these routes were found to be suitable and are now the subject of a study to produce a comparative business case, which will be submitted to the Department when it is completed,” he said.
The minister also noted a report that work on the M3 motorway had impacted on the proposed rail route. Mr Dempsey said it was a condition of the M3 planning permission that the path of the rail line to Navan would be allowed for and accomodated. “The NRA (National Roads Authority), like everybody else, will comply with its planning permission,” he said.
Construction work on the M3 would allow for the necessary work to facilitate the new Navan rail line, added the Transport Minister. “Work has not yet commenced on the relevant section of the motorway but, when it does, full account will be taken of the terms of its planning permission,” he said.
Voicing concern about the future of the rail line to Navan, Cllr Cassells referred to two Local Area Plans (LAPs), numbers one and two. It was expected that the station for the passenger rail service would be located in one of these. Neither has been adopted yet but these plans would be considered as part of the development plan review process.
Cllr Cassells, describing the rail line as the most crucial aspect of the next development plan, said it would define where future development would occur in the Trim Road area of Navan. “It will define levels of economic growth in the town,” he added.
Cllr Holloway, however, voiced scepticism about the Navan rail project. He said that the scoping study, completed late last year, had come down on the side of using the alignment of the old railway line to Navan, adding that the work currently underway on the M3 in the area of Cannistown made “no provision for an underpass or other mechanism for a proposed intersection of a railway with the motorway”.
He said he had raised this issue at council level last year and was informed of some “embankment” being in place, something he found “unconvincing” then. He said that the absence of a serious plan to address this issue suggested to him that any assurances from Minister Dempsey lacked credibility.
Cllr Holloway said that the only money spent to date had been the outlay on the scoping study. He said it was clear that no money had been spent or was to be spent now on building an underpass at the intersection of the proposed railway line and the M3 at Cannistown which was necessary to facilitate the delivery of the railway to Navan. “To have provided for this in some visible manner would have shown some serious intent,” said the FG councillor.
In response to a direct question on whether the Navan rail line would go ahead, the minister this week replied “yes”.
The first phase of the Navan rail line involves reopening 7.5km of railway line running off the Maynooth line, at Clonsilla, to the M3 interchange at Pace, near Dunboyne. An Bord Pleanála approved a Railway Order on 29th February 2008 - the equivalent of planning permission for a new rail scheme - to construct the 7.5 Kilometre line from Clonsilla on the existing Dublin-Maynooth commuter line to the M3 interchange at Pace, north of Dunboyne.

IIMII

[same edition as article above]
Meath Chronicle, 3rd July, 2008

Proposals to introduce parking charges at the new park and ride facility at the commuter railway station in Dunboyne has met with a furious local reaction.
Angry commuters point out that, between two M3 tolls and parking charges, commuters from north Meath hoping to avail of the new rail link from Dunboyne into the city could face charges of up to €50 a week, or €2,500 a year, making Meath one of the most expensive counties in which to live and commute from.
Last week, CIE confirmed that that it was introducing the charges at dozens of railway station in the commuter area, including Laytow,n and probably the proposed new facility at Dunboyne. Charges are already in place at Gormanston station in east Meath.
Deputy Damien English described the decision as grossly unfair and said it was nothing more than a stealth tax that would hurt commuter families who have no choice but to pay the fees to get to work.
“Not only do workers in commuter towns have to suffer from long commutes, but now they’ll have to fork out an additional €500 a year to CIE. In an economic situation where every penny counts and with inflation skyrocketing, the imposition of additional charges on the workers will do nothing to help struggling families or the struggling economy,” he said.
“This year, Iarnród Eireann received an operating subsidy of €196 million from taxpayers and, if CIE insists on introducing this charge on commuters, then the Minister for Transport should definitely cut their subsidy by whatever amount CIE makes off the backs of hard-pressed commuters. CIE should be focused on improving their efficiencies while reducing their operating costs instead of levying another stealth tax on commuters,” he added.
He said Transport Minister Noel Dempsey should either order CIE to drop this charge or cut the Iarnród Eireann subsidy.
The proposals were described as totally unacceptable by Senator Dominic Hannigan. “Plans to ask people to fork out another eight euro a week for car parking facilities that have been free for years cannot be allowed to proceed,” he said.
“I feel strongly that commuters should be able to claim tax back on these parking charges, just as they are able to do with their train fares. I raised this issue in the Seanad and was told that the Government would consider it, but I feel this change is imperative and needs to be introduced immediately.” He also said that the charges should be well regulated.
“Train fare increases require ministerial approval; however, these parking charges can be raised at will by Irish Rail and we need to avoid a situation where parking charges are at an inflation busting level with no end in sight. Regulation of these charges is the best answer,” he said.
“If these fees are to be introduced, it is very important that any revenue raised at local stations must be spent in local stations, not miles away from the people handing over the money.”
Cllr Joe Reilly said that in a situation where the Govt was trying to encourage people to use public transport, there should be no charges at the proposed park and ride facility at Pace until people got used to using it. He said that the parking charges would force people to use the roads and the combination of parking charges and tolls would make Meath one of the dearest counties to live and work in.
“We are trying to attract industries into Meath but all these charges are a disincentive,” he said.
Cllr Tommy Reilly said he didn’t believe that €2 a day was excessive for somebody travelling into the city for a day but felt there should be good reductions for regular commuters. Cllr Noel Leonard said it was important to keep costs down as much as possible in order to encourage more people to use trains.
He said that the new parking charges at Dunboyne, along with tolls and train fares, would leave commuting from the north of the county via the train at Dunboyne fairly expensive.