Part of Dublin to Belfast rail line collapses

positron

Yep, alternate bus service works out about 10 mins quicker for me every day. Some coaches are dirty and smell a bit bad, but most coaches are nice and comfortable, but everyone gets a seat, and there are no stops (Drogheda). I don't mind if they want to continue this 'alternate setup' into new year!

Bluetonic

Anyone know the true cost of a bus journey to Irish Rail on the replacement services, from say Balbriggan, over the cost the being paid by commuters on a yearly ticket?

dowlingm

trellheim wrote: »

Ah ffs with the amount of bridges over rivers etc in IE is there nobody who knows hydrodynamics in the PW department ?

Bray Head commuters better hope so.

sk8board

any update on a re-opening time?

I read that the bridge sections have been replaced earlier this week.

Victor

http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/news.asp?action=view&news_id=541

Malahide Viaduct on schedule for November reopening by Corporate Communications

Iarnród Éireann has said that excellent progress is being made in the reinstatement of the Malahide Viaduct, with the line on schedule to be reopened, with full services resuming, before the end of November at the very latest.

Already, major phases of the works are well advanced, including:

- the reinstatement of the weir, the erosion of which lead to the Viaduct accident, is well advanced

- the 4th pier has been reinstated, with new pre-stressed concrete beams now being placed into position: these will shortly be topped with the concrete bridge deck, which is in situ

- reinforcement of the other piers on the Viaduct through piling is underway

When structural work is complete, the track infrastructure will then be reinstated to allow for resumption of rail services.

The company very much looks forward to the resumption of full Northern line commuter and Belfast Enterprise services before the end of November.

The project has taken advantage of expert opinion throughout, in the areas of hydraulics and environmental issues, soil mechanics, and scour prevention, and designs have been independently assessed by consulting engineers, and the Railway Safety Commission.

The Malahide Viaduct accident occurred on the evening of Friday 21st August, when sea-bed erosion caused the 4th pier on the viaduct to collapse.

Iarnród Éireann’s investigation into the accident is continuing, as is that of the Rail Accident Investigation Unit of the Department of Transport.

Alternative services have operated since the accident for commuters who use the line. Full details are available here. http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/travel_alerts.asp?action=view&news_id=501

Iarnród Éireann thanks customers for the patience they have shown and their cooperation with the alternative services, and apologises for the major disruption to rail services during this time.

musicfan

Newspapers and radio stations (local and national) have been reporting that the rail line will be back up and running ahead of schedule - that the repairs are not / will not take as long as expected.

Going by my reckoning, since it happened on 21st of August, trains should be running by 21st november as IE have been telling us it will take 3 months to repair.

Now we are being told it won't take as long as they said and the trains will be up and running by the end of November.

Somethings not adding up here

L1011

there were originally scare stories of it taking 6 months, not three. Thats 'not as long'.

triple-M

http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/1020/rail.html
So i Take it buses to and from belfast have been alot busier lately,is there any chance that translink could take legal action due to the losses incurred,or is that possible considering that enterprise is jointly run by ie and translink??

leeroybrown

musicfan wrote: »

Somethings not adding up here

I'm open to correction but I think that Irish Rail originally said 'at least three months' which in turn became 'three months' in the media. The media are correct in saying that the repairs won't take as long as expected as they themselves had help scare commuters into thinking that they would take six months.

Victor

triple-M wrote: »

http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/1020/rail.html
So i Take it buses to and from belfast have been alot busier lately,is there any chance that translink could take legal action due to the losses incurred,or is that possible considering that enterprise is jointly run by ie and translink??

There was talk of compensation at the time of the collapse

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8315508.stm

medoc

Not sure if this is old news here but I just heard that the line is planned to reopen on November 16th unless there are unforseen problems

biffoman

yeh your right there was a spin doctor for ie on the telly today giving a bit of spill on how well the repairs are coming along.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/1024/rail.html

Malahide viaduct to reopen in November
watch Saturday, 24 October 2009 22:32

Iarnród Éireann is set to reopen the viaduct at Malahide on 16 November allowing a resumption of the full timetable on the Dublin to Belfast line.

A major rail disaster was narrowly avoided at the end of August, when part of the Broadmeadow viaduct, just outside the north Dublin town, collapsed into the estuary, just after a train had passed over it.

Victor

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1026/1224257457201.html

Rail line to reopen just under three months after Malahide viaduct collapse
TIM O'BRIEN

IARNRÓD ÉIREANN intends to reopen its northern line across the Malahide viaduct on November 16th, pending approval by the Railway Safety Commission, the company has said.

In a statement, the company said work was well advanced on the reconstruction of the viaduct and services are on schedule to resume by Monday, November 16th. Train services have been disrupted since a section of the viaduct collapsed on August 21st.

A spokesman said the full timetable on the Dublin to Belfast line would resume next month after almost three months of bus transfers between stations along the route.

Iarnród Éireann has spent more than €4 million rebuilding a weir which had collapsed and reinstituting a pillar on which the viaduct stands. Reinforcement to other pillars was also carried out, and the works have also included replacement of the bridge.

An Iarnród Éireann spokesman expressed satisfaction that despite some initial estimates that the work could take up to a year, passenger disruption will have been kept to a minimum, and the line will reopen within three months of the incident.

He added that work was in its final stages and, providing that it passes the necessary safety assessments, the full normal schedule will resume in three weeks.

Separate investigations into the collapse by Iarnród Éireann and the Railway Safety Commission are ongoing.

A commission spokeswoman said it was “working closely with Iarnród Éireann” on the rebuilding of the bridge, and added: “While we do not yet have all the evidence necessary to provide formal approval for passenger service, it appears from the meetings and discussions held that Iarnród Éireann are moving in the right direction to meet their reconstruction programme.”

The commission is required to carry out safety tests of all new rail infrastructure. However, it is not required to carry out routine safety testing, which a spokeswoman said was a matter for the system operator.

Iarnród Éireann had assessed the Malahide viaduct just four days before the collapse, and no remedial action which might have prevented the collapse of the bridge was carried out.

Fine Gael transport spokesman Fergus O’Dowd said catastrophic loss of life could have occurred, as there was four metres of water in the estuary at the time.

Labour Party transport spokesman Tommy Broughan TD said the viaduct collapse “could have been one of the most horrendous events in the history of our country”, with hundreds of lives lost, and “we could have been attending funerals for weeks”.

Iarnród Éireann said its inspection regime for bridges on the rail network will change following the Railway Safety Commission’s investigation into the collapse.

PHOTO: Repair works under way at the Malahide viaduct at Broadmeadow Estuary, Dublin. A spokesman said the full scheduled services on the Dublin to Belfast line will resume next month after almost three months of bus transfers between stations along the route.
Photograph: Matt Kavanagh

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/1024/breaking20.htm

Train services across the Malahide viaduct on the Dublin-Belfast rail line will be restored in the middle of next month, Iarnród Éireann has announced.

There has been significant distruption to the Northern commuter and Belfast Enterprise services after a 20-metre section of the viaduct collapsed across Broadmeadow estuary, north of Malahide station on Friday August 21st.

The collapse occurred just minutes after a train full of passengers had passed over the viaduct.

In a statement on its website today, Iarnród Éireann said it was pleased to inform customers that work was “well advanced” on the reconstruction of the viaduct, and said ervices were on schedule to resume by Monday November 16th.

It again apologised for the “severe inconvenience” caused to customers.

Up to 20,000 rail journeys a day, split evenly in and out of the city centre, have been replaced by road transport since the viaduct collapsed. Dublin Bus has put extra services on routes from towns in north Dublin affected by the disruption to the rail service.

Iarnród Éireann has worked around the clock and spent over €4 million repairing the pier that collapsed, rebuilding the weir upon which the viaduct stands, reinforcing the other piers and replacing the bridge.

At the time of the collapse, some estimates suggested the repair work could take up to a year.

Separate investigations by Iarnród Éireann and the Railway Safety Commission are continuing.

Additional reporting: PA

dcr22B

Has anybody else heard that the 16th November re-opening may be delayed by two weeks due to a stress test failure of the new bridge?

milly4ever

dcr22B wrote: »

Has anybody else heard that the 16th November re-opening may be delayed by two weeks due to a stress test failure of the new bridge?

cannot see anything on iarnod eireann or translink website about re-opening yet, and 16th november is quite soon, so i hope there hasnt been a delay!

October

I hope there is a delay - love the buses:)

Has anyone heard of a private bus company starting a Balbrigan - Dublin service?

Victor

dcr22B wrote: »

Has anybody else heard that the 16th November re-opening may be delayed by two weeks due to a stress test failure of the new bridge?

I've heard no such thing. However, seeing as they are doing track work the weekend before, I suspect that the stress testing si being done before the 16th.

http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/general_news.asp?action=view&news_id=552

Track Improvement Works - Malahide/Balbriggan - Sat 7 & Sun 8 Nov by Corporate Communications

Due to Track Improvement Works between Malahide and Balbriggan on Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th November all Northern Commuter rail services will operate to/from Balbriggan only with bus transfers in operation between Balbriggan and City Centre.

Iarnrod Eireann regrets any inconveniene this essential work may cause.

rameire

from rte at 9.07pm

The work is in its final stages now and Iarnród Éireann says that providing the work passes the necessary safety assessments, the full normal schedule will return on Monday 16 November.

Ham'nd'egger

This went out on the RPSI news bulletin today....

The bridge trials commenced on Thursday 12th November with an empty De Dietrich. The morning was fairly awful weather at Malahide with incessant rain. The set, hauled by 208, arrived from Connolly and at exactly 10am it moved slowly on to the viaduct. It passed slowly across and was clear of the bridge in less than five minutes and proceeded to travel in the Drogheda direction at reduced speed.

A Tara Mines train (072 + 12) which had been waiting in Skerries loop arrived at the Malahide outer signal north of the viaduct where it remained for forty minutes or so on the up road before moving on to the bridge, stopping with the loco clear of the bridge and with just the rear two wagons on the new section. The train was divided, with 072 + 6 moving into the station to move on to the down road when it reversed out to stop on the viaduct with again only the two rearmost wagons on the new section.

The procedure was reversed around 14.30 and at 14.50 the recombined train moved off to the north wall (this time in bright sunshine!) with tremendous sound effects from 072!

sk8board

to be fair, I think they seem to be doing a great job in getting this opened up again. I'm pleasently surprised!

it goes to show, even when you're completely incompetent, if you're losing millions each day in lost revenue and costs to Bus Eireann & Dublin bus, you can get off your a>se and assess, plan and complete a pretty big infrastructure problem in a quick efficient manner.

roll on the 16th.

The did have the advantage of having skilled contractors "available" at a moments notice.
Had it happened a couple of years ago or next year, these contractors wouldn't have been available, either busy or emigrated!

Captain Chaos

More tests were run today, a heavy freight train of flat panel wagons and an 071 class loco left North Wall yard and crossed over Malahide viaduct and went on to Platin.

The same Tara Mine train that yesterday went over the viaduct came back from North Wall still full with loco 075. The train was split in two again and rested on both tracks on the new part of the viaduct for most of the day as a load test, with about 1,200 tonnes total weight on or near the new part of the viaduct.

Run_to_da_hills

sk8board wrote: »

It goes to show, even when you're completely incompetent, if you're losing millions each day in lost revenue and costs to Bus Eireann & Dublin bus, you can get off your a>se and assess, plan and complete a pretty big infrastructure problem in a quick efficient manner.

roll on the 16th.

TBH DB badly needed this bit of short term cash injection.

lostexpectation

Deleted User wrote: »

http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/1024/rail.html

nobody got killed but there was a disaster a main line rail bridge collapsed

Hungerford

Is anyone else stunned that IE haven't introduced some form of special order to entice customers back on the line?

I would have assumed that there would have been some reopening deals as a way of attracting customers back away from the buses. I know that Translink have.

Then again, maybe Dick Fearn wants to hand over the Belfast-Dublin corrider to his enthusiast mates from Britain. :P

markpb

Hungerford wrote: »

I would have assumed that there would have been some reopening deals as a way of attracting customers back away from the buses. I know that Translink have.

Almost all the suburban rail-replacement buses will be gone in a week so there's plenty of incentive for people to go back to the cattle trucks. Matthews and some of the private operators might retain some passengers but they won't have the capacity or integrated ticketing to make any impact.

Bluetonic

Hungerford wrote: »

Is anyone else stunned that IE haven't introduced some form of special order to entice customers back on the line?

I would have assumed that there would have been some reopening deals as a way of attracting customers back away from the buses. I know that Translink have.

Then again, maybe Dick Fearn wants to hand over the Belfast-Dublin corrider to his enthusiast mates from Britain. :P

The majority of buses cease operation tomorrow morning so why would they need to offer an enticement?

Absurdum

Northern Commuter trains at a crawl this morning :rolleyes:

Captain Chaos

Yeah, there's a 25mph speed limit over the bridge for the next 2 weeks. It will then be raised to 50mph for a further 2 weeks and then after back to 90mph. But the Commuters top out at 75mph.