Navan to Dunboyne rail route revealed

Victor

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0403/1224267629133.html

Navan to Dunboyne rail route revealed
TIM O'BRIEN

IARNRÓD ÉIREANN has released its chosen route for the proposed new line from Dunboyne to Navan in Co Meath.

Services from Dublin to Dunboyne are scheduled to get under way later this year on a spur from the Maynooth line at Clonsilla and serving Hansfield, Dunboyne and an M3 interchange/ park-and-ride site, to be known as the M3 Parkway.

The proposed extension to Navan would, according to the chosen route, mostly utilise the alignment of the old Navan railway line which closed in 1963.

It envisages a route from the M3 Parkway to a stop west of Dunshaughlin, followed by a stop on the western end of Kilmessan, crossing the Boyne river three times before approaching Navan from the southeast and having two stations, at Navan South and Navan North.

Later this month Iarnród Éireann and its contractors will begin geotechnical surveys along the route to assist in the design process. Station and bridge design works have already commenced.

According to the original Transport 21 timetable, the opening of the line to the M3 Parkway is about one year late, while the railway line to Navan was scheduled to open by 2015.

CIÉ and Iarnród Éireann chairman Dr John Lynch said progress with the line was evidence that the company was continuing to use Government investment in the railways to create a “world-class public transport infrastructure” for commuters across the country.

“After opening Cork-Midleton and Limerick-Galway in recent months, and with Clonsilla-Dunboyne M3 opening later this year, the M3-Navan railway order process sees the next stage of the expansion of our network and rail services continue that momentum,” he said.

Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey welcomed the announcement, saying it was “another significant milestone in the provision of a railway line to Navan.

“This is a project I have championed for many years. It is great news for the people of Navan and Co Meath,” he said.

However, there was a more sceptical response from Rail Users Ireland which expressed doubt that the line would ultimately receive Government funding.

“It is good that Irish Rail is pushing ahead with the planning but this is very unlikely to happen by 2015,” a spokesman for the rail users group said

Iarnród Éireann said the railway order application – essentially planning permission – would be made next year.

Victor

There doesn't seem to be anything new here: http://www.irishrail.ie/projects/navan_railway_line.asp

lord lucan

I hope this happens as it's a line that i think will see a return on it and good patronage. Still not convinced we'll see the funding for it though.

dowlingm

The question is whether they will try to send the Tara traffic through there and lift Navan-Drogheda.

Chris_5339762

“This is a project I have championed for many years."

Then why, as Minister for Transport, did you attempt wholesale to block the line with the M3, which is itself heavily subsidised by the taxpayer through the 'minimum traffic' clause in the PPP contract?

Sounds like a can of worms to me and doesnt bode well for the line ever opening.

FlameoftheWest

dowlingm wrote: »

The question is whether they will try to send the Tara traffic through there and lift Navan-Drogheda.

Really! I thought the question was people in Nanva being able to commute by rail...

Judgement Day

Sounds like a quiet news day to me, coupled with the usual poor quality of journalism that I have come to expect from the Irish Times.

FlameoftheWest

Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey welcomed the announcement, saying it was “another significant milestone in the provision of a railway line to Navan.

“This is a project I have championed for many years. It is great news for the people of Navan and Co Meath,” he said.

*sound of a butterfly flapping its wings in Western Samoa...*

Transportuser09

dowlingm wrote: »

The question is whether they will try to send the Tara traffic through there and lift Navan-Drogheda.

Good question. I suppose it might make sense to, that way they wouldn't have to upkeep two lines when one is needed. Perhaps it might free up paths on the Northern Commuter as well, although probably not much.

Sponge Bob

Judgement Day wrote: »

Sounds like a quiet news day to me, coupled with the usual poor quality of journalism that I have come to expect from the Irish Times.

Piss Poor. All they had to do was read the Meath Chronicle back in March 1999 all of 11 years ago. ( the meathontrack site used to have this article)

Minister 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.

he went on

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

Thats all very well but Dempsey said all this in March 1999 and the rail link was, of course , up and running in 2004 just like he promised.

Wasn't I on that ghost train to Dempseyland last week meself.

dowlingm

Transportuser09 wrote: »

Good question. I suppose it might make sense to, that way they wouldn't have to upkeep two lines when one is needed.

Personally I'd rather have it stay open to ensure a Navan-Drogheda Traincare path for DMU servicing and to route around major disruptions like Broadmeadow Viaduct. Having that backdoor could have saved a lot of grief with trapped equipment a few months ago.

Hopefully around 2015+ cement might pick up again sufficient to restart traffic to Platin and get it off the roads, and the placement nearby of Indaver might open the door to running incinerator trains. Ah sure never mind, Dick will have sold all the locos by then anyway.