Luas Cross City (Line BX/D) [now open]

Reuben1210

Here's a picture from earlier today. The tracks are almost meeting now on Hawkins street.....It's all beginning to take shape!

nowecant

There is also a lot of movement at the Broadstone Bus garage. I reckon that we will see a lot of progress here soon

MJohnston

nowecant wrote: »

There is also a lot of movement at the Broadstone Bus garage. I reckon that we will see a lot of progress here soon

I wonder if we'll see the Broadstone DIT gate open up soon

nowecant

Even if they complete the the Broadstone gate in the next 6 - 9 months there is currently nothing behind it to open up too unfortunately. It is possible that if it was finished off they could put a temporary path across the east part of the site to increase access to the existing elements of the college but this could just hinder construction on the East Quad when it eventually goes ahead.

The Central and East Quads of the Grangegorman development were meant to be under construction by now but were delayed due to legal proceedings.

There have been very few announcements on that whole development for the last 6 months, hopefully there is some good news coming soon.

marno21

All we need now is a few drivers...

trellheim

huge amount of work going on north of broadstone. A cycle along the Royal canal from Cross Guns to Broombridge is informative ...

crazy 88

Can someone explain why the red line after jervis needs to close for so long to facilitate the joining of the BXD line? Surely only a small section of the red line at O'Connell street and Marlborough street need to be dug up to complete this. I can't get my head around why its taking 2 and a half months.

I was already considering cancelling my tax saver over the strikes but now I definitely am. Going to buy a bike instead

MJohnston

danmci wrote: »

Can someone explain why the red line after jervis needs to close for so long to facilitate the joining of the BXD line? Surely only a small section of the red line at O'Connell street and Marlborough street need to be dug up to complete this. I can't get my head around why its taking 2 and a half months.

I was already considering cancelling my tax saver over the strikes but now I definitely am. Going to buy a bike instead

I think they're not just installing the tracks at this point, but also redoing the entire section of overhead cabling and installing the crossover cabling too. If that's correct, it should at least prevent them having to close the line again in the future when the cabling works begin.

Also note how difficult it's going to be for them to do the OCS section, given how they'll have to manage vehicle traffic changes too (I bet they aren't allowed to block off Middle Abbey Street at any point, for example).

Another point is that most people think the 'end of July' end date has a bit of a buffer built into it, and it'll probably be quicker than that.

LeinsterDub

Deedsie wrote: »

Dublin is in trouble if these vital projects are not built soon.

It's too late for that Dublin is already in trouble. The traffic is mental and I say this as someone who cycles . In 10 years time if MN(Lite) is built it will be a drop in the ocean . MN (Proper) and DU should be under way along with a lot of other projects to try just stem the tide.

LXFlyer

danmci wrote: »

Can someone explain why the red line after jervis needs to close for so long to facilitate the joining of the BXD line? Surely only a small section of the red line at O'Connell street and Marlborough street need to be dug up to complete this. I can't get my head around why its taking 2 and a half months.

I was already considering cancelling my tax saver over the strikes but now I definitely am. Going to buy a bike instead

There are significant works involved - it's not just one line crossing another, there are also two connecting lines to be built along with the associated points.

They're unlikely to be able to work at night due to the proximity of at least one major hotel to the two work sites.

In all likelihood it won't take that long (they've not given a precise date for service resumption), but they are leaving themselves wriggle room by saying the end of July.

Reuben1210

LeinsterDub wrote: »

Deedsie wrote: »

Dublin is in trouble if these vital projects are not built soon.

It's too late for that Dublin is already in trouble. The traffic is mental and I say this as someone who cycles . In 10 years time if MN(Lite) is built it will be a drop in the ocean . MN (Proper) and DU should be under way along with a lot of other projects to try just stem the tide.

Yeah, I agree, it's already going past boom levels of traffic, and with more densification of the ciity and continued job growth, the city will grind to a halt in the mornings and evenings, thus dis-incentivising more investment...just like what's starting to happen in Galway, in relation to the endless negotiations on solving the chaotic traffic problems there:

http://connachttribune.ie/multi-nationals-warning-for-galway-no-more-jobs-until-you-solve-traffic-476/

ongarboy

lxflyer wrote: »

There are significant works involved - it's not just one line crossing another, there are also two connecting lines to be built along with the associated points.

They're unlikely to be able to work at night due to the proximity of at least one major hotel to the two work sites.

In all likelihood it won't take that long (they've not given a precise date for service resumption), but they are leaving themselves wriggle room by saying the end of July.

I had occasion to stay in Wynn's hotel in Abbey Street one night during Luas works back in 2004 and they were definitely doing night time works (the drilling kept me awake...unless there was some extraordinary emergency situation they had to attend to...it didn't make for a comfortable night's sleep!
Has night time restriction only come into play with the more recent project?

LXFlyer

I said it was likely - it was my opinion. I can't see how they could do the works at night but perhaps I'm wrong.

The extent of the works can be seen on the maps below - scroll down and you'll see exactly what the junctions will look like.

https://www.luascrosscity.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/LCC-Route-Pack.pdf

theskeptic

FreudianSlippers wrote: »

Sorry, but I see very clear non-right angles there as they do not bisect at 90deg.

The intersection rail piece is now on the traffic island opposite Easons if you care to head down there with your protractor.

Reuben1210

Yes

Reuben1210

Took this yesterday eve! This is where the tracks meet on Marlborough street. They are moving fast!!!

MJohnston

Can anyone confirm that they are also doing the overhead works during this closure?

theskeptic

From: luascrosscity.ie/news/red-line-tie-works-commence-luas-cross-city-project/

The works in the areas will include:

* The demolition and re-construction of approximately 90 linear metres of reinforced concrete track-bed, including the installation of 2 no. new turnouts and 1 no. diamond crossing.
* Installation of new bases for Overhead Contact System (OCS) poles
* The installation of new crossings for 3rd party utility owners underneath the Luas Red Line to enable the removal of certain existing services (i.e. communications ducting for UPC and BT, gas connections, public lighting and traffic signalling ducting and the reconstruction of a deep drainage manhole)
* Installation of new negative return cabling system (i.e. Luas electrical works)
* Reconstruction of the carriageways in the vicinity of the new track-works
* Installation of imprinted concrete finishes to new Luas tracks
* Installation of replacement detector loops at junctions
* Testing and Commissioning of all of the above works prior to re-opening the line to passenger service

MJohnston

Interesting, so they'll have to shut this part of the line again in the future to do the overhead cabling? I'm surprised they don't do it all at once, but I presume there's a good reason for that/it doesn't actually take that long.

jamo2oo9

MJohnston wrote: »

Interesting, so they'll have to shut this part of the line again in the future to do the overhead cabling? I'm surprised they don't do it all at once, but I presume there's a good reason for that/it doesn't actually take that long.

Installation of new negative return cabling system (i.e. Luas electrical works)

They are doing the overhead cabling works.

MJohnston

jamo2oo9 wrote: »

Installation of new negative return cabling system (i.e. Luas electrical works)

They are doing the overhead cabling works.

Hmmm, on the Work Timeline on the Luas Cross City site, overhead works are described differently from "the myriad of electrical and mechanical systems" - but if this negative return cabling system is the overhead stuff, then it's good they're doing it too!

ricimaki

The negative return is part of the tracks. The live (750V DC) connection is overhead. The negative return is an electrical ground/earth. If it was overhead, there would need to be 2 wires going to each tram.

MJohnston

ricimaki wrote: »

The negative return is part of the tracks. The live (750V DC) connection is overhead. The negative return is an electrical ground/earth. If it was overhead, there would need to be 2 wires going to each tram.

This is what I was thinking.

spacetweek

What journey time can we expect from O'Connell Street to the various stations that will be north of there?

1huge1

21 minutes to travel the 5.6Km from St. Stephen’s Green to Broombridge
21 minutes to travel the 5.9km from Broombridge to St. Stephen’s Green

Judging by this from the Luas Cross City website, I'd say Broombridge (the furthest station) would be around 12mins, so all the rest within 12 minutes.

Bray Head

OCS to Broombridge will be a big improvement.

SSG to OCS will be the same pace as a brisk walk.

This is old news I know but we will never be able to improve journey times much in Dublin without digging tunnels.

1huge1

I agree regarding the tunnels, but the pedestrianisation of Dame Street will speed up the Luas a lot around that area.

Pete_Cavan

I fear DCCs decision not ban cars from Bachelor's Walk and allowed them to turn left onto O'Connell Street is going to have a big impact on northbound Luas journey times. O'Connell Street lower will only have two lanes for Luas, buses, taxis and private traffic which is going to be congested regularly. After OCS, the Luas should move quick enough to Broombridge but OCS has the potential to be a major bottleneck. Reversing the direction of traffic on Liffey Street and Middle Abbey Street would be one way of getting private traffic to car parks without having to use OCS lower.

MJohnston

Pete_Cavan wrote: »

I fear DCCs decision not ban cars from Bachelor's Walk and allowed them to turn left onto O'Connell Street is going to have a big impact on northbound Luas journey times. O'Connell Street lower will only have two lanes for Luas, buses, taxis and private traffic which is going to be congested regularly. After OCS, the Luas should move quick enough to Broombridge but OCS has the potential to be a major bottleneck. Reversing the direction of traffic on Liffey Street and Middle Abbey Street would be one way of getting private traffic to car parks without having to use OCS lower.

Im going to assert something with only my observational evidence behind it, but I suspect most private cars turning left onto OCS are going for the Arnotts car park, and not much else. I cycle north on OCS every day at rush hour, and there's barely any private traffic at the north end, its all Abbey Street or Arnotts Car Park bound.

Even then, the volume that turns left there compared to the volume that is heading east down the quays, or right across OCB, is tiny.

I think the bus/Luas mix will end up causing more issues, OCS just isn't wide enough for the way some of the tour buses and coaches park themselves.

serfboard

MJohnston wrote: »

... I suspect most private cars turning left onto OCS are going for the Arnotts car park, and not much else.

Might one then ask whether there was lobbying by Arnotts which resulted in ...

Pete_Cavan wrote: »

... DCCs decision not ban cars from Bachelor's Walk and allowed them to turn left onto O'Connell Street

After all, when a decision is made, one can ask the question - Cui bono? (Who profits?)