National Recovery Plan 2011-2014: Chapter 5 - Public Capital Investment

Amtmann

See attachment.

dynamick

This is the IMF vetted 4 year plan, published today:
http://www.budget.gov.ie/The%20National%20Recovery%20Plan%202011-2014.pdf

Metro & DU still in play...

Further targeted investment in public transport has the potential to unlock productive capacity in the economy and enhance national competitiveness. Such investment will also offer alternatives to car transport, thereby reducing emissions and enabling the transport sector to cater for the demands associated with longer term population and employment growth in a sustainable manner. Key objectives of public transport investment will be to advance public transport projects like Metro North and Dart Underground, as well as rail safety and traffic management programmes and continued planning of future priorities.

Transport Capital budget is unfortunately further reduced. A few months ago, Finance announced the future capital spend for transport projects. This has been revised downwards again so that almost 2 billion will be taken out out of the transport capital budget fro the next 4 years as follows:

Year Amount Prev Reduction
2011 1,438 1,740 302
2012 1,329 1,550 221
2013 1,075 1,765 690
2014 1,001 1,745 744
[B]Total 4,843 6,800 1,957[/B]

This is a 29% reduction although thankfully project costs are also going to be smaller.

There is a suggestion that some NPRF money will be used to fund capital for public transport projects on a commercial basis.

Other savings in current transport spending include:
9m a year reduction in spending on road maintenance
5m a year reduction in spending on RSA
10m a year reduction in public transport subventions
5.5m a year cut in regional airport supports

monument

The four year plan is online, here. It seems to suggest that Dart Underground and Metro North are to go ahead:

5.2.1 Delivering Economic Infrastructure
Targeted investment in economic infrastructure contributes to economic recovery by reducing bottlenecks, bolstering productivity and facilitating an improvement in international competiveness. Investment in infrastructure has positive effects throughout the wider economy – for example by reducing firms’ transportation and coordination costs. The completion of the Major Inter Urban Routes and a number of remaining national roads projects of key strategic importance will be progressed and will further augment productive capacity in the economy.

Further targeted investment in public transport has the potential to unlock productive capacity in the economy and enhance national competitiveness. Such investment will also offer alternatives to car transport, thereby reducing emissions and enabling the transport sector to cater for the demands associated with longer term population and employment growth in a sustainable manner. Key objectives of public transport investment will be to advance public transport projects like Metro North and Dart Underground, as well as rail safety and traffic management programmes and continued planning of future priorities.

Steps will also be taken to facilitate greater private sector investment in broadband capacity.

5.2.2 Supporting Employment
As discussed in Chapter 3, a guiding principle of the expenditure adjustments set out in this Plan is that future capital investment must be targeted and employment-focused. The primary focus of investment must be on creating the framework conditions in which the enterprise sector can thrive in the medium to long-term. In this regard, public capital investment will have its greatest impact in maintaining sufficient capacity in the economy and supporting productivity enhancements.

The programmes supported by Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation and its agencies will be critical in achieving a return to economic growth through promoting the export potential of enterprise in Ireland and advancing the Smart Economy Agenda. These agencies will be flexible and adaptive to the needs of their client base while maintaining the highest standards in investment project appraisal. In addition, future policy will focus heavily on commercialisation of research outputs. Capital investment will therefore support direct job creation in world-class, export-oriented enterprises.
There will also be a level of direct job creation during the delivery phase of valuable public infrastructure. This will assist in retaining a level of employment and expertise in the construction industry. In particular the National Retrofit Programme will give rise to a considerable level of jobs in the construction sector on a nationwide basis.

There's other infrastructure details in the plan.

touts

monument wrote: »

The four year plan is online, here. It seems to suggest that Dart Underground and Metro North are to go ahead:




There's other infrastructure details in the plan.

So the objective of capital investment is to offer alternatives to car transport. The main projects are the Dublin Metro and the Dublin Dart. So if you live outside the M50 there will be no more investment in roads. The last Green legacy. Shutting down rural Ireland.

bk

touts wrote: »

So the objective of capital investment is to offer alternatives to car transport. The main projects are the Dublin Metro and the Dublin Dart. So if you live outside the M50 there will be no more investment in roads. The last Green legacy. Shutting down rural Ireland.

Well that was always going to happen anyway, we have just spent the last 10 years building one of the most comprehensive motorway networks in Europe, a network that greatly opens up and enhances rural areas.

The emphasis was always going to switch from road building to rail based public transport at this point anyway.

Given that almost a third of the Irish population live in Dublin, many would argue that they should have started with rail based public transport for Dublin as the priority with the road network coming second.

schemingbohemia

touts wrote: »

So the objective of capital investment is to offer alternatives to car transport. The main projects are the Dublin Metro and the Dublin Dart. So if you live outside the M50 there will be no more investment in roads. The last Green legacy. Shutting down rural Ireland.

Unfortunately Dart Underground hasn't been protected whilst the Roads have see here

http://www.transport.ie/pressRelease.aspx?Id=257


Is DART Underground going ahead?

It will now not be possible to deliver the tunnel element of the programme in the immediate period. However, some of the re-signalling and associated works, which have capacity benefits in and of themselves, will proceed over the next four years and this will prepare the network for the delivery of the underground tunnel once financial resources permit.

An Bord Pleanala has commenced the oral hearing for DART Underground. It is likely that the railway order could be made by the end of 2011. The DART Underground project is an extensive programme involving the construction of an underground tunnel, to be delivered by public private partnership, and the delivery of various other resignalling and associated works to facilitate the integration of the Northern and Kildare Lines via the tunnel.

What funding is available for roads ?
There is funding of €1,820 million for national roads and €1,045 million for regional & local roads. These funds will be augmented by private funds in the case of national roads and by local authority own resources in the case of regional & local roads. In addition the Government is examining ways of increasing the allocation for regional & local roads including the recommendations of the Local Government Efficiency Review.

So of the Department of Transport's €4.8bn Capital Expenditure, roads get the guts of €2.9bn whilst the NTA get €1.3bn to do Metro North, DART Underground and everything else that's needed.

Raoul Duke

touts wrote: »

The last Green legacy. Shutting down rural Ireland.

Yeah, the Green's are so the party to blame for all this.

Please blame the right people.

Tech3

Public Transport

Is Metro North going ahead?

Yes. Metro North is the major component of the public transport allocation. The planning and procurement processes for Metro North are proceeding. The estimated expenditure on Metro North in the period 2011-2014 is now slightly less than previously estimated because of the An Bord Pleanala requirement to relocate the depot. This will result in a short delay of a number of months in the overall timescale for the project.

Notwithstanding this, enabling works for Metro North will commence in 2011 and the procurement process will continue. This is expected to result in the selection of a preferred bidder in 2012. The final business case for the project will then be submitted to Government for approval to proceed to construction.






Is DART Underground going ahead?

It will now not be possible to deliver the tunnel element of the programme in the immediate period. However, some of the re-signalling and associated works, which have capacity benefits in and of themselves, will proceed over the next four years and this will prepare the network for the delivery of the underground tunnel once financial resources permit.

An Bord Pleanala has commenced the oral hearing for DART Underground. It is likely that the railway order could be made by the end of 2011. The DART Underground project is an extensive programme involving the construction of an underground tunnel, to be delivered by public private partnership, and the delivery of various other resignalling and associated works to facilitate the integration of the Northern and Kildare Lines via the tunnel.

What other public transport projects will go ahead in this period?

We will continue to spend on vital public transport programmes such as railway safety, traffic management, accessibility and real time passenger information across the country. In Dublin the Luas extension to Citywest will be complete in 2011 and a new public transport bridge at Marlborough Street will commence construction. Planning will continue on a range of other public transport projects including Luas BXD, the cross-city link, Luas extensions to Lucan and Bray, and Metro West. Funding is available to commence construction on the Navan Line in 2013. Money will also be provided for the purchase of new buses for PSO services.


What is the position on the Western Rail Corridor?
Phase 1 of the Western Rail Corridor opened this year. While there will be some initial planning and design for Phase 2, further progress will be dependent on a review of the performance of Phase 1 and a full economic assessment of Phase 2.

http://www.transport.ie/pressRelease.aspx?Id=257

dubhthach

touts wrote: »

So the objective of capital investment is to offer alternatives to car transport. The main projects are the Dublin Metro and the Dublin Dart. So if you live outside the M50 there will be no more investment in roads. The last Green legacy. Shutting down rural Ireland.

Eh there are couple road projects listed as going ahead next year that are in "Rural Ireland" namely:
* M11 Rathnew-Arklow
* M18/M17 Gort-Tuam
* Belturbet Bypass
* N5 Longford Bypass
* Tralee bypass

Given the amount of motorway built over the last 5years mostly in "Rural Ireland" you can hardly play the Béal Bhocht now.

murphaph

I wonder will Maynooth see electrification before the tunnel (if it's ever built-what a joke of a shambles or a travesty of a country we really are).

And people were "offended" when the German ambassador claimed Ireland had blown the boom. Boy, was he right.

BluntGuy

There is virtually nothing public transport wise going ahead. A clunky integrated ticketing system, long overdue RTS-displays and a tramline to NAMAland are pretty much all we're going to get.

I agree with the post above, we squandered the boom big time. Two disconnected tramlines is all we got. And while those tramlines are great for what they're worth, in the context of the "boom" it's utterly pathetic.

DWCommuter

BluntGuy wrote: »

There is virtually nothing public transport wise going ahead. A clunky integrated ticketing system, long overdue RTS-displays and a tramline to NAMAland are pretty much all we're going to get.

I agree with the post above, we squandered the boom big time. Two disconnected tramlines is all we got. And while those tramlines are great for what they're worth, in the context of the "boom" it's utterly pathetic.

Nail on head again Bluntguy.

Ive been saying this for years. Even in 2005, sitting in Dublin Castle at the launch of T21, I knew it was political bull **** of the highest order. They never had any real intention of building any of it. The WRC bit was done because it cost feck all. Notwithstanding the fact that it means feck all either.

DWCommuter

murphaph wrote: »

I wonder will Maynooth see electrification before the tunnel (if it's ever built-what a joke of a shambles or a travesty of a country we really are).

And people were "offended" when the German ambassador claimed Ireland had blown the boom. Boy, was he right.

The Maynooth line has already seen a deferral of funding for its resignalling in last years budget so don't hold your breath.

The German ambassador lived here like us and seen the calamity unfolding. But the Irish mindset is different. Our younger generation think it can all happen because they know nothing about our transport history when its comes to Governments. Fudge, smudge and grudge. I genuinely feel sorry for the naievity that is displayed here and wish it didn't result in anger when questioned.

Carawaystick

The motorway network has allowed public transport times be slashed - look at Galway -> Dublin or Galway -> Limerick times on busses now vs before.

same for Wicklow and Wexford to Dublin.

The M20 missing is the biggest mistake of the boom

JohnC.

Don't most buses stay off the motorway network, as they still have to stop at towns and villages between motorway exits?

Pete_Cavan

Kahless wrote: »

Don't most buses stay off the motorway network, as they still have to stop at towns and villages between motorway exits?

Not express buses.

spacetweek

Pete_Cavan wrote: »

Not express buses.

But we have very few of those.

Notwithstanding this, enabling works for Metro North will commence in 2011 and the procurement process will continue. This is expected to result in the selection of a preferred bidder in 2012. The final business case for the project will then be submitted to Government for approval to proceed to construction.

Very disappointed with this anemic timeable. Selecting a bidder in 2012 followed by the business case seems to indicate 2013 for tunnel start which suggests a slip to 2017 instead of 2016.

Sponge Bob

In the OP attachment, Page 54 the intention was to lop €1.8bn off a previously planned Capital expenditure envelope of €6.5bn for a total of €4.7bn/

It is actually €4.654bn ....only becomes €4.7bn with rounding.

Capital Expenditure The capital programme of €4,654m (3.6% of GNP) will be focused on those infrastructure projects that yadda yadda yadda blah.

http://budget.gov.ie/budgets/2011/Documents/Summary%20of%20Measures%20Combined.pdf (page 20)

Transport gets around a third of that

Tech3

spacetweek wrote: »

But we have very few of those.

True but Bus Eireann are starting to see the true potential of express services. Galway to Limerick has a direct bus now running under the service 51X and only takes 80 mins. It uses the M18 all the way.

spacetweek

tech2 wrote: »

True but Bus Eireann are starting to see the true potential of express services. Galway to Limerick has a direct bus now running under the service 51X and only takes 80 mins. It uses the M18 all the way.

Oh, that's good. This is the type of thing I was hoping the motorways would spur the development of.
This is something anti-car, anti-roads types don't get: better roads improve public transport, too.

DWCommuter

spacetweek wrote: »

Oh, that's good. This is the type of thing I was hoping the motorways would spur the development of.
This is something anti-car, anti-roads types don't get: better roads improve public transport, too.

Agreed.

And its not always the case that building bigger and better roads leads to more cars and congestion. Due to Irelands low population many road projects can actually solve congestion problems.