Updates on Pearse Train Station Redevelopment

dublinman1990

I know this evening (10/12/2011 - 11/12/2011), that (Pearse Street) Westland Row Train Station in Dublin is closed again for redevelopment works like the previous weekend (03/12/2011 - 04/12/2011)

I had seen that the 2 platforms at Pearse are being set be resurfaced. Is that being finished tonight into tomorrow?

The current entrance had a lot of activity there as well with builders when I was there about a month ago.

I had seen the new Trinity College Bioscience Building is progressing well so far. Any word on that new entrance being built soon?

Is there any word on what's happened so far with all scaffolding on the platforms as well?

Losty Dublin

dublinman1990 wrote: »

I know this evening (10/12/2011 - 11/12/2011), that Pearse Street Train Station in Dublin is closed again for redevelopment works like the previous weekend (03/12/2011 - 04/12/2011)

I had seen that the 2 platforms at Pearse are being set be resurfaced. Is that being finished tonight into tomorrow?

The current entrance had a lot of activity there as well with builders when I was there about a month ago.

I had seen the new Trinity College Bioscience Building is progressing well so far. Any word on that new entrance being built soon?

Is there any word on what's happened so far with all scaffolding on the platforms as well?

There are two new lifts being installed into the station at the Westland Row end so that's been the main reason for the late closures at the station. The resurfacing hasn't taken place yet entirely and they are refurbishing the entrance hall as well; high time as it was seriously dated looking. No word on the new entrance yet.

dublinman1990

Wow, that's historic for me to hear that new lifts are being built in there. :eek:

The roof needs serious work because it give the platforms a nice bright feel to the building.

The entrance definitely needs a uplift right now, even the new sign outside makes a big, big difference.

L1011

Is the new Pearse St. entrance not dependent on DART Underground, e.g. 20 years from now?

Having an entrance there would destroy a popular item of pedantry ("Its on Westland Row *not* Pearse St....") which can only be a good thing.

Losty Dublin

MYOB wrote: »

Is the new Pearse St. entrance not dependent on DART Underground, e.g. 20 years from now?

Having an entrance there would destroy a popular item of pedantry ("Its on Westland Row *not* Pearse St....") which can only be a good thing.

The station was never ever called Pearse Street Station. So pedantic there

L1011

Losty Dublin wrote: »

The station was never ever called Pearse Street Station. So pedantic there

I know, but generally if someone makes that mistake they get slapped with the pedant-fish fairly quickly.

Jehuty42

MYOB wrote: »

Is the new Pearse St. entrance not dependent on DART Underground, e.g. 20 years from now?

No.

icdg

MYOB wrote: »

I know, but generally if someone makes that mistake they get slapped with the pedant-fish fairly quickly.

People seem to think the station is named after the street. Its not. It was Westland Row Station up until CIE named all of its rail terminals after 1916 leaders in 1966 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising.

Anyway, agreed that roof needs replacing. I don't think its part of this particular upgrade project though? Didn't part of it fall through and lead to the station being closed for an evening not too long ago?

Run_to_da_hills

icdg wrote: »

People seem to think the station is named after the street. Its not. It was Westland Row Station up until CIE named all of its rail terminals after 1916 leaders in 1966 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising.

Anyway, agreed that roof needs replacing. I don't think its part of this particular upgrade project though? Didn't part of it fall through and lead to the station being closed for an evening not too long ago?

Was there any 1916 leaders named Tara or Heuston.

markpb

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Was there any 1916 leaders named Tara or Heuston.

He said rail terminals - Tara St is not a terminal station. I've no idea why Heuston was left out though, maybe no-one cares about the west and south west?

I'd be happy if they forgot about second entrances and new lifts for Pearse until they put some proper lights in there. The last time I was there (my first time in years), it was like walking through a murky swamp.

Losty Dublin

icdg wrote: »

People seem to think the station is named after the street. Its not. It was Westland Row Station up until CIE named all of its rail terminals after 1916 leaders in 1966 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising.

Not all of the renamed stations were terminal stations; Dun Laoghaire is Mallin, Bray is Daly, Kilkenny is Mcdonagh while Wexford is named O'Hanrahan Station. Tralee was allocated Casement, Drogheda McBride and Dundalk Clarke. The idea was for the principle stations on the network to be renamed but a good few didn't get new names. Mullingar, Athlone, Port Laois, Limerick Junction, Westport and Ballina, Rosslare, Howth and Cobh all missed out.

Perhaps they ran out of men

goingnowhere

markpb wrote: »

He said rail terminals - Tara St is not a terminal station. I've no idea why Heuston was left out though, maybe no-one cares about the west and south west?

As in Sean Heuston, it was previously Kingsbridge

L1011

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Not all of the renamed stations were terminal stations; Dun Laoghaire is Mallin, Bray is Daly, Kilkenny is Mcdonagh while Wexford is named O'Hanrahan Station. Tralee was allocated Casement, Drogheda McBride and Dundalk Clarke. The idea was for the principle stations on the network to be renamed but a good few didn't get new names. Mullingar, Athlone, Port Laois, Limerick Junction, Westport and Ballina, Rosslare, Howth and Cobh all missed out.

Perhaps they ran out of men

Dun Laoghaire was a terminal station then (boat trains) and Bray was and is for the commuter/now DART - were Wexford and Kilkenny at all?

If they were to re-visit it, now that Maynooth has terminating trains (not having had any trains at all in '66), Ua Buachalla would be the logical 1916 name...

Losty Dublin

MYOB wrote: »

Dun Laoghaire was a terminal station then (boat trains) and Bray was and is for the commuter/now DART - were Wexford and Kilkenny at all?

If they were to re-visit it, now that Maynooth has terminating trains (not having had any trains at all in '66), Ua Buachalla would be the logical 1916 name...

The renaming of railway stations in 1966 had nothing to do with their being terminal stations; it was just certain principal stations with, as I said, several major stations and indeed terminal stations not getting renamed.

Back on topic and work continues unabated in Westland Row over the coming days

Run_to_da_hills

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Perhaps they ran out of men

Edit: Perhaps they ran out good of men

We can now say that all these great men of Ireland died in vain since the country foolishly voted yes in the second Lisbon Referendum. :mad:

Perhaps now they can rename them Barossa, Sirkozi etc.

Losty Dublin

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Edit: Perhaps they ran out good of men

We can now say that all these great men of Ireland died in vain since the country foolishly voted yes in the second Lisbon Referendum. :mad:

Perhaps now they can rename them Barossa, Sirkozi etc.

Errrrr. Okay :rolleyes::rolleyes:

dublinman1990

I agree with Losty Dublin that this thread is about Westland Row and the work that is meant to be done. Not about anyone else's names associated in History.

I agree that I should put that down instead, I'll update
the thread title ASAP.

dublinman1990

I have seen that the new lifts are coming on nicely. I have seen one nearly finished with a glass front on it with blue stripes.

I found this on the new Trinity College Development Called Trinity Central which was finished a months ago. This mentions the new entrance to the DART Station.

http://www.wallsdevelopments.ie/central.html

Jehuty42

The new lifts are coming along, however the old lift on platform 2 was ripped out before its replacement was finished. There has been no access to that platform for the mobility impaired for a month now.

The standard of the work being carries out seems wanting too. The tiling job on platform 1 looks awful, huge gaps and the tiles son't align to the platform edge, so you get a horrible mismatch of cut pieces. When I get late night trains and one platform is closed off while work is carries out, the workmen seem very unprofessional.

When the work is finished though, should look great. The booking hall already looks very nice. I sincerely hope the PA is updated too- it is woefully bad. Just needs to be maintained a bit, it sounds like all the speakers are out of sync so you get awful echoes and interference.

dublinman1990

New photo of Pearse Station Ticket Area here below.

http://transportsceneireland.smugmug.com/RailSceneIreland/RSI-March-2012/i-j5SBwQf/0/M/Dublin-18-March-2012-133-M.jpg

That new look larger Ticket office built into the wall makes a whole lot of difference IMO. It makes the place tidy and more organised with a lot more space added in which is very welcome.

http://transportsceneireland.smugmug.com/RailSceneIreland/RSI-March-2012/i-X6VhKbV/0/M/Dublin-18-March-2012-136-M.jpg

The platforms look good too after being resurfaced.

Cookie_Monster

are they deliberatly setting out to destroy an character Pearse Stn ever had? Plain grey everywhere, ugh

Typewriter

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

are they deliberatly setting out to destroy an character Pearse Stn ever had? Plain grey everywhere, ugh

Weren't the platforms always loose grey gravel before DART?

It looks good and clean IMO.

Pearse still needs a new roof preferably something like
St Pancras station.

Run_to_da_hills

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

are they deliberatly setting out to destroy an character Pearse Stn ever had? Plain grey everywhere, ugh

The Character of nearly every suburban railway station has already been butchered in the name of "safety" and "improvements". One only has to look at the horrendous "theme park" bridges built at Booterstown, Blackrock and Killiney, Victorian granite platform edges replaced by tacky braille edged poured concrete slabs.

icdg

Pearse Station never had much character in the first place. The new look is a distinction improvement - the station hall felt very cramped before they removed the Spar and ticket validation machines. The main problem is the queues to exit on Platform 2 in the morning but other than that it works well. The roof is in bad need of replacement though.

Run_to_da_hills

icdg wrote: »

Pearse Station never had much character in the first place. The new look is a distinction improvement - the station hall felt very cramped before they removed the Spar and ticket validation machines. The main problem is the queues to exit on Platform 2 in the morning but other than that it works well. The roof is in bad need of replacement though.

Pearse Station had great character at one time. For those that can remember it had buffered parallel sidings running under the station canopy where specialty trains could be parked up such as the Victorian state coach for the public view. If they still had them it they could have A39 or something similar on display. I don't know who in CIE made the foolish decision to remove these tracks.

n97 mini

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Pearse Station had great character at one time. For those that can remember it had buffered parallel sidings running under the station canopy where specialty trains could be parked up such as the Victorian state coach for the public view. If they still had them it they could have A39 or something similar on display. I don't know who in CIE made the foolish decision to remove these tracks.

As can be seen in the Michael Collins film.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is that fake stone cladding on the far wall in this picture?

Losty Dublin

No, that's the actual stone finish of the original wall. It was preserved and cleaned by Irish Rail a few years ago when the wheelchair ramp was installed

The roof frame is in place a long time now. It is similar to that in Liverpool Street station in London and is very much intact and in good health. The slating over it is a different story but it would be an ungodly cost to replace given the size of the building and it's height off road. As well, I gather that there is an order on the roof that would complicate it's replacement further.

dublinman1990

Losty Dublin wrote: »

As well, I gather that there is an order on the roof that would complicate it's replacement further.

Are you saying that is the roof in Pearse and of course the whole building is regarded as being a listed structure?

If it is that is a issue that would be a problem for possible replacement of the roof. I would like the see the roof being replaced at some point in the future IMO as it is not maintained very well on the inside.

Hungerford

dublinman1990 wrote: »

Are you saying that is the roof in Pearse and of course the whole building is regarded as being a listed structure?

The facade, the bridge out of the station on Westland Row and the train shed are definitely listed structures. The ground floor concourse isn't, judging by the way IE have messed around with it over the years.

If it is that is a issue that would be a problem for possible replacement of the roof. I would like the see the roof being replaced at some point in the future IMO as it is not maintained very well on the inside.

There was a plan under the Pearse Station redevelopment to strip the roof down to the bare steel, fix any structural issues, repaint it and put on a new roof covering - that is probably still the case. The cost was placed in 2006 at under €10 million. I think that everybody recognises that the roof has to be sorted out.

Replacing the entire roof is a non-starter - it's the only roof of its kind in Ireland and is architecturally significant.

AngryLips

Do they intend to replace the glass panes above where the line enters the station? They've been smashed for such a long time and every time I look up it gives the impression that the building in derelict.

Run_to_da_hills

One major improvement to this station would be to eradicate ALL pigeons, whether this means placing spikes on top of CCTV cams, rafters, notices, culling, heavy fines for those caught feeding them, etc, I hate the sight of these flying rats inside any public building.

Losty Dublin

dublinman1990 wrote: »

Are you saying that is the roof in Pearse and of course the whole building is regarded as being a listed structure?

If it is that is a issue that would be a problem for possible replacement of the roof. I would like the see the roof being replaced at some point in the future IMO as it is not maintained very well on the inside.

Not 100% sure, hence I said "gather". As Hungerford has also pointed out, the roof is unique in terms of it's framework; it's covering materials are another story. If his figure is accurate, that is a lot of money to spend; this is before you consider the disruptions in such a repair. Yes, it is essential that it's sorted out but when it would be done is another story.

Hungerford

AngryLips wrote: »

Do they intend to replace the glass panes above where the line enters the station?

Some of the panes are deliberately missing to accommodate the overhead lines for the DART. The facade was restored relatively recently.

dublinman1990

There are two pairs of new real time CIS Screens (which are working in Maynooth & Greystones) are now up on both platforms while passing a number of times on the DART. There are at the moment a total of 4 displays on both of them; which means that the two older displays are going to replaced very imminently. The older displays are still working there right now.

I noticed two pairs of new lifts are on both platforms are nearly finished. There are a pair of escalators nearly finished there too.

The new ticket office on the ground floor looks fantastic. I have no idea when that opens. There is extra work on platform 1 going on for some other reason. It looks very likely that this work is for extra capacity at the station.

I have viewed some new pictures on the station and the ticket office from the Smugmug website.

http://transportsceneireland.smugmug.com/RailSceneIreland/RSI-May-2012/i-BZVxHSg/0/L/Dublin-Portlaoise-26-May-2012-L.jpg

http://transportsceneireland.smugmug.com/RailSceneIreland/RSI-May-2012/i-g9cspF7/0/L/Dublin-Portlaoise-26-May-2012-L.jpg

The new blank CIS screen is located in this picture is located to the left of the commuter train

http://transportsceneireland.smugmug.com/RailSceneIreland/RSI-May-2012/i-LfSdrjL/0/L/Dublin-Portlaoise-26-May-2012-L.jpg

http://transportsceneireland.smugmug.com/RailSceneIreland/RSI-May-2012/i-PGRmC8S/0/L/Dublin-6-May-2012-095-L.jpg

I don't own these photographs BTW.

SeanW

Hungerford wrote: »

Replacing the entire roof is a non-starter - it's the only roof of its kind in Ireland and is architecturally significant.

Legally, perhaps so, but on a personal level I disagree, quite strongly too.

I had to use Pearse station now and then when I lived in Dublin and it was the darkest, most depressing tip I've seen in a long time, just short of an abandoned warehouse.

My humble opinon is that the station needs a total overhaul, and demolishing that godawful roof would be good start. Fugly thing reminds me of my cousins corrugated iron turf shed. The latter of which is more visually appealing and provides better protection from the elements.

dublinman1990

SeanW wrote: »

Legally, perhaps so, but on a personal level I disagree, quite strongly too.

I had to use Pearse station now and then when I lived in Dublin and it was the darkest, most depressing tip I've seen in a long time, just short of an abandoned warehouse.

My humble opinon is that the station needs a total overhaul, and demolishing that godawful roof would be good start. Fugly thing reminds me of my cousins corrugated iron turf shed. The latter of which is more visually appealing and provides better protection from the elements.

Have you been in Dublin recently or not to see the work happening at Pearse? It is a lot good work going on at the moment but it is only the start of it. If you see the pics above your last post it is really going very well don't you think.

Seeing a lot of rust on that roof I would agree is a horrible sight to look at. I am surprised that it has been rusting for so long; hopefully it won't last like that for much longer.

Cookie_Monster

dublinman1990 wrote: »

http://transportsceneireland.smugmug.com/RailSceneIreland/RSI-May-2012/i-BZVxHSg/0/L/Dublin-Portlaoise-26-May-2012-L.jpg
http://transportsceneireland.smugmug.com/RailSceneIreland/RSI-May-2012/i-PGRmC8S/0/L/Dublin-6-May-2012-095-L.jpg

that's one god awful looking rebuild!

SeanW

dublinman1990 wrote: »

Have you been in Dublin recently or not to see the work happening at Pearse? It is a lot good work going on at the moment but it is only the start of it. If you see the pics above your last post it is really going very well don't you think.

I haven't been to Pearse station for ~1 year, but I like the work I'm seeing on the downstairs section in those pics. Definitely an improvement! Though even if they can't touch that roof, there may well be room for improvement at platform level too.

Seeing a lot of rust on that roof I would agree is a horrible sight to look at. I am surprised that it has been rusting for so long; hopefully it won't last like that for much longer.

Maybe IE is hoping it will rust away so that they can get it un-listed and demolish it. Ah well, we can live in hope.

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

that's one god awful looking rebuild!

How so? (I'm guessing your not a fan of modern architecture).

Cookie_Monster

SeanW wrote: »

How so? (I'm guessing your not a fan of modern architecture).

in general I would be but the whiteness and straight ceiling lines just look soulless next to the stone work. IT also looks really really cheap, the design, the materials, everything. That glass/ plastic wallfront is also awful

dublinman1990

These new customer panels down at the ticket office look very nice.

The new CIS screens are now live, I have seen on most occasions they would have "Welcome to Pearse Station" written on them. The messages are written in a white font like those in some stations along the WRC, KRP and in some areas of Cork.

Would there be a possibility that these new screens could display other messages in regard to delays to DART/Commuter trains in the near future?

Other additions I see in the photos is that there is a launderette called "Quality Dry Cleaners" opening soon (or could have possibly opened already).

Why would there be the need for 2 separate groups of displays (one on the ceiling and then one at ground level) at the ticket office at the same time? Do you not think that it could be a little wasteful?

The same type of software is being used on them to display the train times.

But the new DART entrance at the Trinity College Genetics Building look pretty good.

Does anyone have an idea when that new entrance will open to the public?

carlmango11

The new signage at Pearse seems to be branded totally differently to every other station.

It's just white on a blue background wheras the rest of the company uses white with orange stripes or something similar.

I had assumed it was temporary but I just saw a picture in the above post of these signs mounted on glass panels so it mustn't be.

If it was a nice improvement I wouln't mind but they just look ugly. For example the signs at platform entrances which tell you what stations trains in that direction will service (the London Underground style ones that show where you are at the top and a line going downwards with all stations in that direction). Compared to the ones at Tara Street they suck. The Tara Street ones are properly branded in the Irish Rail style and (from the quick glance I got) seem the better show the service at that platform (changes/forks). The Pearse ones don't explain (correct me if I'm wrong) what stations the commuter trains service as opposed to the DART etc.

EDIT: On a closer look those new directional signs do seem to show DART vs Commuter but in a really non-clear way. The strokes on the right of the line is Commuter and the other side is DART however it's not exactly clear to someone new to the system.

Oh and as I've said before, do we REALLY still need big massive numbers for each platform? Northbound/Southbound makes so much more sense.

Jamie2k9

It's just white on a blue background wheras the rest of the company uses white with orange stripes or something similar.

The blue and white signs are at a lot of stations now.

AngryLips

I can't ever think of a time since IE moved away from the orange and black branding where they have had a consistent brand across the network. It always seemed to be the case that half the fleet and stations would be in the old brand and the other in the new branding. They need to pick one and stick to it and commit to making only minor changes to keep it fresh and up to date.

Sure it will be grand

Thanks for those pics.

I'm glad they managed to incoporate the old brickwork and arches, it looks great.

I must say I quite like the white-on-blue colour scheme. But you're right, IÉ can never seem to get their act together when it comes to branding. The orange and black scheme had contrast problems under sodium lighting, so maybe that's why they've gone for white-on-dark colours. It also looks like they've ignored the Languages Act again on the above signs, which is just going to cost more in replacements. What a farce.

dublinman1990

Sure it will be grand wrote: »

Thanks for those pics.

I'm glad they managed to incoporate the old brickwork and arches, it looks great.

I must say I quite like the white-on-blue colour scheme. But you're right, IÉ can never seem to get their act together when it comes to branding. The orange and black scheme had contrast problems under sodium lighting, so maybe that's why they've gone for white-on-dark colours. It also looks like they've ignored the Languages Act again on the above signs, which is just going to cost more in replacements. What a farce.

Some of those pics of Pearse are available each month from Rail Scene Ireland on Smugmug.

dublinman1990

Just noticed an interesting development while going past on the Malahide DART today at Pearse, the new PIS displays, seen with the white font, are now showing normal arrival times of trains.

These are the ones that would have initially said "Welcome to Pearse".

They are similar to the current batch of displays you will see at any DART/Commuter station, but, with a few differences.

When your train arrives at the platform, you will notice on the top line, it will display the word "Due" beside it's destination.

The bottom line of the display shows a few more differences. This shows the destination and arrival time in a roller blind formation on the 2nd and 3rd train that are next scheduled to be arrive.

It display's other messages, e.g. lifts out of order etc or This is calling at all stations to Malahide etc in a slower speed than in the older displays.

Another thing that puzzled me is that there are now 4 working arrival on at each platform at Pearse which I think is too many. The question I would ask is, do IE have any plans to switch the older displays in the near future?

I'd say it is a very welcome development for IE to put them on officially live.

A suitable idea for future use of them would be to outline delays/suspensions of DART/Commuter services on the PIS displays with the red font when they do occur.

Would that a good idea to use them in the future?

sitstill

dublinman1990 wrote: »

Just noticed an interesting development while going past on the Malahide DART today at Pearse, the new PIS displays, seen with the white font, are now showing normal arrival times of trains.

These are the ones that would have initially said "Welcome to Pearse".

They are similar to the current batch of displays you will see at any DART/Commuter station, but, with a few differences.

When your train arrives at the platform, you will notice on the top line, it will display the word "Due" beside it's destination.

The bottom line of the display shows a few more differences. This shows the destination and arrival time in a roller blind formation on the 2nd and 3rd train that are next scheduled to be arrive.

It display's other messages, e.g. lifts out of order etc or This is calling at all stations to Malahide etc in a slower speed than in the older displays.

Another thing that puzzled me is that there are now 4 working arrival on at each platform at Pearse which I think is too many. The question I would ask is, do IE have any plans to switch the older displays in the near future?

I'd say it is a very welcome development for IE to put them on officially live.

A suitable idea for future use of them would be to outline delays/suspensions of DART/Commuter services on the PIS displays with the red font when they do occur.

Would that a good idea to use them in the future?

I have noticed these new displays also. Sometimes they display a different due time for the train than the older displays. Often out by a couple of minutes.

Does anyone know when the new sections of Pearse Station will open? The new escalators look cool - they look like the ones in Tube stations with the advertisement posters down the sides.

dublinman1990

sitstill wrote: »

I have noticed these new displays also. Sometimes they display a different due time for the train than the older displays. Often out by a couple of minutes.

Does anyone know when the new sections of Pearse Station will open? The new escalators look cool - they look like the ones in Tube stations with the advertisement posters down the sides.

Yes that can happen, but, I have noticed today that one of those new displays located on platform 1 had broke down already.

It was stuck on "Malahide 8min" all day, with it's clock not working. The rest of them have gone back to saying "Welcome to Pearse".

What a start for IE.