Opinion Needed

neilomc

done a mountain of research really. this is the first, firsthand research of my own ive done. areas covered in dissertation have been strategy changes in irish airlines, the need for bus deregulation in ireland and future impacts of motorway development. although ireland is a world away from high speed rail, there will also be a chapter on impacts this will bring.

Irish and Proud

BluntGuy wrote: »

I have to disagree there Irish. On the contrary. Buses are going through a mini-renaissance of sorts in this country with the motorway network completed and more direct routes being offered. The immediate future at least, looks bright for buses.

It's not just the time remember, the price is a very big factor, and travelling with Aircoach from Dublin to Cork is far better value than the equivalent train service imo.

Yeah, the Adult Return bus fare (Aircoach) is €22 from Dublin to Cork - the Adult Return standard train fare for the same journey is €71 according to this.

Regards!

JupiterKid

Done the survey.

I think for key routes like Dublin to Belfast and Dublin to Cork - and the commuter routes - rail has a pretty solid future. I can see lines such as Dublin to Sligo and Dublin to Rosslare and Dublin to Waterford being in trouble given the new motorway network.

Kumsheen

done the survey.

Realistically I think the viable future for rail in this country is with high volume commuter traffic only.
Inter City while nice to have i don't think has much future, it's fairly obsolete at the moment due to journey times possible by car or express bus via motorways.
Upgrading to high speed network to give rail back it's speed advantage is probably not really needed for such a small island where all the cities are only a few hours apart. The advantage gain is just too small over such small distances.
HSR in other countries has chopped multiple hours off travel times due to the longer distances involved. You are not going to get the same benefit here.

I think IE are just pushing for HSR so they can save their own future, they don't care that they will only save minutes and not hours over the car, and the massive cost just to give them back that small edge. As long as somebody else pays for it.

There is a "but" in all this though, and that is future traffic congestion. We have a nice new motorway network just opened at the beginning of a recession. So roads are brand new in good condition and traffic levels are down. Journey times are fast.
Roll on 20 years or so and i'm sure traffic will have grown by then. The network might also not have had much investment over those years,Traffic levels will have increased, so it's not inconceivable to speculate that road travel times could increase again by decent amount. Inter city Rail travel could suddenly make a comeback and be viable again.

John mac

I've completed it.

but

Have you ever gone on holiday within Ireland where you travelled a long distance (100 miles or more)? If so, where was your latest holiday to

I have traveled more than 100 miles but the latest was less than that..


I also disagree with the statement that the motorway network is complete.
It takes an hour and a half to get to my nearest motorway .

Brian CivilEng

Survey done, but can I just say ARGH, why in the year 2012 do you describe something using miles????

My opinions are that the motorway network is far from done. I'm working on a dissertation of my own at the moment, and from looking at traffic levels it seems what while HGV traffic is down, private car traffic is still rising (just not as quickly). We could be in for a shock when the economy picks up.

Also as a civil engineer who worked in road design I'd appreciate the employment...

I'll always use rail when I can plan a journey in advance. €22 rtn Dublin to Cork, 2hrs 40mins, free wifi and the ability to wander around the train. Beats the bus every time. The only plus that buses have are last minute fares. My car was written off during the floods last October and I haven't been able to afford replace it yet. To tell you the truth, I haven't really missed it (my wife has though).

spacetweek

Done. And please use km.

richiek83

Done, best of luck with your dissertation.