Renaming Dublin's rail lines after people

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989941#Comment_120989941

FF have tried to get the airport renamed after Lemass on multiple occasions

brianc89

I find it strange how some things have been named after historical figures but others have not. Such as the Jack Lynch tunnel in Cork, whereas the tunnel in Limerick is just the Limerick Tunnel.

Given our history with the "Empire", I think Irish people are a bit cynical in general, not necessarily a bad thing! Also I read an article from Australia about a stadium someone tried to rename after a very respected politician, but it was summarily shot down. The article pointed out if the stadium was renamed after a sportsperson, it would have gotten broad support.

murphaph

I don't know about naming stuff after people but I do like named lines a la London as opposed to numbered lines a la Berlin. We could just use the names of the colours as we are unlikely to run out of base colours given our aversion to actually building lines in the first place. Using colour names would achieve the same thing IMO without any risk of any skeletons coming out of any closets later.

GerardKeating

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120991154#Comment_120991154

Numbered/Lettered has ine advantage over named lines in the Irish context, it automagically "biLingual".

bk

Yeah, I don't mind so much naming a brand new line that doesn't currently have a name, like the Elizabeth line, if there isn't some better name for the line.

I absolutely hate the idea of renaming existing lines that people are already used to, like renaming the Luas lines. It reminds of the bullshit with the Point Theatre and whatever they call it today!

BTW It might be cool to called the Metrolink line "The Swords Line", with "Cross & Gun" station, the tourists would love that and it would be some what descriptive in the name :)

But for stations/airports, I think descriptive names are generally much more useful. Think as a tourist, what sounds better for the following:

• James Joyce Airport or Dublin Airport
• John Lennon Airport or Liverpool Airport
• Ceannt Station or Galway Station
• Parnell Place Station or Cork Bus Station
• Michael Collins Station or Blarney Station (made up example of a future proposed station).

John Lennon Airport is a good example of this nonsense, despite the name change, the website for the airport is liverpoolairport.com and the IATA for it is LPL. In other words everyone ignores the stupid new name and still just call it Liverpool Airport.

Also I think the Blarney Station example above is a good example of why this would be a bad idea for a completely new station. No one would know where a new Michael Collins Station is, but everyone would instantly know where Blarney Station is.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989382#Comment_120989382

Never heard anyone say Limerick station. Always called Colbert when it's been named in Limerick (obviously it just gets called "the station" a lot)

Irish Rail are right to call them "Limerick (Colbert)" though as it would be ridiculous to just say Colbert in the age of international tourism.

GerardKeating

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120991311#Comment_120991311

With respect to your Liverpool Airport comment, in the past when airports change name, the IATA code does not normally change, for example "Chicago O'Hare International Airport" got the IATA code ORD when it was "Orchard Field Airport", but the name change did stick.

bk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120991463#Comment_120991463

Sure fair enough, though worth nothing that while the name is a bit long winded, "Chicago O'Hare International Airport" is more descriptive then "Orchard Field Airport", which sounds like a random air field of which there are many in the US.

I think they could have not bothered with the O'Hare and just called it Chicago International Airport. They like sticking "International" on the big airports in the US.

KrisW1001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120988043#Comment_120988043

That’s exactly the kind of problem I’m talking about. At least Connolly Station is a landmark in its own right, so not many would automatically think that the Luas stop is named after a nearby hospital. But then, the LUAS Red line does has a stop named “James’s” which does serve a hospital of that name…

whisky_galore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120991267#Comment_120991267

Multilingual. More people speak Polish here everyday than Irish.

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120989573#Comment_120989573

By the same argument, there's no need to call it "Kent". Cork station is the clearest identification for what has for many decades been the only station in Cork. (I'm pretty sure it was already the only station in Cork by the time it was named "Kent"; certainly the only passenger station. So it's slightly surprising that the name ever caught on.)

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120991624#Comment_120991624

Chicago is served by five international airports (plus a couple of purely domestic airports) so they do need names to distinguish them. "International" doesn't just signify a big airport, but an airport that has customs, etc, facilities for handling international flights - lots of US airports don't have these, so those that do like to call attention to the fact. International airports can be quite small

Strumms

Bit pointless. We are already pissing money up walls without any benefit to the citizens / taxpayers without all the palaver of doing what is suggested by the OP. 🤷‍♂️

Peregrinus

Posted in error - wrong thread.

Sam Russell

The biggest confusion is Pearse St.

I think some think the station is called Pearse Street Station, since it is nearly on Pearse Street. I have helped tourists on Pearse Street looking for Pearse Station, which has no entrance onto Pearse Street.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120993806#Comment_120993806

As of a few years ago, it finally does have one. Except it's not open all the time!

KrisW1001

The public information materials for DART+ are a good indication of what TII has in mind. Note “D1” as the service on the front (and side) of the mock train.

This echoes the numbering of “S-Bahn” type services, although the choice of "D" might be a dead-end if they want to use the same pattern for commuter services in other cities. It’s also the only sane option.

The use of letter-number labels for lines has knock-on effect on the design of signage and information systems. If you name your services, now all your wayfinding signage, video displays, and your phone app, and all your standardised poster designs, and timetable charts, and every visual thing you produce has to accommodate the longest name on your service. Change that pattern to a letter and up to two digits, and suddenly your visual communications job becomes much easier.

Letter-number signs are easier to lay out. Compare this:

With this:

Actually, the name “Hammersmith & City” also makes it unclear how many lines there were that on the London one... two, three, or four?

(London Underground’s signage is generally of superb quality, but their signage system is hamstrung by the use of line names..)

Hibernicis

I though everybody knew that using the ampersand indicated that it was one line with two conjoined parts to it's name, whereas the use of "and" clearly indicated that it was two separate lines 🤣

whisky_galore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120996188#Comment_120996188

That assumes that everyone is an English speaker.

Hibernicis

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120996312#Comment_120996312

Sorry, I was being facetious, based the answers I received over many years in the UK asking questions about signage and the like.

whisky_galore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120990641#Comment_120990641

Down to individual city councils having time on their hands I guess! Cork city council seem to like spending time and money on feelgood peripheral things rather than things that actually improve the city. I couldn't give less of a shıte who a tunnel is named after so long as it works, and I think time has shown the JLT to be a terrible bottleneck when there's prang.

brianc89

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120996124#Comment_120996124

It says it all really when you have those 2 pics side by side.

I guess if we want to honour figures from the past, just stick to museums, cultural venues, schools, even bridges etc., but clearly a bad, and v. unpopular, idea for public transport.

xper

Tell you what, keep everyone happy, call the metro U2. We might even build U1 later.

Hibernicis

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120997333#Comment_120997333

Brilliant !!

whisky_galore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120997333#Comment_120997333

Lots of people in this country already hate U2!

SeanW

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058308171/renaming-dublins-rail-lines-after-people

No. Just. No. For example, if you live in Coolmine and are going to Drumcondra, "the Maynooth Line" just rolls off the tongue a little better than "the Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell line."

You're not going to hear people saying "I'm going to take the Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell line into town.

Sam Russell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121299435#Comment_121299435

The Waterloo & City line in London, just 1.5 miles long, is colloquially known as 'the Drain' in honour of the unfriendly small carriages that are normally crush filled, and stiffing air - much like a sewer - awful. It has no intermediate stops.

Hotblack Desiato

I wonder how many people who have lived all of their lives in Dublin know where Grattan Bridge is? and that's far from the most obscure Liffey bridge.

Bad enough naming bridges after people not places (everyone knows where Capel St. bridge is) but in New Ross they named the new N25 bridge after someone who isn't even Irish, just to try to grab a few more Yankee tourist dollars. Pathetic.

Sam Russell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121379807#Comment_121379807

N25 New Ross Bridge is a great bridge - whoever it is called after.

Hotblack Desiato

Well whoop de doo but that's hardly the point though is it? We could rename every rail line in Ireland exclusively in Chinese characters but the services on them would still be the same.