What option do you prefer? Metro or DRP

enterprise

There is a lot of discussion on here at the moment about the Dublin Rail Plan by IE and the Metro by the RPA.

So which do you prefer, Metro or the DRP?

weehamster

RPA metro:
St Stephens Grn to Airport with 6 stops and only intergrated with the Green Luas line and nothing else. Total cost €4.88b (2002 figure)

Irish Rail Dublin Rail plan:
DART extending to Drogheda, North of Dunboyne (on the reopened section on the old Navan Line), Maynooth, Kildare, Dublin Airport and all of these been linked together by the interconnector tunnel (Heuston to Spencer Dock) which also links the 2 Luas lines and Suburban/Intercity services. Cost €3.4b (2004)

The DRP with DART spur is cheaper than the total cost of the single Metro line. This gives us change of €1.48b.

This means that this money can be spent elsewhere like:
Drundrum to Ballymun Luas line via Harolds Cross and Whitehall (which was supposed to be build at the same time as the current RED and GREEN line) max cost €500m,
Lucan to Spencer Dock Luas line via Dolphins Barn, Harcourt, Grand Canal Dock, max cost €500m
Whitehall to Howth Jtn Luas Spur via Artane and Coolock, Max Cost €200m

And we still have €280m left of the €1.48b change we saved not building the metro.

Its is time for the people of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area to have a proper citywide and fully intergraded commuting system as a real alternative to driving.

MarkoP11

In a ideal world I'd like both provided its done right, it was never an either or it was always a case of what we need first

By right I mean,

Metro to Swords
6 car metro trains
Proper and full integration
Irish Gauge

I see a good case to have both the Airport Spur and the Metro serving Dublin Airport, remember the Dublin Airport terminus provides a grade separated junction from the northern line which eliminates conflicting movements, this is essential without it the DRP plans integration doesn't look half as good. Don't forget the North Fringe or the M1 park and ride or the fact the Dart spur is a faster journey if your journey uses the Kildare, Northern Line or current Dart line together with all Intercity services into Heuston

But this isn't the ideal world and in the face of limited funding and the massive traffic problems of the greater Dublin region as a whole the metro is second on the list of priorities. For the cost of the Metro we get the DRP plus change which could get us a whole lot more as weehamster has pointed out

So I voted for "I want the DRP with an airport spur and no Metro" until such time a proper Metro proposal funded at the least cost to the taxpayer is put forward complying with the points at the start of this post. Then it becomes full DRP first an proper metro second.

Iób

MarkoP11 wrote:

In a ideal world I'd like both provided its done right, it was never an either or it was always a case of what we need first

By right I mean,

Metro to Swords
6 car metro trains
Proper and full integration
Irish Gauge

Why do you want it to stop at Swords and not go to Donabate to link with the existing Dublin-Belfast line?

MarkoP11

I&#243 wrote: »

Why do you want it to stop at Swords and not go to Donabate to link with the existing Dublin-Belfast line?

Its trouble enough getting the RPA to think of Swords let alone going the whole way back to the Belfast line. Of course we must note Fingal CC are putting up 300 odd million to pay for the Airport Swords Metro.

Swords is another 8 odd km North so if you wanted a connection to the Belfast line it would have to be Skerries Area.

Once again you would have to go Irish Gauge to realise the ultimate benfits of this kind of idea, plus we would have to first look at potential demand to see if such a route is justified, medium speed metro trains for long journeys isn't a good mix

Victor

Both .... and .. neither.

I would of course love to know what the Metro proposal is.

MarkoP11

Victor wrote:

I would of course love to know what the Metro proposal is.

[refused permission to publish]

Iób

I don't want to misunderstand you, so let me see if I have it right

MarkoP11 wrote:

Its trouble enough getting the RPA to think of Swords let alone going the whole way back to the Belfast line. Of course we must note Fingal CC are putting up 300 odd million to pay for the Airport Swords Metro.

"It may be a good idea but the RPA don't want it."

Swords is another 8 odd km North so if you wanted a connection to the Belfast line it would have to be Skerries Area.

"Swords is 8km north of the Airport so the metro would have to go to Skerries not Donabate." (I think there is a non sequitur here)

Once again you would have to go Irish Gauge to realise the ultimate benfits of this kind of idea, plus we would have to first look at potential demand to see if such a route is justified, medium speed metro trains for long journeys isn't a good mix

"I haven't looked into the details."

MarkoP11

I&#243 wrote: »

"It may be a good idea but the RPA don't want it."

It is a good idea but the RPA have ignored it despite substantial financial assistance and a progressive planning attitude from Fingal CC to support the Metro Line. The evaluations come back very very positive

I&#243 wrote: »

"Swords is 8km north of the Airport so the metro would have to go to Skerries not Donabate." (I think there is a non sequitur here)

You would take a wide arc on the way back to the coast to capture the largest catchment area, taking a sharp corner and head straight back to the coast may be shorter but would mean a longer journey time from Drogheda

I&#243 wrote: »

"I haven't looked into the details."

No one has looked into the details, its not in Platform for Change and there are many other areas which need to be attended to first, eg Navan. Skerries and Donabate already have a good train service which is set to improve massively not to mention a very decent motorway, is there a need currently ?

Andrew Duffy

Since there's no option for "The entire DRP, plus extra four-tracking and interchange stations, plus an extra DART line from Swords to Shanganagh via Dublin Airport and city centre" I voted for "I want the DRP with an airport spur and no Metro" because it's a first step.

PandaMania

The Dart is one of the few things this country got right before the Celtic Tiger. Why mess with success!

morlan

Opps, I was meant to vote for " I want the DRP with an airport spur and no Metro", somehow voted for none of the above.

The interconnector is indeed the answer. Even if it means that we have no spur to the airport.