TII Motorway Service Areas (MSA) Progress Thread

ongarboy · 15-09-2019 5:47pm

flazio wrote: »

road_high wrote: »

Anyone confirm what tenants will be at Kilcullen? Surely not another McDonalds as there’s one 20mins down the road at J5 Carlow

There's another McDonald's 5 minutes down the road from the new one on the outskirts of Athlone in Kilmartins. Doesn't mean a thing.

Indeed. The original MSAs in Enfield, Lusk and Castlebellingham have had 2 Burger Kings across from each other and are trading successfully for a decade. I don't see two McD's almost 40kms from each other as over saturation.

JupiterKid · 15-09-2019 11:29pm

Good news to hear of the M6 Athlone East MSA opening and the Kilcullen MSA on the way.

Is it just me or does anyone else think the Applegreen MSA in Enfield has gone a bit downhill in the past year or so in terms of maintenance, cleanliness etc?

For Forks Sake · 16-09-2019 10:24am

JupiterKid wrote: »

Good news to hear of the M6 Athlone East MSA opening and the Kilcullen MSA on the way.

Is it just me or does anyone else think the Applegreen MSA in Enfield has gone a bit downhill in the past year or so in terms of maintenance, cleanliness etc?

Those Applegreens E&W are nearly my second home at this stage, but you're right standards have dipped noticeably over the past year.

From Athlone to Enfield now you have a good scatter of competition between incumbent and new areas : Applegreen Arcadia - Kilmartins - Circle K MSA - M6 Kilbeggan - Kinnegad Plaza - Applegreen MSA Enfield.

emfifty · 16-09-2019 11:39am

JupiterKid wrote: »

Good news to hear of the M6 Athlone East MSA opening and the Kilcullen MSA on the way.

Is it just me or does anyone else think the Applegreen MSA in Enfield has gone a bit downhill in the past year or so in terms of maintenance, cleanliness etc?

I'm on to it. Sent an email to 'Applegreen Feedback' with my complaint over the weekend and the on-site person responded back first thing this morning. He is none too happy with the situation at Enfield East and agreed with all of the points I raised. He's been highlighting some of the issues re maintenance, etc with his superiors and getting nowhere it seems. TII were also copied (as it's an online MSA) on the email so we'll see what happens.

ongarboy · 20-09-2019 10:01pm

https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/circle-k-mcdonalds-create-100-20075192

Decent aerial shot of the new Athlone MSA in article.

flazio · 21-09-2019 10:25am

I noticed as I was leaving the car park that there was a road heading left from the truck parking towards a McDonald's sign. That's hardly a link to the local road, is it?

Quackster · 21-09-2019 10:27am

flazio wrote: »

I noticed as I was leaving the car park that there was a road heading left from the truck parking towards a McDonald's sign. That's hardly a link to the local road, is it?

Most likely emergency/staff access from a local road.

NedNew2 · 21-09-2019 9:36pm

Kilcullen MSA Opening

The Circle K M9 Kilcullen (between Junctions 2 and 3) will open to customers on Thursday, 24th October, it has been confirmed.

A ‘Grand Opening’ event will take place on Friday 25th October, with a host of special offers available both in store, and on the forecourt, on the day.

(KildareNow)

BelfastVanMan · 03-10-2019 8:07pm

mynameisggefff wrote: »

I was on the ROI M1 today and was in the Lusk Applegreen Service Station. It is OK, but it's very dull, commercial if you like, just functional and open-spaced. You go in, there's a big seating area with the food outlet counters on the same level.

I was later on the NI M2 and went into the Templepatrick Applegreen Service Station and it was lovely. The food outlets on the ground floor as well as some seats, but a nice quiet upstairs coffee lounge with a TV, quiet, nice and relaxing after a long drive with good finishes.

Why are the NI service stations nice and refined whereas ROI service stations are boring and drab?

The NI ones seem a little smaller.

Chris_5339762 · 03-10-2019 8:16pm

mynameisggefff wrote: »

I was on the ROI M1 today and was in the Lusk Applegreen Service Station. It is OK, but it's very dull, commercial if you like, just functional and open-spaced. You go in, there's a big seating area with the food outlet counters on the same level.

I was later on the NI M2 and went into the Templepatrick Applegreen Service Station and it was lovely. The food outlets on the ground floor as well as some seats, but a nice quiet upstairs coffee lounge with a TV, quiet, nice and relaxing after a long drive with good finishes.

Why are the NI service stations nice and refined whereas ROI service stations are boring and drab?

The coffee lounges upstairs in the NI ones are remarkably nice I have to say.

Perhaps the ROI ones (certainly the M1 ones, anyway) were designed years before the NI ones so maybe they've learnt?

The worst thing about the ROI ones is the play area is inside the service station so the noise can be deafening. The NI ones put up a barrier and kind of had it half in an adjacent room to keep the quiet down. If I had my way it'd be on the other side of the carpark but I guess thats why I'm not in charge :pac:

spacetweek · 03-10-2019 8:39pm

mynameisggefff wrote: »

Yes but they have two floors and are generally mor comfortable. They may be smaller but they are definitely nicer than the ones in the south. Why is this? They're owned by the same company so why are the differing?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

road_high · 03-10-2019 10:21pm

mynameisggefff wrote: »

+1.

I despise those play areas in the ROI ones, the NI setup is so different.

We're better at NI when it comes to roads but the service stations up there are to die for, metaphorically speaking. The coffee lounges are so relaxed up there, you can read the paper, have a coffee and a meal and just take a few minutes break, whereas here you get a lot of Traveller kids making all sorts of noise whilst messing in the play area and there are so many people walking past there is just no privacy or a moments peace.

Realistically how many services do they need for about 100 km of motorway built in the 1960s? The south has a fairly reaching actual network with different kinds of services of varying standards.

ongarboy · 03-10-2019 10:56pm

Someone from NI visits one MSA visit in the Republic once and makes an absolute comparison based on a single visit? Secondly, does anyone seriously expect an MSA to be a an oasis or sanctuary of peace and harmony to linger and dwell for hours ?

Most motorists want a clean, efficient stop off place where they can refuel, grab and go rather than hang out in a health spa environment. Granted, some MSAs down south have become victims of their own success as locals use it for their daily feed of carvery/Whopper/Big Mac, tables left dirty, queues etc.

Birdhill Applegreen is my favorite for spaciousness, least crowds and cleanliness and Obama my least favorite for the exact opposite reasons

03-10-2019 11:00pm

ongarboy wrote: »

Someone from NI visits one MSA visit in the Republic once and makes an absolute comparison based on a single visit? Secondly, does anyone seriously expect an MSA to be a an oasis or sanctuary of peace and harmony to linger and dwell for hours ?

Most motorists want a clean, efficient stop off place where they can refuel, grab and go rather than hang out in a health spa environment. Granted, some MSAs down south have become victims of their own success as locals use it for their daily feed of carvery/Whopper/Big Mac, tables left dirty, queues etc.

Birdhill Applegreen is my favorite for spaciousness, least crowds and cleanliness and Obama my least favorite for the exact opposite reasons

Has something changed in Birdhill? It’s the only one I regularly can’t get a single parking space in. I’d rather have Paulstown a million miles over it.

Quackster · 03-10-2019 11:01pm

mynameisggefff wrote: »

Yes but they have two floors and are generally mor comfortable. They may be smaller but they are definitely nicer than the ones in the south. Why is this? They're owned by the same company so why are the differing?

Applegreen don't own them, they're just the operator, and had no input into their design.

Two different public quangos in two different jurisdictions were responsible for their design/construction.

Quackster · 03-10-2019 11:09pm

mynameisggefff wrote: »

Who owns them then?

ROI and NI governments respectively.

Cookiemunster · 03-10-2019 11:11pm

mynameisggefff wrote: »

Who owns them then?

As the thread title says they're TII MSAs, so owned by TII.

Cookiemunster · 03-10-2019 11:13pm

mynameisggefff wrote: »

But they are both Applegreen?

That just means that Applegreen won the contract to run both sites.

Cookiemunster · 03-10-2019 11:17pm

mynameisggefff wrote: »

Who built the sites?

The same people who own them. The government bodies in the respective juristictions. TII in the South and whoever their counterpart is in NI.

Sam Russell · 03-10-2019 11:30pm

mynameisggefff wrote: »

The Department for Infrastructure in NI.

Why aren't Applegreen given the contract for all islandwide MSAs considering they are probably the best option?

Also, why are the NI MSAs superior in terms of comfort and quality?

NI get a £10 billion a year donation from Westmister.

blackwhite · 03-10-2019 11:34pm

Cookiemunster wrote: »

The same people who own them. The government bodies in the respective juristictions. TII in the South and whoever their counterpart is in NI.

TII funded the build, but the design was ultimately down to the operator.

TII issue a request for tenders, and specify the key requirements of what they want to be included in the service area.

Tenders get submitted by a number if potential operators, which include the design and subsequent operation of the sites. TII (NRA at the time) would bear the cost of construction - but based on the tenderee’s design - and recover the capital as part of the rental (based on sales royalties).

Superstop (a consortium of Applegreen and Tedcastles (Top Oil)) won the M1 and M4 services - and the sites were built based on their design from the tender docs.

In most other counties the tender process includes the operator taking responsibility for the build of the site. Not sure why NRA decided to take on the build themselves

blackwhite · 03-10-2019 11:48pm

mynameisggefff wrote: »

Was there a similar tender for NI M2 and M1?

No idea on specifics - but I’d imagine so given it’s standard practice for online MSAs across Europe

EDIT

A small bit of googling suggests that this is yet another area where NI likes to be different.

Articles suggest that Applegreen built them independently and received an allowance for online access

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-21029188

flazio · 04-10-2019 10:14am

ongarboy wrote: »

Someone from NI visits one MSA visit in the Republic once and makes an absolute comparison based on a single visit? Secondly, does anyone seriously expect an MSA to be a an oasis or sanctuary of peace and harmony to linger and dwell for hours ?

Most motorists want a clean, efficient stop off place where they can refuel, grab and go rather than hang out in a health spa environment. Granted, some MSAs down south have become victims of their own success as locals use it for their daily feed of carvery/Whopper/Big Mac, tables left dirty, queues etc.

Birdhill Applegreen is my favorite for spaciousness, least crowds and cleanliness and Obama my least favorite for the exact opposite reasons

Depends on how long it will take to recharge the battery.

BelfastVanMan · 04-10-2019 10:51am

flazio wrote: »

ongarboy wrote: »

Someone from NI visits one MSA visit in the Republic once and makes an absolute comparison based on a single visit? Secondly, does anyone seriously expect an MSA to be a an oasis or sanctuary of peace and harmony to linger and dwell for hours ?

Most motorists want a clean, efficient stop off place where they can refuel, grab and go rather than hang out in a health spa environment. Granted, some MSAs down south have become victims of their own success as locals use it for their daily feed of carvery/Whopper/Big Mac, tables left dirty, queues etc.

Birdhill Applegreen is my favorite for spaciousness, least crowds and cleanliness and Obama my least favorite for the exact opposite reasons

Depends on how long it will take to recharge the battery.

Agreed, I don't appreciate screaming wee'uns running about after a long day behind the wheel, or dirty toilets, or overpriced, nasty "food" or fuel.

A good set of services makes all the difference.

flazio · 04-10-2019 12:45pm

I actually meant an EV battery but your point is valid as well. :cool:

BelfastVanMan · 04-10-2019 2:14pm

flazio wrote: »

I actually meant an EV battery but your point is valid as well. :cool:

Woops, sorry...I meant to reply to the thread you replied to...apologies. :-)

spacetweek · 04-10-2019 8:45pm

Considering it's all the same island, it is highly unlikely there is any noticeable difference between NI MSAs and ROI ones. I always find MSAs anywhere to be bland and corporate.
The guy asking why they're different is imagining things.

04-10-2019 8:54pm

The NI ones are a bit pokey and there’s only two of them, but they’ve Greggs so all is forgiven.

riddlinrussell · 04-10-2019 9:29pm

spacetweek wrote: »

Considering it's all the same island, it is highly unlikely there is any noticeable difference between NI MSAs and ROI ones. I always find MSAs anywhere to be bland and corporate.
The guy asking why they're different is imagining things.

The ones up north are indeed a different design than the ones down south, made more noticeable by them also being applegreens, they are also slightly different from each other up North. However given there are now Circle K MSAs of an entirely different design again I think it's just a case that the NI MSAs are practically brand new while the ones on the M1 in the south are over a decade old.

Chris_5339762 · 04-10-2019 9:31pm

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

The NI ones are a bit pokey and there’s only two of them, but they’ve Greggs so all is forgiven.

Three, with a fourth coming

M1 Lisburn north and south, and one outbound on the M2 just outside Belfast.

04-10-2019 9:39pm

Chris_5339762 wrote: »

Three, with a forth coming

M1 Lisburn north and south, and one outbound on the M2 just outside Belfast.

I forgot there was both sides at Lisburn. I’d be a regular stopper at Templepatrick. Where’s the 4th going?

Chris_5339762 · 04-10-2019 10:09pm

Templepatrick eastbound, I think.

http://www.wesleyjohnston.com/roads/m2servicearea.html

road_high · 05-10-2019 1:04am

Chris_5339762 wrote: »

Three, with a forth coming

M1 Lisburn north and south, and one outbound on the M2 just outside Belfast.

That’s their motorway “network” more than well served so.

BelfastVanMan · 05-10-2019 8:37am

Sam Russell wrote: »

mynameisggefff wrote: »

The Department for Infrastructure in NI.

Why aren't Applegreen given the contract for all islandwide MSAs considering they are probably the best option?

Also, why are the NI MSAs superior in terms of comfort and quality?

NI get a £10 billion a year donation from Westmister.

Sorry, but that is nonsense.

spacetweek · 05-10-2019 8:23pm

Chris_5339762 wrote: »

Three, with a fourth coming

M1 Lisburn north and south, and one outbound on the M2 just outside Belfast.

If Lisburn north and south are across the road from each other, that should really only count as 1.
The ones on the ROI M1 are on opposite sides of the motorway with no connection between them and each of those only counts as 1.
So there are only 2 in NI.

BelfastVanMan · 06-10-2019 9:36am

spacetweek wrote: »

Chris_5339762 wrote: »

Three, with a fourth coming

M1 Lisburn north and south, and one outbound on the M2 just outside Belfast.

If Lisburn north and south are across the road from each other, that should really only count as 1.
The ones on the ROI M1 are on opposite sides of the motorway with no connection between them and each of those only counts as 1.
So there are only 2 in NI.

Hardly...try walking from one to the other.

Sam Russell · 06-10-2019 11:19am

BelfastVanMan wrote: »

Hardly...try walking from one to the other.

It is a motorway so you cannot walk anywhere.

road_high · 06-10-2019 11:25am

24th October for M9 Kilcullen services ; https://www.kildarenow.com/news/home/479987/circle-k-on-the-m9-near-kilcullen-hosting-open-day-with-customer-giveaways.html

JupiterKid · 07-10-2019 11:54am

road_high wrote: »

24th October for M9 Kilcullen services ; https://www.kildarenow.com/news/home/479987/circle-k-on-the-m9-near-kilcullen-hosting-open-day-with-customer-giveaways.html

Looking forward to this. Does anyone know if this services will have a McDonalds?

blackwhite · 07-10-2019 12:11pm

JupiterKid wrote: »

Looking forward to this. Does anyone know if this services will have a McDonalds?

Tender included a fast food offering, and McD's are the current partner of choice for Circle K.

ongarboy · 07-10-2019 3:07pm

JupiterKid wrote: »

Looking forward to this. Does anyone know if this services will have a McDonalds?

McDs confirmed for Kilcullen. Hiring of staff underway.

https://www.leinsterleader.ie/news/news/482302/mcdonalds-coming-to-kilcullen-and-hiring-staff.html

spacetweek · 07-10-2019 5:42pm

BelfastVanMan wrote: »

Hardly...try walking from one to the other.

You can't walk between the ones in the ROI either! That's the point I'm making.

BelfastVanMan · 07-10-2019 6:31pm

spacetweek wrote: »

BelfastVanMan wrote: »

Hardly...try walking from one to the other.

You can't walk between the ones in the ROI either! That's the point I'm making.

The one facing the M2 (NI) Applegreen was supposed to be finished by now, but for some reason, no more work other than a tiny bit of site clearance ever took place.
I wonder what happened....

road_high · 11-10-2019 9:06pm

Signs all up for the M9 Kilcullen MSA. Some not covered over so might be a tad confusing for non regulars

emfifty · 11-10-2019 9:12pm

road_high wrote: »

Signs all up for the M9 Kilcullen MSA. Some not covered over so might be a tad confusing for non regulars

This day 2 weeks for the "Grand Opening"... roll on for the first online MSA in Co. Kildare!

road_high · 11-10-2019 9:26pm

emfifty wrote: »

This day 2 weeks for the "Grand Opening"... roll on for the first online MSA in Co. Kildare!

Is J14 Mayfield not online?

11-10-2019 9:27pm

road_high wrote: »

Is J14 Mayfield not online?

It’s on a normal junction rather than it’s own.

barneygumble99 · 16-10-2019 11:17am

Friday 25th October

We're celebrating the grand opening of our new site at Circle K M9 Kilcullen from 9am - 7pm. To mark the occasion motorists can fuel up with miles for 10c less per litre all day (from 12.00am to 11.59pm)!

In addition to the fuel offer, the following instore offers will be available at Circle K M9 Kilcullen on Friday 25th October only:
• Spinning wheel competitions
• €2 Real Hot Dogs
• 50% off any purchase from the Circle K deli range
• Free pastry with any purchase of Simply Great Coffee
..and other surprises on the day!

patrickc · 23-10-2019 11:07pm

m9 station opened yesterday

spacetweek · 24-10-2019 1:44pm

patrickc wrote: »

m9 station opened yesterday

Really? Can't find anything on the web and it was only supposed to open today last I heard.

Edit: Well, there is this.

TII Motorway Service Areas (MSA) Progress Thread

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