IE 222 wrote: » I think this could be part of it alright. The whole project, well parts that have been publicly confirmed and released so far, all seem to just fall short in one way or another. Connolly upgrade, extensions, new stations not been in the scope ect. I feel it's all purposely been done to get more money for a revised and cheaper DU. Adding the likes of Cabra, Klymore, Kilcock into a DU project will add very little cost to but drive the ridership numbers way up. There will be plenty of capacity to run a PPT service to Bray or Dun Laoghaire with DU. Oddly, SF have been sticking their ore in on rail projects over last few years. They've been somewhat vocal in Galway, Navan ect the last few years.
Bsharp wrote: » Sadly it's with a view to get any money at all. There's a firm belief that money won't be available for anything above what's already allocated, if even. The initial NDP budget allocations aren't achievable and never were. I don't necessarily agree with removing key elements for this purpose but I understand why. Irish Rail is aware that the price will be way over original proposed if everything is included. Politicians announce projects at lower prices to get them off the ground and be able to give one to everyone in the room. Project lifecycle means they're rarely held to account. It's like MetroLink costing 4bn, be closer to 10bn all going well.
Cyndaquil wrote: » And Galway rail is in plans for Oranmore etc. We definitely need more infrastructure in north Dublin . Airport line was IEs plan and should never have stopped
IE 222 wrote: » Pretty sure it's still on their radar although I think it would require quad tracking of the northern line. Was putting a station box in the airport stop for heavy rail looked into with MN?
cgcsb wrote: » The main Dub-Bel line should be moved closer to the M1 between Drogheda and Dublin with a stop at the airport and then let the existing northern line run as DART only. It would also mean Dundalk and Drogheda commuters could have a fast service to Dublin without stopping everywhere along the North Dublin coast.
BonnieSituation wrote: » You're not suggesting building "NEW" railways are you? What is this, Victorian times?
Cyndaquil wrote: » You would think. We stand out badly by other European countries by not having rail connection. Ideally both metro and heavy.
IE 222 wrote: » I haven't heard anything about it. Was there any preliminary options studies done on putting one in? Having the station put in with MN would surely knock 25-30% of the cost off a Dart airport link.
Pete_Cavan wrote: » It would be mad to build an underground station for a tunnel which you don't know the approach angle, diameter, depth or even the number of tunnels. Far from saving money, it would likely end up costing more.
Zaney wrote: » You mean this sort of thing?https://www.thejournal.ie/mater-metrolink-metro-north-nta-dublin-4585274-Apr2019/
JohnC. wrote: » I'm a bit curious about these station boxes. I understand their purpose and why they were built when they were, but in the case of, for example, the Mater, what exactly is there? Are we talking about a big empty space waiting to be fitted out as a station? Or is it even empty? Maybe it's just the outer walls constructed underground and the interior would be excavated at a later date (or in this case perhaps never) when there's a tunnel?
BonnieSituation wrote: » Wasn't the old Area 14 were Aer Lingus were based before T2 opened the MetroNorth Station box at the Airport. We can't fault plans in the past of being a waste of money if they changed AFTER they were constructed. There's enough bad planning without worrying about that sort of thing.
IE 222 wrote: » Its hardly going to be a case of sticking a box in the ground just on the of chance it might be used. Obviously a study would be done before hand. It could be possible and cheaper to run it above ground on a embankment.
Pete_Cavan wrote: » The Metrolink RO application should be made in the next couple of months, there is no time to do any sort of a study, nevermind one detailed enough to have considered all the complex issues around creating a DART connection to the airport. It would essentially be a concrete bunker under the ground so any slight adjustments after it has been build would be incredibly expensive, or working around whats already there would almost certainly create unnecessary problems when building the approach as many aspects have been fixed. We don't even know what diection a DART connection would be coming from, is it east-west as a spur off the existing DART line or is it north-south as a new heavy rail line which posters here have been talking about? We have waited too long for Metrolink, it doesn't need to be further complicated by adding in bits which have nothing to do with anything, a heavy rail airport link isn't even in the national infrastructure plan which covers the next two decades.
GerardKeating wrote: » Make Metro North a 4 track DART from the city to the Airport/Swords and continue on to meet the existing northern line around Rush/Lusk. Then you have two high frequence commuter lines on the northside and seperate tracks for InterCity Services to Drogheda/Dundalk and Belfast.
cgcsb wrote: » Way too late for that
GerardKeating wrote: » Why, they not started any construction yet...
PukkaStukka wrote: » I'll throw this one out there for opinion. I'm told there's a big deficit in electricity supply in North County Dublin that's a problem for DART electrification north of Malahide. My sources tell me there's no 38kv supply north of there and possibly as far as Skerries, and what supply is available elsewhere is very limited. My source estimates the engineering effort required to make the required supply available is going to take 5+ years as the higher capacity networks backbones (110kv avd possibly 220kv) all need to be upgraded to cascade the supply down to the 38kv networks. If true, what impact does this have on DART+ ?
cgcsb wrote: » Project was announced in 2018 and will, at the earliest, go to construction in 2023. What you ate suggesting us starting again. Your idea was considered before and ruled out anyway.
