DART+ (DART Expansion)

there’s nothing implicit about it, it’s explicitly spelled out in the text you quoted.

“application shall not affect the validity of the railway order and its operation unless, upon an application to the High Court, that Court suspends the railway order until the application is determined or withdrawn”

But the net effect is the same, IE won’t do anything until it’s resolved - however that isn’t the same as “can’t” do anything.

Nice find on Gowan Motors, their objection was 100% inevitable, the arrangements at Ashtown essentially put them out of business and presumably there will be another coming from Burke Bros wholesalers. I misread the thread, I thought the implication was that the JRs were supposed to be from local residents.

People may not appreciate the application for a JR but this isn’t some woman who doesn’t want a bus stop outside her house, these are businesses that have been there for years and years and are being sent to the wall. Yes, I know they’ll be compensated but that isn’t the point.

If the applications are frivolous, the High Court won’t entertain them. My bet is that any decent lawyer will be able to show that IE and ABP didn’t give due consideration to the impact on these businesses.

The land isn't suddenly worthless. It's only of no use for a business that requires car access. As a residential development site, though, it would very valuable.

Gowans will live, this isn't their only site, or their only business activity.

If that were the general attitude, every Tom, Dick and Harry near a piece of new infrastructure could veto it. That does not rule out properly determined compensation.

Gowan Auto (Bright since a sale of the retail arm last year) have multiple other sites across the city and could easily move one or more brand from Navan to one of those and reduce the space demands. Indeed, they only recently enough moved the Ford dealership in to the site, despite knowing this might happen.

It really seems like you're angry about things which have zero evidence.

As someone who actually uses the Maynooth train line. I can assure you I'm only angry about the length of time it is taking IE to progress this project. If you need evidence of this, please scroll up, and up, and up, and up. I'd go down tonight and burn Gowan Motors to the ground if I thought it would speed things up, but they are not the rate-limiting factor here.

I'm just bemused by the inability of IE to deliver anything remotely complex, I'm long past angry on that front. If you need evidence of this, ask anyone who's needed to get a train or DART in the last few weeks how they would rate the PM skills of IE.

These crowd are perfectly entitled to take a JR, but that doesn't mean that they will win, nor does it mean that IR made a mistake in following this course.

I never said they will win it, and maybe this is genuinely the best solution for Ashtown, but IE's handling of this issue meant a JR was inevitable. Calling it a "horse's ass" would be an affront to horses and asses everywhere.

and indeed expect them regardless of the length of consultation.

This is my fundamental problem. What if the deadline for lodging a JR had passed with no submission? Do you honestly thing IE were ready to break ground?

Why aren't they proceeding asafp with improvement works that have nothing to do with Ashtown?

I haven't seen anyone "pick gaping holes" in IR position.

I'd be happy to do so but people really don't like it when I do.

I think you are correct, the Burkes and McGownes are waiting for a golden handshake on the steps of the high court. That's why they haven't sought media attention for their JRs.

Where have you seen this information?

It's in the responses to the consultation process.

That's not how it works. It just goes back and forth for years, at huge costs, and the deal gets done at the last minute. Everyone wins except Irish Rail and the tax payer.

The dogs in the street could have predicted the need for four tracking the northern line, but it feels like IE and NTA have only woken up to this reality far too late IMO.

I suppose it's good to see it at least acknowledged but it'd presumably need mass CPO of gardens and some houses as well as lots of disruption and line closures, so it'll just end up the same as everything does, bogged down in delays and controversy and increasingly watered down with every iteration.

Also it isn't in the NDP so why are they spending time and money on this instead of focusing resources on the glacial progress of their existing projects?

As if there has been funding for new projects chucked at them right left and centre for century?

The state is only starting to fund a modest amount of public transport infrastructure after 100 years of managed decline.