DART+ (DART Expansion)

It's easy to blame successive governments, NIMBY residents, ABP, whoever.

The only constant is Iarnrod Eireann. They are utterly incompetent and I would suggest the only way forward for any of these projects is to take infrastructure delivery out of their hands and keep them focused on service.

That is totally unfair to I.E. They may have their faults, but there have been many cases where they delivered projects on time and within budget. More recently with the huge number of bodies involved (DoF, FPE, NTA, DoT, ABP) its a wonder anything ever get done.

Yes, a general disinterest in public transport projects by the political class is more to blame here than any other organisation.

The "political class" isn't some distinct thing - politicians align their positions with those of the general public.

Blaming "politicians" without recognizing that they are representatives of the public at large is an easy way to divert blame.

And clearly the public hate politicians who attempt to provide "leadership" - look at what happened the Greens. The vilification of E Ryan and the bile he has and continues to be subject to - despite being the first member of cabinet since the formation of the state to prioritize transport spending on PT and active travel over spending on roads - is clear proof of this.

well they (Irish Rail) were working on a plan, and 5 years later they're still working on a plan.

Has there been any update on the third D+ fleet order? There was talk about it being placed before the end of 2024, but it seems that never happened. I believe these are supposed to be the units that will replace the 8100s? If that is still the case I would hope the order is placed soon.

its a wonder anything ever get done.

Nothing ever gets done, that’s my point.

Case in point, the Dart West. Planning was granted by ABP in July, finance is in place, the NTA is on board. Everyone except IE has done their part, but here we are six months later and nothing has happened. And by “nothing”, I mean quite literally zero.

It was mentioned in the Dail a couple of weeks ago that because of the rejection of the depot at Maynooth and the judicial review of Ashtown, IE are examining the issues “before a decision on the next steps is made.” IE have no idea what to do and they’re delighted to have an excuse not to do anything.

We are still at least ten years from electric trains in Dublin West despite all the necessary supports being in place.

If you think IE are anything other than incompetent, then you don’t get the train very often.

I've never worked with IE so can't comment directly on them but at least based off the state of our railways I'd say there's a similar culture to many of our other public bodies, where the mentality when confronted with a new proposal is usually to dig in and come up with reasons why it can't be done, why it needs to be watered down or to be over-complicated and drawn out. Ambition and pragmatism just aren't in their dictionary.

I’m certainly not a fan of Irish Rail, but we have game changing plans for the Greater Dublin Area.

Take the proposal to close level crossings to decrease travel time for commuters. Who’s blocking those plans? Is it Irish Rail? Are politicians rowing in behind IR for the greater good?

You do understand that IÉ cannot legally do any works until the JR is resolved right?

I don’t understand that because it’s not true.

Unless there’s a High Court order to stop the work (which I certainly haven’t heard about), there is absolutely no legal impediment to proceeding. It’s literally written in the legislation as such.

Is there such an order? Because if not, it is only the sloth of IE that is holding things up.

They’re not capable of doing what specifically?

If Irish Rail are not capable of delivering large infrastructure projects, it's because they have not been given the funding and the permission go go ahead with such projects for many years. Its not like the case of the HSE whare the lack of capability is self-evident.

Fair enough - but that explains why they can't do it, it doesn't change the reality on the ground that this is beyond them.

I work in a job that involves long-term planning of complex projects too. If we hit a setback on one part of the project, we bust our asses to get everything else moving so that when the setback is resolved, it just slots into place and overall delay is minimised. IE are doing the exact opposite.

You thanked a post above which says that IE cannot legally do anything until the judicial review is resolved. That is factually wrong. If people don't even know the basics of the legislation, perhaps they should refrain from commenting.

If the High Court throws out the judicial review and the RO is unchanged, we'll have lost a year of the project. Even if the High Court sides with the objector, the project is still going ahead in a modified form. IE should be putting the boot down and tearing into every single piece of work that is not related to Ashtown or the flood plains of Maynooth.

If IE down tools completely at every single snag, the thing will never get built. Unfortunately, that seems to be what is happening. Meanwhile the consultants' bills will keep piling up and the train service remains in the Victorian era.

It is four and a half years since the first public consultation. If we see electric rail in Dublin West by 2035 I'll be (pleasantly) surprised.