Cork Area Commuter Rail (CACR)

"The only gap for me is the run from Blarney all the way to Mallow. By comparison the m20 plans will have 2 major exits at rathduff and mallow south within this run, which implies the traffic models showed the need for these exits. If the traffic is expected to be there, it doesn't seem to tie in with the rail plan that wont provide any service along this stretch."

With six stopping trains per hour interacting with express Dublin-Cork and hopefully express Limerick-Cork services, and the new stops at Blackpool, Monard and Blarney, scheduling on the line will be tight enough. Any additional stops could have service and reliability impacts. And I'd say the last thing the project team wanted was to precipitate a Cork to Mallow quad-tracking sub-project ! They have enough on their plate already.

The depot report states it’ll be 25kV.

It also mentions the possibility of 8 29000 units being cascaded to Cork on an interim basis from DART+, although the authors question the scale of works needed to set up a maintenance facility for them.

Says the fleet will be 22 units, although 28 is mentioned in a different section.

Ah, I didn't even think to check the depot report! I am glad that it is mentioned somewhere.

I would be surprised if any 29Ks are sent to Cork for a few reasons, one of which is mentioned in the report. As mentioned in the report there may need to be upgrades to the depot, and if that is the case I think it would be a lot of work to spend on a stop-gap solution. However I also think it would be a very short term solution, as I don't think enough (or honestly if even any) units will be freed before D+W or D+N completion ~2030. Even then they may need to be refurbished first. Depending on how much CACR phase 2 will have progressed, they may only be needed for few years, at which point they would probably be sent somewhere else again. I think if IE decides to send 29Ks to somewhere outside of the GDA, they will stay their until they reach end-of-life in the 2040s.

I think if they really needed/wanted an interim service increase, they would be better off looking at some of the ICRs that would be freed from D+SW as they would have a better time getting to/from Dublin and Cork. As well, their higher top speed would also be better for use on Mallow-Cork services.

I am not sure why there is a conflict in fleet size. I am not sure which number is more accurate, although I would hope it is 28 as that means more spare sets and/or more room to expand services without having to place a new order.

I love the ambition in the document.

Interesting reasons they ruled out North Esk for their stabling and interesting that they hope to retain a maintenance compound at North Esk. I wonder if it would be best to maybe re-route road and existing greenway alignment here for a better overall result.

That Tivoli Station design is interesting too. I can't see that going ahead in that configuration tbh

Reading through the depot selection report this actually appears to be the current plan which is good. However, I think they are still required to tender the fleet so it is possible another model could be selected provided the manufacturer could prove it is the better option. Though I think more than likely they will be AC variants of the DART+ units.

That is correct, however I am not sure how many units the D+ framework has to spare for Cork, especially with the Navan line progressing. I have tried to find the number but I haven't been able to, I tried to estimate the required units once and I just couldn't do it, but the closest I got was well over 100 units.

My reasoning for that is the service frequency for all four main lines over one hour added up (12tph S, 11tph SW, 10tph W, 9tph N) is 42tph or 84 units an hour, with 10% spares thats 91 units an hour. However that doesn't account for the units needed to run services after the first hour, or more specifically that on most of the lines a service could return to its origin within one hour. Then the Howth branch would also need a few units as well (my guess is 3 trains or 6 units to maintain 10-minute frequency continuously). What I can't calculate is how much over 100 is needed. It may only be 110 or 120 in which case there is plenty to spare for Cork. However if closer to 130 or 140 are needed then an order for cork would likely be needed anyways.

The 3rd platform/turnback at Blarney interests me too, is this maybe where commuter trains will be overtaken? Or will half the services only go as far as Blarney?

All Middleton services will terminate at either Blarney or Mallow. The TSS section of the report recommends option 2, which will see 2x Middleton-Blarney services and 4x Middleton -Mallow services an hour (so 6x Middleton-Kent). The Cobh branch will still terminate at Kent, with a 6x frequency.

For Cobh, the existing platform will be extended (widened) into the trackbed, so "platform 1" will now make use of the 2nd track currently not in use. The existing platform will also be extended westward to allow for enough space for a "2nd" platform. Existing platform is in blue below, with the extensions in purple.

So while technically it will be the same platform, there will be a step back rather than one continuous face.

Another future development that should help is the Blarney Link Road. Supposed to take pressure off Station road since it's too narrow in places for traffic but it will also make the train station more interlinked in with the village

One thing I don't like is most of the bike parking seems to be bike boxes. I'd rather they provide a covered area with standard bike stands and CCTV. The bike boxes will only reinforce in people's minds that leaving your bike at a station is unsafe, making them reluctant to cycle there. Also bike boxes are cumbersome and take time, plus they will have maintenance and replacement costs. Taking the bike needs to be as quick and easy as possible.

I don't know why they don't follow translinks approach, stations have a fenced off section with those two tier racks you pull down to load your bike on.

Gated, you apply for a fob, cctv in place

Far higher capacity and probably ar least as secure as a bike box

Republic of Cork Electric Trains (RoCkET)?

The roads directly surrounding the Dunkettle station site were not touched by the new interchange. The plans still hold.