Dublin - Metrolink (Swords to Charlemont only)

InterCity journeys in general are not turn up and go, people are aware of that. Go to any small town intercity station and observe the near total emptiness until 10 mins before the next train is due. The rail strategy recommends diverting Sligo trains from Kilcock to Heuston and providing a service at least every two hours so the issue of Sligo trains in Glasnevin could be short lived (if we are serious about the rail strategy that is).

Sligo trains terminate in Connolly using platforms 1-4. Have never seen one use Tara St, nor should anyone ever see one use Tara St!!

These hearings are absolutely hilarious and infuriating. The bingo card of cranks, chancers and nimbys that have held this country back for generations.

In the end, Trinity did not present any objection, so they deserve some (small) credit, but Lidl definitely made fools of themselves.

The process is necessary, if only to let some objectors show the world just how stupid and petty their claims really are. On the other hand, there are also some who are genuinely going to lose out as a result of this construction: particulatly the Tara St residents who will have to move home in the middle of an unprecedented housing shortage. It's important that their concerns, and the official response to them, are made public.

The idea that Ulysses era Dublin needs to be preserved indefinitely is part of why this city is so dysfunctional

The need for important infrastructure and the common good that it serves vastly outranks the need to preserve landmarks of minor cultural significance

It is possible to completely move historical buildings if they are really worth saving. I din't know if this pub fits the bill, but it's not an insurmountable problem even if it is worth preserving.

Great short video on the subject here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzMfjO6gW_c

This video, in Italian, goes through the incredibly complex and expensive process of building the central Metro C stations:

There's a 3D visualisation near the beginning that stands the whole station structure at street level, and you can see how deep the excavation is (85 m deep: Metrolink is less than 30) and why it is so slow and expensive. Normally this kind of deep station would be mined out, and access corridors and shafts would be tunneled up to the surface, but in Rome that would mean digging blind through who knows what archaelogy, so they're effectively forced to use cut-and-cover at really deep depths.

The Eastern section of MetroC, already in service, is actually much more like Metrolink: a standardised station design, either built at surface, or as cut and cover just below. Things only get horrifically complex in the old centre because they have to tunnel below the earliest stratum of the Roman city. Those central stations take on average 10 years to complete, compared to just 3 for the outer ones.

The interior of the front part of Hedigan's is certainly nice but Dublin has dozens of similar pubs.

If the lads wanted, they could buy another premises anywhere in the city with the wedge they'll get from the CPO and have the old bar, panelling, etc. installed there. Most people drinking there won't know that it isn't original to the building and nobody would care anyway. Given they wanted to knock the place themselves, I assume they'll just consider the licence and the interior to be another few quid to top up what they get from the CPO.

Where have you seen the data to support this?

It all sounds positive. Hopefully a railway order will be issued by the end of the year and we'll see real work in early 2025 before an election.

It's impossible to tell but I think the metrolink team are advancing their tender documents while waiting for their RO so hopefully it'll be a matter of months

Wonder what the impact of Leo leaving will be. A Dublin Taoiseach was good for this project.

also Michael mcdowell was meant to launching an independent alliance with Veronica murphy this evening . Hope this project gets through before the next GE. Would not like mcdowell having the balance of power.