Reply To: Is Dublins Underground rail network a past fantasy?

Shaun,

I agree that a National Motorway network is necessary to link Dublin with Belfast, Galway and Cork. No-one is disputing this but beyond this there are definite question marks.

Dublin to Kells will cost in excess of 300m and the contact point at the M50 at Blanchardstown cannot cope with the existing traffic load let alone a vastly expanded car depdent commuter belt that will result. Dublin-Slane ditto.

The M50 doesn’t function to European norms in terms of efficiency and the 2nd Westlink bridge solved very little.

The Red Cow has tailbacks much of the day on four of the five roads leading onto it and the Liffey Valley junction is little better.

The only solution is to give the commuter a real alternative to using the car, most of whom don’t use their car within working hours. The result of these transport patterns are three fold, firstly commuters spend long periods commuting, secondly those that require their cars during working hours such as architects and sales reps are stuck in unecessary traffic. Thirdly the country imports more petrolium products than are necessary on a comparitive basis with the Benelux and other Northern European states.

An investment in an underground and the other elements of the Dublin Rail plan would unlock significant land banks for sustainable development.

Known sites/ schemes that the plan would significantly assist in terms of development.

Both Schemes beside Heuston Station
Site at Carnlough Road
Clancy Barracks
The IE engineering works at Inchicore.
Parkwest
Cherry Orchard
Adamstown
Newcastle Co Dublin
Sallins
Naas with a bus link
Kildare Town

The reality is that Central Dublin is a medieval City and that no matter how many roads are built on the periphery bottlenecks will always result once the canals are encountered if not before.

Try Pearse St or Morehampton Rd at 5pm