Dublin’s minimal Metro plans stalled.

I don’t know which is more depressing – the news itself or the fact that I’m not surprised.

Complaints on a postcard please to

Seamus Brennan, T.D.
44 Kildare St., Dublin 2

Minister@dpe.ie

1890 443311

If they build the airport link on time, that will be sufficient. The extension to Shanganagh is hardly of vital importance considering it will serve (according to the DTO map) only Leopardstown, Galloping Green, Carrickmines, Loughlinstown and Shankill. Proper park & ride on either the DART line or at LUAS at Sandyford is sufficient here. The Blanchardstown extension is also relatively unnecessary considering the already existing Maynooth line, which should be upgraded to an every fifteen-minute service.

Also, has anyone else noted the fact that many of the major transport infrastructural projects, both LUAS lines, the completion of the M50 and so on are really only of use to the Southside. It’s about time the emphasis was placed on Northside. The airport rail link plus further down the line a line to Abbotstown and the stadium should now be the priorities.

You are right in some ways kefu – The airport link is more important. It would be worse if that had got the chop – and we are lucky that that hasn’t happened (yet).

However, development was allowed along the proposed route including a lot of new housing at Tullyvale and Cabintely and a business park at Cherrywood. When these were planned it was understood that the Metro would be coming online in the medium term.

As it says in the DTO Platform for Change:
“Developments that generate a high volume of trips may be granted permission in public transport corridors before the public
transport is operational.”

Already this development is causing traffic that clogs the N11 and will clog up the M50 as soon as the final section is in place. Even though the transport corridor is gone I’d be surprised if the permission to build can be reversed.

As I see more and more roads being built it annoys me that any public transport project gets the chop. And wasn’t this link to have been partially funded by the developers that own lands in this area anyway…?

Couple more points:

I think the extension was to serve a few more stops than those you outline. See
http://www.luas.ie/downloads/DTOnetwork.pdf

Yes, it IS about time the emphasis was placed on Northside!

I read the stories about the link to the airport costing 20 Billion Euro. I had a look at the website for the new Metro in Copenhagen. Their’s cost under a Billion Euro’s (If my conversions from DKK are correct). Its 21 Km long (10Km underground) with 17 stations. Where on earth did the consultants come up with 20 Billion Euro!

The difference is the kickbacks…. the payrises the teachers will demand because we obviously have money to spent… the damaes to the builders who suit when they chip their nails….

what’s the web address for the Copenhagen metro link

I think the 20 billion figure came from some of the professional scaremongers we seem to have in abundance in this country. I’d swear there must be a department of scaremongering or something here judging by the amount of it going around sometimes.

Don’t know about Copenhagen, but 1 billion euro seems pretty cheap for 10km of tunnel, 11km overground and 17 stations, bearing in mind labour costs are even higher in Denmark than they are here. I’d be pretty sceptical of that figure I have to say.

The construction site is at: http://www.comet.dk/UK/0_0_default.htm
The metro site is at: http://www.orestadsselskabet.dk/

According to the site the cost for the entire system will indeed be 10.8 billion DKK (1.45 billion euro) – they’re 2001 prices. It’s being funded through a Danish version of the PPP, a Public-Public Partnership between Copenhagen City (55 %) and the State (45 %).
The construction is financed by loans that will be paid back in 25-30 years.

The system will have 24 stations when completed. The first phase has taken 6 years to complete and the whole system won’t be ready until 2007.

Frank McDonald has an article on this in todays Irish Times. He refers to the forecast by KPMG of 1 billion Euro per year for 20 years as alarming but points out that it covers “everything, from the cost of construction to franchising, operation, maintainance and interest charges.”

One other interesting point he makes is that DART hasn’t paid for itself yet after 18 years. Does anyone know when it is due to break even?

Not that I think public transport should have to run at a profit anymore than a pedestrian crossing or a storm drain. But it would be nice to know how close DART are getting as they have great potential despite underfunding and a legacy of poor management.

i agree that the northside has been neglected kefu but at least it has a dart line, west dublin where i live has been neglected in every way possible, the authorities were happy to dump thousands of people out in this architectural hell hole and run away, leaving us to rely on nothing but busses….if any of you have ever gotten the 56A you’ll know what i’m talking about, on top of that the clondalkin QBC is still years away and the Tallaght QBC just does not work.

The Tallaght Luas line is a huge step in the right direction and way overdue… it goes right by my house, so obviously i’m happy… anyone interested can see the trams running on the tracks most days on the embankment road in tallaght, (between belgard and ballymount roads) they look great and good progress is being made on the rest of the line…

I reckon seamus brennan is right to focus on the airport metro line, we all know how long it takes for major infrastructural projects to get off the drawing board, luas was talked about for years (and years) if he manages to meet his own deadline of five years it will be some acheivement …

one step at a time !!

Originally posted by Peter FitzPatrick
west dublin where i live has been neglected in every way possible, the authorities were happy to dump thousands of people out in this architectural hell hole and run away, leaving us to rely on nothing but busses….if any of you have ever gotten the 56A you’ll know what i’m talking about, on top of that the clondalkin QBC is still years away and the Tallaght QBC just does not work.

absolutley, as a resident of Fettercairn I am in walking distance of the Luas line and as I gave up on the 56A and the 77 as a bad bet years ago (1 to 1.5 hrs into town for 13 mile trip) it is the first time i have reconsidered the option of drving into town. Am looking forward to the service being up.