MGWRMAN
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The editor of the Irish Times reiterated the news of Broadstone’s bright future in an excellent comment on Dublin’s traffic crises today.
The RPA does not have a track plan to extend the LUAS beyoond Broadstone and Grangegorman on its current list of projects on its website.
So it is all coming together just nicely for the powers that be, no matter what our views are. Broadstone is so much easier to maintain as a historic builing doing exactly what it was designed to do unlike its current use.
Its what we have, let us throw our weight behind this project for the greater good.
The problem is the Interconnector does not exist and the political will to build it is fast evaporating due to cost considerations.
I believe that Broadstone.will be restored at cost less than 5% of the cost of the interconnector when one looks at the cost of the Port Tunnel. This will appeal to the Department of Finance.
Yes the Interconnector should be built, but at this point in time it is last on the list of priorities and so its future is questionable. This is why I have no faith in the political will to do the job.
By the way, the big turf war broke out last evening when Dublin Bus threw down the gauntlet over the traffic speeds in Dublin and blamed the LUAS both existing and planned lines. This is where the real problems for LUAS will come. Remember the late lamented United Dublin Tramway Company.
Ah, wall paper reports, studies, look at the way they have been mangled by political interferance. For givie me for been so sceptical about these grand plans, for without the political will, all plans have no value.
Have a look at the fanous strategic rail review that was produced a few years ago. Yes, I agree, it was promptly dismissed and dispatched to the wallpaper department.
However, stop a moment, dust it down and, most important, read between the lines, and the case for Broadstone and Docklands becomes very clear. This, I believe, is the real direction that rail policy will eventually go and I believe that document was written as the word of the railway powers RPA and IE togeher!
In order to get the frequency to the west and north west that is called for in this report, one requires a radical shift in present policy. Giving old Broadstone a “lick of paint” and new tracks and making it sparkly fits in just nicely. Add the Luas and you got the cherry on top.
That is my twopence worth on this one.
Calling this proposal a turf war is a far too local and blinkered view.
You have got to look at the bigger picture. Broadstone was the original terminous for trains from
Galway, Westport, Ballina, Sligo, Cavan, Oldcastle, Kingscourt, Kells to mention but a few on the grand old Midland Great Western System.Today the services to and from Galway and Westport are extremely poor because of the lack of capacity on the Cork Dublin Line. Cork and south/southwest is favoured over Galway.
The Sligo Service likewise is fighting for space at Connolly an has no space due to capacity limitations on the north south route.
Meath has no service at all and as long as the bottleneck at Connolly is not tackled, will continue to have no service.
Solution: Open Broadstone and link it to the Luas! Look at Heuston which works with Luas, Broadstone being closser to O’Connell Street will work even better. Add the DART element and you got it all.
Many more trains to serve Meath, the west and north west can now terminate without hitting any of the bottlenecks. Frequesncy on the old MGWR Mullingar to Dublin line will be second to none and, in my opinion, it is a no brainer. I even consider it to be a big enhancment to the interconnector by freeing up more route options.
Also, put a multilevel station at the Liffey Junction cross over point and link it to a Luas Line to Finglas via Grangegorman or the old Royal Canal Spur to Broadstone and one you have one of the most comprehensive railway syatems anywhere on this island.
IE should be commended for a last seeing the error of 70 years ago and grasping the opportunity to correct it by restoring this fine terminous. But I wish the political will was there to go much much further in restoring a once faboulus railway system to its former glory. Alas that is another story.
