Tram on O'Connell Bridge

It’s a great day because finally the clock can start ticking down to the realisation of many years of dreaming and wishing by the citizens of Dublin for the trams that once crossed the Liffey to be finally reinstated! We are one step closer to actually having a piece of a viable rail system in the capital, one where the rail nodes actually will join up from day one! That’s right I’m talking about the possibility of being able to get a Luas or a Dart or a Metro all from the same station, all going different places!

More than likely based on previous strategic infrastructure applications for railway orders, the three projects could be with An Bord Pleanala, accounting for further information request and oral hearings at least 12 months if not longer.

DART Underground

My worry is that there will be no coordinated approach regarding the construction of the three projects that’s; Metro North, LUAS line BXD and DART interconnector, even though two of the projects will be pursued by the same agency.  As far as I know combined they will take something like 6 years to complete all the projects with a layoff in the works for the first 6 months of 2016 for the Rising celebrations.

I have one other gripe for the construction is the probability that the pond in St Stephens green will be drained for the duration of the construction works for the stations at St Stephens Green.

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THE RAILWAY Procurement Agency (RPA) plans to change the route of the proposed Lucan Luas line, but said it does not intend to reopen public consultation on the project.

Plans for the line, which would run from Lucan in west Dublin to the city centre, were originally put out to public consultation in late 2007. The RPA received a record 2,300 submissions from the public, greater than the response for the entire Metro North project.

The preferred route which emerged from this process was announced in October 2008. From College Green in the city centre, the 15km “Line F” would head west along Dame Street to Christchurch before joining the existing Red Line at Fatima. It would then continue along the Grand Canal before turning right on Kylemore Road and heading towards Ballyfermot and out of the city towards Lucan.

In a letter sent to residents in Inchicore, the RPA said it now plans to change the route so that the Luas line could link up with the proposed final stop of the Dart Underground line.

In the letter, the RPA said that at the time the original Lucan Luas selection process took place, the Dart Underground route was to end at Heuston Station. Iarnród Éireann subsequently decided to extend the line to Inchicore.

The RPA and Iarnród Éireann have been working for a number of months to identify a way to provide a “viable interchange” between the two lines, the letter said. The proposed solution involves taking the line away from the canal and routing it through industrial lands east of Inchicore Village to meet the planned Dart station.

A spokesman for the RPA said two information meetings would be held this week – at Liffey Gaels GAA Club, Ballyfermot, from 6pm to 9pm tonight, and at the Oblate Hall, Inchicore, at the same time tomorrow.

The RPA intends to seek a Railway Order, planning permission to construct the line, from An Bord Pleanála next year. When the preferred route was announced in October 2008, the RPA said it would seek a Railway Order in 2010.

The spokesman said there would “not be any significant delay” in development as a result of the route change. No date for its construction has been set.

Inchicore on Track, a residents’ group which had been critical of a lack of consultation from Iarnród Éireann in relation to the site of the Dart Underground station, said it wanted public consultation on the route change.

“This route change might be a no-brainer, and it seems logical, but what if we don’t agree with it?” asked group representative John Beck.

IrishTimes

View more about this LUAS project on the RPA website:  http://www.rpa.ie/en/projects/luas_lucan/Pages/default.aspx

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THE LUAS extension from Bus Áras to the Point is to open on Tuesday and will face its first big challenge within hours, the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) said yesterday.

According to the RPA, passengers will be offered free travel on the entire Red Line from 3pm on Tuesday immediately after the official opening, until 12.30am, when the line closes. The offer coincides with a potential audience of up to 13,000 people at the Lily Allen concert in the 02.

As he gave pre-school children from the Giraffe and Early Learning centres in the IFSC a special preview of the new extension yesterday, RPA light rail project director Michael Sheedy said the three- bay Luas terminal at the Point would be able to move 2,500 people from the O2 in the first 20 minutes after the concert.

“You will have some people taking their cars anyway and some who will start walking rather than wait, so we are not really expecting a problem,” Mr Sheedy said. Depending on demand, trams could be available every 6½ minutes.

The new extension encompasses four new stops – at George’s Dock, Mayor Square, Spencer Dock and the Point. The route bypasses the current terminus at the Luas concourse at Connolly Station. The RPA says the distances to the new stop represent a walk of only one or two minutes.

From Tuesday, just one in three trams will deviate between Bus Áras and George’s Dock to serve the concourse at the station.

According to the RPA’s Tom Manning, one of the main benefits of the Luas extension will be in breathing life into the IFSC at night-time, bringing people into the area for concerts and giving people a reason to remain as late as the last tram at 12.30am.

The route will pass the Harbourmaster bar and restaurant and will serve many of the corporate offices in the IFSC, as well as the National College of Ireland and new hotels, restaurants and wine bars on the north quays. It will also serve the 02, the soon to be completed concert hall and the Point Village.

“It brings the tram into a whole new area of Dublin; it looks more like Boston,” said Mr Manning as he pointed out local landmarks including “the Anglo Irish icon”, an unfinished office block near the Point. Journey times from Tallaght to the Point will be 56 minutes and services will be every 6½ minutes at peak times.

Public consultation for the extension was launched in January 2001 and construction began in June 2007.

Irish Times

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1. Luas Cherrywood extension has final stretch put in place
2. Luas Line F1 – Change to proposed route for Lucan line planned
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LUAS TRAMS will not stop at a new station being built in south Dublin because development planned for the area has not materialised, the Rail Procurement Agency (RPA) has said.

A new Luas line from Sandyford to Cherrywood in south Dublin is currently under construction, and is expected to be operational next autumn.

Costs for the development have been estimated at €40 million a kilometre.

Eleven stops will be constructed along the B1 line, including at Ballyogan, Leopardstown, Carrickmines and Cherrywood.

However, although a stop is being built at Brennanstown, off the N11 near Cabinteely, Luas trams will not stop there. New housing developments in the area had been and are being marketed on the basis of proximity to the Luas stop.

A spokesman for the RPA said the area around the Brennanstown stop had not developed in the way that was expected.

He said the road infrastructure around the stop had not been built.

“There is no way passengers can get in and out,” he said.

It was not the responsibility of the RPA to provide access roads, he added.

“It is really a matter of how the area has developed.”

Fine Gael TD George Lee said the decision not to stop at the station would be a “a kick in the teeth” for local residents.

“This will come as a major shock to local residents, many of whom bought apartments and houses in the area at the height of the boom in the expectation that they would have a Luas stop on their doorstep in the near future.

“These are the same people who are suffering terribly from negative equity,” Mr Lee added. “Plans to deprive them of a Luas service is like kicking them when they are down.”

He said he understood the Rail Procurement Agency was concerned that the demand for a Luas service would not be sufficient due to the number of empty apartments in the area.

He said he would raise the matter with Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey.

“I am calling on the Minister to ensure that the Brennanstown stop opens from day one when the Luas line is extended.”

Related posts:

1. Luas Cherrywood extension has final stretch put in place
2. Luas Red Line extension to open on Tuesday
3. New €22m Dart station opens today in Clongriffin