[21-08-08] Malahide viaduct

[Thomas Ralph]

Due to subsidence of the viaduct at Malahide, there are no services between Howth Junction and Skerries until further notice. Dublin Bus is honouring train tickets in the affected area. Other DART services may be subject to variation.

[ofjames]

http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0821/rail.html

[Mark Gleeson]

Have to wait for the video but it sounds extremely bad

The description is that of the embankment and not the viaduct itself. Very serious and may take days if not weeks to sort out depending on how bad it is. I'd assume the safety people from the RAIU are on the way out to see it as well

Due track layout in Malahide it can't be used as a terminus really, will have to wait on precise details

[losexpectation]

Iarnród Éireann says initial indications are that subsidence caused an embankment to collapse and that the damage appears to be quite bad.

so how long is it going to take to repair?

[ThomasJ]

According to irish rail northern commuter services are suspended until further notice with bus transfers are being arranged for dublin belfast

Notice is advising passengers to use dublin bus or bus eireann but not saying whether or not rail tickets will be accepted

[Mark Gleeson]

For reference the station level displays are saying ticket valid on Dublin Bus

They also imply services are running Skerries-Drogheda/Dundalk

[ThomasJ]

Any idea what could have caused this ? Record rainfall for july ? Soaked soil ?

[Kilocharlie]

A 20m section of the Viaduct collapsed - pictures on RTE web. Very serious with rails in mid-air and a derailment only narrowly avoided according to RTE.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0821/rail.html

[losexpectation]

pics now,http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0821/rail.html, total collapse of sections

[Mark Gleeson]

Looks like the very centre span collapsed, pier on the right looks to have collapsed as well

Very serious, could be weeks to repair

I have the engineering details of the viaduct somewhere at home, they could prove interesting. The piers the bridge is carried on appear to be the originals. Scour from the tidal flows has always been a problem

[Mark Gleeson]

At least Irish Rail seem to be making an effort of sorts

21st August: Major disruption to Northern Commuter, and Belfast Enterprise services by Corporate Communications

UPDATE 21.15HRS, Friday 21st August

There is significant disruption to Northern commuter, and Belfast Enterprise services due to a serious incident in which a 20 metre section of the viaduct has given way across Broadmeadow estuary, north of Malahide this evening. The incident occurred shortly before 18.30hrs this evening.

An investigation into this extremely serious incident is underway.

Services:

Northern commuter services are seriously disrupted. A shuttle rail service is currently operating between Drogheda and Skerries only. Customers travelling between Dublin city and all stations north of Malahide are advised to travel by Dublin Bus or Bus Eireann services.

Belfast Enterprise services will operate with train services between Belfast and Drogheda, and with bus transfers between Drogheda and Connolly, with resulting delays.

These arrangements will continue tomorrow, and weekday service details for next week are being arranged.

DART services between Malahide and Howth Junction have resumed, and are operating normally.

Due to the severe damage to the viaduct, we regret to inform customers that the line across the estuary will not reopen for, at the very least, several weeks, with resulting disruption continuing.

Iarnród Éireann apologises for the inconvenience caused.

[Bluetonic]

There has been 'spring tides' the last few days.

Extremely high tides. Further up the coast at Balbriggan it's was as high as I've seen it in recent years, if as high as ever.

[tigger1962]

so commuter chaos for the next few weeks :( wonder how they'll handle the annual/monthly commuter ticket holders!

[Charlie Hungerford]

The description is that of the embankment and not the viaduct itself. Very serious and may take days if not weeks to sort out depending on how bad it is. I'd assume the safety people from the RAIU are on the way out to see it as well

I think the RAIU people are going to be swarming around this issue like flies - that's an absolutely catastrophic failure!

[James Shields]

Looks bad, alright. Not looking forward to several weeks of bus transfers to work. :-(

It's very lucky the driver who spotted it managed to stop in time, or a very serious incident could have arisen.

[losexpectation]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/catb/3843727118/

[Rashers]

We will see how good the contingency plans are. I know the time of the Skerries freight derailment, there was chaos with lots of mis-information.
There were no extra buses put on, and the Dublin Buses were full from towns like Balbriggan, so no one else got on en-route.
I tried to get a taxi to Malahide, but that took an hour as so many people ended up driving.
I really hope they have learnt from all the past mistakes.
I fully acknowledge this is on the serious end of the scale in terms of impact, but call in the army of whoever, if they do not have the skills/capacity.
Time will tell.
They will need a lot of buses to start transporting people in from Skerries. And will they bring them just to Malahide, or to the city centre?
Assuming they get the buses, not sure how you 'fast track' them along the M1 to the Port Tunnel, and into the city centre.

[Jister]

If it happened in the dark it would not have been spotted I would imagine. If it happened in another month or so it would have been dark at 6pm!!!!

A shockingly close call.

[Mark Gleeson]

Whats even scarier is there was an even closer call within the last month.

Exceptionally lucky today, the consequences of a full 8 coach 29k railcar rolling off the viaduct are too shocking to imagine.

[ThomasJ]

latest @22.30hrs

21st August: Major disruption to Northern Commuter, and Belfast Enterprise services by Corporate Communications


UPDATE 22.30HRS, Friday 21st August

There is significant disruption to Northern commuter, and Belfast Enterprise services due to a serious incident in which a 20 metre section of the viaduct has given way across Broadmeadow estuary, north of Malahide this evening. The incident occurred shortly before 18.30hrs this evening.

An investigation into this extremely serious incident is underway.

Services:

Northern commuter services are seriously disrupted. A shuttle rail service is currently operating between Drogheda and Skerries only. Customers travelling between Dublin city and all stations north of Malahide are advised to travel by Dublin Bus or Bus Eireann services.

Saturday: Trains will operate between Dundalk/Drogheda and Skerries as follows:

Depart Drogheda: 06.30, 07.30 (starts from Dundalk 07.03), 08.30, 09.30 (starts from Dundalk 09.55), 11.30, 13.30, 15.30, 17.30, 19.30, 21.30

Depart Skerries: 07.00, 08.00, 09.00, 10.00, 11.00, 12.00, 14.00, 16.00, 18.00, 20.00, 22.00

Further services for Dundalk will be confirmed later.

Please note again that customers travelling between Dublin city and all stations north of Malahide are advised to travel by Dublin Bus or Bus Eireann services on Saturday.

Belfast Enterprise services will operate with train services between Belfast and Drogheda, and with bus transfers between Drogheda and Connolly, with resulting delays.

These arrangements will continue tomorrow, and weekday service details for next week are being arranged.

DART services between Malahide and Howth Junction have resumed, and are operating normally.

Due to the severe damage to the viaduct, we regret to inform customers that the line across the estuary will not reopen for, at the very least, several weeks, with resulting disruption continuing.

Iarnród Éireann apologises for the inconvenience caused.



now it would be helpful to know how to get from malahide to skerries best i know is sutton-swords village-skerries (102 and 33-although you might be a few minutes walk from off the bus to skerries rail station)

[ThomasJ]

RTE now reporting the driver of that train drove on to malahide and them reported it :eek:

[on the move]

If it happened in the dark it would not have been spotted I would imagine. If it happened in another month or so it would have been dark at 6pm!!!!

A shockingly close call.

6.00 will be bright enough to see issues until the clocks go back. I'm not due to use that section of the line until early October, so hopefully it will be fixed by then.

Lucky the driver spotted it in time. That's a full speed, flat out area of the track. I hope IR have learned their lesson from the Cahir viaduct collapse a few years ago.

[Mark Hennessy]

Thank heavens no one was hurt today, thats all I can say.

Absolutely shocking images, we can only hope there is an engineering explanation as to why this could happen so suddenly, if not there are massive safety questions to be asked of IE.

[karlr42]

RTE now reporting the driver of that train drove on to malahide and them reported it :eek:
I read this too, if true does it mean the driver proceeded over the viaduct? Possibly he was unable to stop in time. Presumably it will all become clear at a later stage.

[on the move]

The worst place for such a thing to happen would be the Boyne Viaduct, where it's a 30-metre drop into the water.

All viaducts should be regularly and thoroughly inspected.

[sublimity]

Yep, shocking images really and very scary.

Now everyone should be on red alert along the wicklow and wexford coast too...

[ThomasJ]

Yep, shocking images really and very scary.

Now everyone should be on red alert along the wicklow and wexford coast too...

True i always wondered if the platform at leixlip would subside but that is a drop in the ocean [excuse the pun ] compared to the northern and east south eastern line [DART AND Rosslare line ] i shudder to think of the consequences.

[weehamster]

Jeasus H Christ, this is serious problem. I can't state enough how lucky this whole thing was. :eek: This will take a month or 3 to repair. And depending how serious condition the rest of the bridges are. Again....:eek:

[Mark Hennessy]

Right engineers, any idea how a span can just collapse?

http://media.share.ovi.com/m1/s/1113/9cc5fd1bdc9e4e76a30d92c548cd9360.jpg

Is this the part most affected by tides?

Also, how does a driver on a south bound service cross this and then report the issue?

[losexpectation]

heres a clue
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=53.458741,-6.155498&spn=0.004797,0.013937&t=h&z=17

[Mark Gleeson]

There curiously was a 29k in the Dublin bound platform in Malahide. The radio telephone would work fine on the bridge. no way a train would get across the bridge in its current state

Each track has its own span possibly one collapsed before the other

[weehamster]

Ladies, any service will not operate for a good while over this section until a proper survey is carried out on the rest of the structure. We really don't know if a proper 'modern' detailed survey was ever carried out on this section. As stated already, the tidal forces would be strong at this section.

Oh wow, I think IÉ is in the deep shi*e over this. This is as far as I'm concerned, totally unforgivable, especially considering the DART extension to Drogheda :mad:

[Mark Gleeson]

We are looking at months here, probably 3 at minimum. It takes concrete 28 days to reach full strength and a steel option is workable in that exposed location

[weehamster]

Mark we really need you now to ask the tough questions to IÉ over this. This could have been really serious. I am talking about possible deaths here.
http://dynimg.rte.ie/000288d410dr.jpg

[Mark Gleeson]

Press release is just finished. Something went wrong an underlying fault in the bridge was missed, there is a history of scour problems. We are very lucky to escape this time. IE built, own and maintain the bridge so unless it was blown up or an earthquake (both highly unlikely) its IE's fault

For the last few years off the record its always been 'there's a big one coming', sadly there will be an fatality accident. This was not the closest to a fatality incident in the last month, a member of staff came within seconds of death on board a passenger service.

[weehamster]

Sorry Mark, but if it wasn't for the very basic cop-on of the driver, this would have been serious. But as you have stated there has been other 'close calls'. how long until...

I really feel sick to the stomach over this. Are us Irish really that incapable or running a rail services safely, let alone efficiently.

[Mark Hennessy]

Related to this now, but how will the commuter trains that are normally sent to Drogheda be serviced and fixed now?

Does that mean that other services will suffer as they are cut off now from access to the depot for many weeks at least?

[Aphfaneire]

It's extreemly lucky that those 50 passengers on the Balbriggan to Connolly train were safe.


The driver noticed a subsidance on the obosite side of the track as he passed.

So he stopped and called in, and soon after it all collapsed.


Scary to think how frequently hundreds of people rocket over that section.

A full, proper rush hour train either south in the morning or north in the evening would have hundreds of people on board. It could have been unbelievably horrific.



But those 50 are safe and probably didn't even notice.


As for what will happen now i'm just shocked at the implications.


My mother and myself have to figure out the best way to get from Drogheda to Dublin.

Our current thinking is take the car to Portmarnock.

Or get the 101 from Drogheda and Park in the station.

Overall i don't know what kind of service's and extra buses they will run but it will be a disaster to organise.


The Skerries Freight Derailment last year was poorly managed to say the least.

This could also be.

What are the Bus contingency plans?


Will Donabate North to Skerries/Balbriggan also recieve shuttle Trains to A unified bus point or extra buses into dublin at stations not capable of handling the traffic.



How will the fleet be maintained over 3 weeks?


There has to be several trains stuck in Dublin. At least 4 or so maybe even more, that can't get back to Drogheda for Repairs.


All other 29k's shared with Southern Commuter service's and Maynooth Service's will also be out of luck.

Thankfully most of the 22k's are now running so this isn't that many, but it puts massive pressure on the Maintenance facilities in Dublin, Ie Connolly.

Will Trains be sent west for repair??

And why is the Enterprise fully suspended? Surely at least 2 remain up north?

There is 5 or so engines and 4 set's of carriage's. NI and IE can easily spare Northern Line trains to keep the Business of Enterprise going between Drogheda and Belfast, or even as far south as Skerries/Balbriggan.


Sending a coach as far north as Belfast directly is a waste of petrol and capacity. Transferring to remaining trains earlier will save time and allow more people to head back to Dublin.






There's far to many issue's to think about.

This is going to be awful!:confused:

[ThomasJ]

UPDATE 13.00HRS, 22ND AUGUST Ongoing major disruption to Northern Commuter, and Belfast Enterprise by Corporate Communications


UPDATE 13.00hrs, Saturday 22nd August

There is significant disruption to Northern commuter, and Belfast Enterprise services due to a serious incident in which a 20 metre section of the viaduct has given way across Broadmeadow estuary, north of Malahide yesterday evening. The incident occurred shortly before 18.30hrs on Friday.

An investigation into this extremely serious incident is underway.

Services:

Northern commuter services are seriously disrupted. A shuttle rail service is currently operating between Drogheda and Skerries only. Customers travelling between Dublin city and all stations north of Malahide are advised to travel by Dublin Bus or Bus Eireann services.

Saturday: Trains will operate between Dundalk/Drogheda and Skerries as follows:

Depart Drogheda: 06.30, 07.30 (starts from Dundalk 07.03), 08.30, 09.30 (starts from Dundalk 09.55), 11.30, 13.30, 15.30, 17.30, 19.30, 21.30

Depart Skerries: 07.00, 08.00, 09.00, 10.00, 11.00, 12.00, 14.00, 16.00, 18.00, 20.00, 22.00

Further services for Dundalk will be confirmed later.

Please note again that customers travelling between Dublin city and all stations north of Malahide are advised to travel by Dublin Bus or Bus Eireann services on Saturday.

Sunday services will be confirmed shortly.

WEEKDAY COMMUTER SERVICES

Iarnród Éireann are working with Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann to provide enhanced services on existing routes serving the communities affected. Dublin Bus will enhance the No 33 routes serving the Balbriggan, Skerries, Rush & Lusk and Donabate areas, including use of the Dublin Port Tunnel. Details of these services, and service arrangements for customers between Dundalk and Gormanstown, will be confirmed as soon as possible.

In addition, a rail service will operate between Dundalk/Drogheda and Skerries.



For the duration of the disruption, Belfast Enterprise services will operate with train services between Belfast and Drogheda, and with bus transfers between Drogheda and Connolly, with resulting delays.

DART services between Malahide and Howth Junction are operating normally.

Due to the severe damage to the viaduct, we regret to inform customers that the line across the estuary will not reopen for at least three months, with resulting disruption continuing.

Iarnród Éireann apologises for the inconvenience caused.


<< Back



its gonna be a long winter for some! :eek: :(

[ThomasJ]

A bit of media reaction and the mystery of whether or not the driver stopped might be solved, it seems it may have been subsiding as he crossed the bridge!
Independent http://www.independent.ie/national-news/packed-train-seconds-from-disaster-in-bridge-collapse-1866930.html

Packed train seconds from disaster in bridge collapse

By Allison Bray

Saturday August 22 2009

TWO rush-hour commuter trains packed with hundreds of passengers were just seconds away from disaster last night when a section of track dramatically plunged into the water moments after they passed over it.

Miraculously, nobody was killed after a 20-metre section of viaduct over Malahide estuary collapsed on the main Dublin-Belfast line seconds after a driver pulled into Malahide station in north Dublin.

But travel chaos ensued for hundreds of passengers stranded in Malahide and major disruption is expected in the weeks to come. The bridge sank into the fast flowing water of the estuary -- just after a train from Balbriggan to Dublin city centre crossed over at about 6.25pm.

And less than five minutes before that, a full northbound commuter train with hundreds of passengers on board passed over the viaduct, at 6.20pm en route to Dundalk.

Subsidence on the line at the Malahide estuary is believed to be the cause of the viaduct collapse. Irish Rail spokesman Barry Kenny said the incident was very serious and could have resulted in widespread tragedy were it not for a quick-thinking train driver.

The driver noticed signs of subsidence on the track as he was crossing at around 6.25pm.

He immediately stopped the train in Malahide and alerted Irish Rail which suspended all services on the northern line.

"He was extremely observant and he immediately raised the alert," he said, noting that the railway control centre also received a red alert on its computer system as the bridge collapsed.

"The scale of the potential for disaster was enormous," he said. "The fact that nobody was hurt and there wasn't a derailment doesn't take away from the fact that this was very close to being a very serious tragedy," Mr Kenny said. All rail services were suspended in either direction from Howth Junction last night as engineers raced to the scene of the collapse.

The Railway Accident Investigation Unit was also called out to the scene last night to investigate the cause of the bridge collapse.

Train services will be suspended north of Howth Junction this weekend and there will be serious disruption to regular commuter service north of Malahide and on the Enterprise line between Dublin and Belfast for weeks to come, Mr Kenny said. "It is a very lengthy disruption we're facing. It will be measured in weeks," he said.

Stranded

Bus transfers were being arranged last night for alternative transport for passengers on the Enterprise line while thousands of stranded DART and commuter passengers were advised to seek alternative transport on Dublin Bus or Bus Eireann. Irish Rail expects it will announce a contingency plan for Northern commuter passengers by next week.

"Tonight the focus is very much on assessing the site but we'll definitely be able to advise people who are commuting by Monday," Mr Kenny said.

Meanwhile, long-time Malahide resident Joan McAllister, whose kitchen on Upper Strand overlooks the estuary, said her husband glanced out the window and saw two of the viaducts arches give way and collapse into the sea.

"Both tracks are gone. There are cables sticking out of the bridge and two of the arches have fallen into the water," she said. Despite the mayhem, some people in the area didn't even notice what was going on, she added. "There were people sailing on sailboards who didn't even notice," she said.

But across the estuary in Malahide it was another story with hundreds of confused commuter train and DART passengers milling about at the station trying to find alternative transport, said local resident Des Byrne. "It's causing chaos. People are getting off trains and don't know what to do," he said.

- Allison Bray

[losexpectation]

Mark Gleeson sings i believe in miracles!

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/miracle-as-rail-tragedy-avoided-1775987.html

[chris]

Is there anything else which needs done on the route while this is ongoing?

How about double-tracking the bridge over the Boyne (like it used to be) to enable future hourly Belfast services?

It would have a limited impact on passengers at this time:
- no extra time delay for Belfast passengers for Dublin changing at Dundalk instead of Drogheda and using the M1
- no effect on Drogheda passengers to Dublin
- adverse effects on Dundalk-Drogheda passengers - would need a limited bus substitution between the two for local and Enterprise passengers
- possible adverse effect on Dundalk - Dublin passengers - would need a lot of express buses to serve Dundalk commuters plus the Enterprise passengers (but would this really be worse for local pax than having to change in Drogheda??)

No idea how long it would take to build though.

[James Shields]

I've just been interviewed by RTE for tonight's six o'clock news. I think Mark and Barry will also be on.

[Mark Gleeson]

The situation is becoming clearer

1. A pier collapsed bringing two spans down, I have spoken to someone who has seen it first hand

2. The last train over spotted the beginning of the collapse and stopped in Malahide to report it. That was the 18:07 Balbriggan Dublin. The train in question may be just may be set 29x29 which is currently red carded in Connolly

Problems

1. Only 2 of the 3 enterprise sets are north of the bridge, Belfast hasn't a clue how to maintain a 201 class engine so serious problems ahead. The 3rd set was moved this afternoon for storage possibly hidden in the shed in Connolly or over to Inchicore

2. The entire 180 strong fleet of commuter railcars are based in Drogheda, only limited facilities exist in Connolly, Inchicore, Cork and Limerick, so reliability of the fleet will slide. The depot in Portlaois isn't equipped for lifting 20 m coaches so it ain't much use. Fairview is but lacks the knowledge

3. Tara Mines is effectively closed as they can't shift the ore to a boat.

[ThomasJ]

The situation is becoming clearer

1. A pier collapsed bringing two spans down, I have spoken to someone who has seen it first hand

2. The last train over spotted the beginning of the collapse and stopped in Malahide to report it. That was the 18:07 Balbriggan Dublin. The train in question may be just may be set 29x29 which is currently red carded in Connolly

Problems

1. Only 2 of the 3 enterprise sets are north of the bridge, Belfast hasn't a clue how to maintain a 201 class engine so serious problems ahead. The 3rd set was moved this afternoon for storage possibly hidden in the shed in Connolly or over to Inchicore

2. The entire 180 strong fleet of commuter railcars are based in Drogheda, only limited facilities exist in Connolly, Inchicore, Cork and Limerick, so reliability of the fleet will slide. The depot in Portlaois isn't equipped for lifting 20 m coaches so it ain't much use. Fairview is but lacks the knowledge

3. Tara Mines is effectively closed as they can't shift the ore to a boat.
any possibilty of third party involvement mark beforehand? Maybe something hitting the viaduct?

[Mark Gleeson]

Bridge collapse disrupts rail services

IRISH TIMES REPORTERS
Rail services through north Dublin are expected to be disrupted for several weeks after a viaduct in Malahide collapsed yesterday evening moments after a train passed over it.

About 20 metres of the viaduct over the Broadmeadow estuary between Malahide and Donabate in north Co Dublin collapsed shortly after 6pm.

Iarnród Éireann spokesman Barry Kenny said last night rail services north of Malahide and the Enterprise service between Belfast and Dublin will be closed for “at least several weeks” due to the severe damage to the bridge.

The subsidence began as the 18.07 train from Balbriggan to Connolly station passed over the viaduct. There were up to 50 passengers on board.

The driver noticed the serious subsidence starting and the embankment beginning to give way on the northbound track. He alerted control and raised the alarm at Malahide station.

Mr Kenny pointed out that if the driver hadn’t contacted control, they would have been alerted as the track circuits would have gone when the bridge collapsed. However, Mr Kenny said he was not underestimating how potentially serious the incident was.

Iarnród Éireann said there is “little doubt” the tidal estuary was a factor in the incident. The company is investigating the full circumstances but said the issue was likely to be the viaduct rather than the track.

The rail accident investigation unit of the Department of Transport will also carry out an independent investigation.

Passengers’ representative group Rail Users Ireland said it was a “miracle” people were not killed. Spokesman Mark Gleeson said the incident raised serious questions about the maintenance and inspection regime on Ireland’s rail network.

“This viaduct carries some of the busiest commuter trains in Ireland, it is nothing short of a miracle that the collapse did not result in a serious accident and loss of life,” he said. “While we await the report from the rail accident investigation unit, it is essential that all bridges are inspected nationwide to ensure no critical faults have been overlooked.”

He also demanded cash refunds for all weekly, monthly and annual ticket holders who can no longer travel by train because of the closure.

Some 90 trains a day pass over the bridge. Rail commuters travelling north of Malahide are being advised to travel by Dublin Bus or Bus Éireann services.

Bus transfers are being arranged for services between Belfast and Dublin. A shuttle service is operating between Drogheda and Skerries. Replacement bus services are also running between Dublin and stations north of the city. The Belfast Enterprise service will only run between Belfast and Drogheda, with bus transfers in and out of Dublin.

Iarnród Éireann said local Dart services between Malahide and Howth Junction have resumed, and are operating normally.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0822/breaking5.htm

[James Shields]

Of course if Irish Rail (and the Irish government) been proactive and built the Navan rail link (or never got rid of it in the first place), all of these problems would cease to exist. It might not solve the commuter chaos, but at least it would provide an alternative route for moving and maintaining rolling stock.

[James Shields]

Iarnród Éireann said there is “little doubt” the tidal estuary was a factor in the incident. The company is investigating the full circumstances but said the issue was likely to be the viaduct rather than the track.

Well duh! Looking at the photographs, that's fairly obvious. However, without the viaduct the track is pretty useless.

[coffeedrinker]

so commuter chaos for the next few weeks :( wonder how they'll handle the annual/monthly commuter ticket holders!

My annual ticket expires at the end of September and I was going to get my employer to order my next years one. I for one hope they don't arrange a refund but just allow the annual tickets to be used on whatever amazing contingency buses etc that IR come up with. I'm commuting from Drogheda so whether they provide buses from hte Train Station to town or to Malahide or if I do have to get Bus Eireann, that I can use my Annual Ticket.

Just thinking back to the time of the Skerries derailment, I left my house in Drogheda about 6.30 am and got into work about 4 hours later with a combination of Bus Eireann and Dart, if everymorning is like that this time, i won't have to worry about getting my employer to order an Annual ticket, cos I won't have a job!!

[Aphfaneire]

3 MONTHS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:eek: :eek: :eek:


What the hell am i going to do!

I have supplemental exams.

If i pass those i have placement in James's hospital and else where.



We're tight for money and i don't drive yet. I'll have to take the test now, i fecking loath driving.

[Mark Gleeson]

Im told a procedure will be in place to refund anyone with an annual or monthly ticket who no longer wants to (i.e can't) travel with Irish Rail

Its only fair

[steo101]

Hey folks - rgular on boards.ie first time here though.

Anyway, fe pics I popped up on boards already:

Few pics, thmubnails below so you can zoom right in at your leisure. I will get in much closer this evening, lots of IÉ staff on the embankment so I didn't want to risk climbing on top of it as some of the eiretrains folk have done in the past.

http://img2.imageshack.us/img2/1858/dscf4145.jpg (http://img2.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf4145.jpg)

http://img2.imageshack.us/img2/1858/dscf4145.th.jpg (http://img2.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf4145.jpg)
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/3078/dscf4146d.th.jpg (http://img10.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf4146d.jpg)
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/465/dscf4147.th.jpg (http://img256.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf4147.jpg)
http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/3658/dscf4148e.th.jpg (http://img190.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf4148e.jpg)
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/1469/dscf4149x.th.jpg (http://img38.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf4149x.jpg)
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/2599/dscf4150.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf4150.jpg)
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/6132/dscf4151.th.jpg (http://img38.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf4151.jpg)
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/8596/dscf4152.th.jpg (http://img38.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf4152.jpg)
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/3038/dscf4153.th.jpg (http://img38.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf4153.jpg)
http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/9748/dscf4154h.th.jpg (http://img24.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dscf4154h.jpg)

[Mark Gleeson]

Nice photos

Security has been posted on both sides so don't try to get in closer

Its two spans in the middle are gone, the support pier is 'missing'

[Mark Hennessy]

3 MONTHS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:eek: :eek: :eek:


What the hell am i going to do!

I have supplemental exams.

If i pass those i have placement in James's hospital and else where.



We're tight for money and i don't drive yet. I'll have to take the test now, i fecking loath driving.

I have to say this is going to be a total disaster for the folks on the northern line.

I think we can state with a fair degree of confidence that the bus alternatives won't have the capacity and frequency needed to offer a full alternative :(

I think in your case you may be better off trying to find short term accommodation in town or perhaps crash with friends / colleagues during the week. Otherwise you'll have a very tough 3-4 months ahead.

[Mark Hennessy]

There's a before and after shot here clearly showing the missing support.

http://www.opensourcemechanic.com/blog/?p=25

[ThomasJ]

Can i suggest a few things on this thread:

-update the title, remove the date from the title
-have this thread as a sticky in both the travel alerts and the northern line forum

I have a feeling this thread is going to get quiet busy over the next few months

[Thomas Ralph]

Good idea. New thread at http://www.railusers.ie/forum/showthread.php?t=10256, this thread is closed.