Cork-Dub Vs london-Paris

[IHIR]

See the record set today? 135 mins from London to Paris - now wouldnt that be nice from Cork to Dublin

[Mark Gleeson]

Was 2 hours 3 minutes 39 seconds today

Dublin Cork record is 2 hours 7 minutes

[packetswitch]

When was that, Mark? Steam?

I'm a big fan of Eurostar - did it on a number of occasions last year London to Paris and London to Brussels (some for work, some for leisure). Very cheap for an under 26 too (which I still am, just about).

(As an aside, those who like to travel without flying might like to note that because St. Pancras is just a short walk from Euston (terminus for Holyhead to London services), doing Dublin to Paris or Dublin to Brussels (or points beyond it) has become a little easier (if you have a few hours to spare, of course).

[Mark Gleeson]

Originally Posted by packetswitch

When was that, Mark? Steam?

1987 diesel[/quote]

I intend to do a day trip Dublin - London - Paris - London - Dublin in 2008 to try it out, obviously flying to London

Eurostar has a 70% and growing market share, the total cost of the infrastructure is in the tens of billions

[richards]

In fairness, the London - Paris has a huge catchment area so can justify the capital cost associated with building same, even then its operating at an overall loss, The total cost of the Channel Tunnel will make it uneconomic for many years to come.

Dublin Cork is approx 150 years old and with todays numbers using it,it is questionable it would be built today in its entirety.

However with the end of oil and climate change, the dynamics of building such railways might again come in to focus!

[MrX]

Just to give you an idea of the scale:

London Metropolitan area : 12,629,020
Paris Metropolitan area : 11,695,134
Brussels Metropolitan area: 2,129,024

Republic of Ireland (all of it) : 4,239,848

Dublin's the 73rd largest European metropolitan area with a population of 1,036,724

Cork doesn't even rate in the top 200.

So comparing Eurostar and the Cork-Dublin-Express is a bit pointless.

If you want to compare it with something, perhaps a line between some of the middle sized German cities would be a good comparison.

Or, take a look at the Scandinavian countries
E.g. compare it to Copenhagen -Aarhus (Denmark's capital to second city)

Trying to compare an Irish service to Paris-London is just totally ridiculous.