[Articles] DART Underground

[Colm Moore]

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...232689921.html

Plans for underground rail line for Dublin to go on public display
OLIVIA KELLY

THE ROUTE and station plans for the new underground rail line from Heuston Station to Dublin's Docklands, will be put on public display by Iarnród Éireann from tomorrow.

The line, which the company is calling an "underground Dart", will have just five stations along its 5.2km length, at Heuston, Christchurch, St Stephen's Green, Pearse Street and Docklands.

A spokesman for Iarnród Éireann said the company intends to apply for a railway order to build the underground line, which is a Transport 21 project, in autumn 2009 and hopes to complete the project in 2015. While he would not reveal the cost of the project, it has been estimated to be in the region of €2 billion.

The line is one of the most important elements of Transport 21, Iarnród Éireann said, as it will connect a number of services.

At Heuston the line will connect to the Luas Red line; at Stephen's Green it will be linked to the Luas Green line and the proposed Metro North; at Pearse Street it will connect with the Dart and commuter services; while at Docklands it will again connect with the Luas Red line. The Christchurch stop will see this area of the city connected to rail for the first time.

The new line will increase the capacity of Dart and commuter services from 33 million to more than 100 million on completion.

The company is beginning its public consultation phase with a series of four open information meetings to be held over the next two weeks. The meetings will be held by Iarnród Éireann staff between 5pm and 8pm on the following dates:

August 12th: Ashling Hotel, Parkgate Street, Dublin 8
August 13th: Central Hotel, Exchequer Street, Dublin 2
August 19th: St Mary's Youth Club, Strangford Road, Dublin 3
August 20th: Alexander Hotel, Merrion Square, Dublin 2

[Mark Gleeson]

We have had the expected dates in the members area since last Tuesday. As usual only a days public notice to the first event. RPA gave considerably more notice for Metro North

Just to note the Alexander Hotel is not on Merrion Square, its on Fenian Street. (Top of Westland Row, go left, pass Gingerman Pub on your left, Davenport Hotel on right, cross Cumberland Street, you have arrived at your destination)

[Mark Hennessy]

http://www.independent.ie/national-n...l-1452423.html

PLANS to build a €2bn underground DART tunnel through Dublin city centre will go ahead despite the economic downturn.

The Government has told Iarnrod Eireann that its plans for a 5.2km "interconnector" linking Heuston Station to the Dublin Docklands is to proceed as planned, and the project is expected to be delivered by its 2015 deadline -- a year after Metro North is completed.

Yesterday a spokesman for the rail company said the interconnector was the main priority over the coming years and it expected to seek planning permission in autumn 2009.

Physical work is expected to begin in late 2010, with a five-year construction timeframe.

There had been concerns that the project could have been delayed given the precarious state of the Government's finances. However, Iarnrod Eireann last night said it had been told to proceed as planned, and that it would be hosting four open days so the public could see the final route.

"DART Underground is a core part of Transport 21, and the Transport Minister and his Department have made it clear to us that the delivery of this project is their number one priority for Iarnrod Eireann. It's full steam ahead," the spokesman said.

"For such a crucial project for the public transport needs of the city, we want all those living along the route, and those who will benefit from it in the wider community, to be able to examine the plans, and see the service frequency and capacity benefits which will result. These public meetings are the first of many in the months ahead, to ensure that all have the opportunity to see the route, and have their say."

The interconnector, in effect a second DART line, will run underground through the heart of the city and link the Northern line to the Kildare line, with underground stops at Docklands, Pearse Station, St Stephen's Green, Christchurch and Heuston.

It will be a vital piece of infrastructure and will see the DART extended to the Northern, Maynooth and Kildare commuter lines and allow train users to travel from Cork to Belfast without leaving Iarnrod Eireann property.

Terminate

The first DART line will run from Maynooth/Pace to Connolly Station, Pearse Station, Bray and Greystones, while the second line will run from Howth/Northern Line and serve Clontarf Road, Docklands, Pearse, St Stephen's Green, Christchurch, Heuston and terminate in Hazelhatch.

Passenger numbers on DART and commuter services will increase from 33m today to over 100m on completion. It also links all rail modes -- DART, Commuter, Intercity, Luas and Metro -- to form an integrated cohesive network.

The information meetings take place on four dates from 5pm to 8pm. Today's meeting is in the Ashling Hotel on Parkgate St, while another will take place tomorrow at the Central Hotel on Exchequer Street.

Another two meetings are next week. The first on August 19 at St Mary's Youth Club on Strangford Road and the second the following day at the Alexander Hotel on Merrion Square.

- Paul Melia

[Colm Moore]

Originally Posted by www.independent.ie

It will be a vital piece of infrastructure and will see the DART extended to the Northern, Maynooth and Kildare commuter lines and allow train users to travel from Cork to Belfast without leaving Iarnrod Eireann property.

But, for such a trip, will the Luas Red Line still be the best way to get from Heuston to Connolly.

Should there be a "super stop" either on the Kildare and/or Northern lines to transfer from InterCity to local services?

For Enterprise services, is the main objection to the Dogheda stop (a) the stop / time delay or (b) the potential overcrowding?

[dowlingm]

Donabate would be a good candidate for a superstop if Enterprise, DART and Metro North (extended beyond a Lissenhall field) all served it.

[Mark Hennessy]

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...477454427.html

Did Frank not write an article a few weeks back opposing this because of the loss of some trees in Stephens Green during construction?

IARNRÓD ÉIREANN is under "huge pressure" from the Department of Transport and politicians to make rapid progress in delivering an underground rail link between Dublin's Heuston and Docklands stations.

Project manager Peter Muldoon also said there was "not a peep that the project is being targeted for cuts" by the Government to trim public expenditure - even though it carries an estimated price tag of €2 billion.

Omagh-born Mr Muldoon, who spent most of his working life in the private sector, told The Irish Times he had made a full presentation of the "Dart underground" project to Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey last month.

"The Minister has told us that this is Iarnród Éireann's number one priority, because he wants to get it done," said the company's spokesman, Barry Kenny. "Every aspect of it is being pushed as well as being scrutinised by the department."

The latest plan is now out for public consultation, with meetings taking place over the next week. Tenders are also being prepared with a view to engaging a multidisciplinary team of consultants to take it forward as a public-private partnership (PPP) project.

Consultants are expected to be appointed later this month to prepare an environmental impact statement on the 5.2km (three miles) route, including the excavation of underground stations at Heuston, Christ Church Cathedral, St Stephen's Green, Pearse Station and Docklands.

At Christ Church, the intention is to excavate the amphitheatre of the Civic Offices to install a station there and also a green area on Cook Street just north of St Audoen's Catholic Church, to provide a second means of access to and from the station.

Mr Muldoon said four tunnel boring machines would be used to dig twin tunnels through limestone bedrock, with two starting from Docklands in the direction of St Stephen's Green while the other two would work their way from Heuston towards the Green.

The average depth of the tunnels would be 25 to 30 metres, each with an internal diameter of six metres - sufficiently wide to accommodate an eight-carriage Dart-type commuter train and the overhead 1,500-volt electricity wires.

Some of the tunnelling work, particularly for stations, would involve substantial cut-and-cover excavations and/or "mining" from the surface to minimise the impact at ground level. But Mr Muldoon conceded that there was bound to be some disruption to traffic.

At Heuston Station, two options are being considered. One would involve excavating an underground station beneath the old station hall, necessitating the closure of four platforms, or alternatively excavating part of the vast Guinness transport yard nearby.

Diageo plc, which owns Guinness, has serious concerns about the impact on its freight movements if the latter option was to be chosen.

But given that the company is rationalising its brewery at St James's Gate, Iarnród Éireann expects a "positive outcome". Mr Muldoon said the Civic Offices amphitheatre had been chosen to excavate the Christ Church station because it had already been "archaeologically resolved"; alternative locations in High Street were ruled out because the "risks were too great". He said the excavation would stop short of the old Viking city wall on Wood Quay, just three metres to the south. "We'll be carrying out an archaeological excavation in these areas [on the Civic Offices site and Cook Street] to make sure there are no surprises".

The Dart station at St Stephen's Green would be slotted in beneath the station planned by the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) for Metro North, which would require the excavation of the north-western corner of the Green, including removal of the Fusiliers Arch.

After starting out separately, Iarnród Éireann and the RPA have been holding bi-weekly project meetings over the past year to co- ordinate planning of this multi-level station. It is also likely that tracks for a Luas city centre link will be laid within the enclosure.

Mr Muldoon conceded that Iarnród Éireann's works would have a negative impact on the north side of the Green, facing Dawson Street and Kildare Street, and also on the north of Merrion Square, where an entrance/exit is planned for the station serving Pearse.

He emphasised that the huge cut-and-cover excavation for the Docklands underground station would have no impact on traffic that will be using a new bridge linking Macken Street with Guild Street, as it would all be done on vacant land to the east.

The twin tunnels would be bored some five metres beneath the bed of the river Liffey to take the underground trains to and from Docklands station, where there would also be a direct connection with the Luas extension from Connolly to the Point on Mayor Street.

Mr Muldoon said electrification of the rail lines to Maynooth and Hazelhatch (on the Kildare line) was "fundamental" to the project, though it is not included in the cost estimate. However, he stressed that there was "no fat in this programme whatsoever".

© 2008 The Irish Times

[Mark Hennessy]

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...477454443.html

TWENTY ELECTRIC trains per hour - one every three minutes - would run through the planned tunnel linking Heuston Station with Docklands, according to Iarnród Éireann.

But the tunnel is intended not only to provide the missing link between Dart and suburban commuter rail services in Dublin; it will also transform services on the existing Dart line.

Dart trains originating in Bray or Greystones would terminate at Maynooth, while those originating in Howth or Malahide would run through the tunnel to Hazelhatch and, ultimately, Kildare.

Anyone wishing to travel from, say, Dún Laoghaire to Howth (or vice versa) would have to change at Pearse Station, Westland Row; the continuous service around Dublin Bay would cease.

One major benefit, according to Iarnród Éireann, is that the current bottleneck at Connolly Station would be freed up, enabling the company to provide a wider range of rail services.

Another major benefit - indeed, the raison d'etre for this €2 billion project - would be to bring an end to the historic isolation of Heuston Station, knitting it into a new suburban rail network.

The journey time between Heuston and Docklands would be less than 10 minutes, with just three intermediate stops - Christ Church, St Stephen's Green and Pearse Station, all roughly 1km apart.

Along the way, the Dart underground - as the company has branded it - would link up with the Tallaght Luas line at Heuston and Docklands as well as the Sandyford Luas line at St Stephen's Green.

"Every rail line into Dublin will see a massive increase in capacity from this project," according to Iarnród Éireann spokesman Barry Kenny. "Without it, we would have guaranteed gridlock for evermore."

Resignalling at Connolly is intended to increase its throughput from 12 to 18 trains per hour in each direction, including the Maynooth line, but even this would be less than the interconnector's capacity.

The company forecasts that the number of peak-hour passengers using its commuter rail services in the Greater Dublin Area would increase almost threefold, from 22,000 now to 62,000 in 2020.

Mr Kenny said four-tracking the Kildare line as far as Hazelhatch - currently its biggest rail project, costing €350 million - would be "dwarfed" by the investment in the Heuston-Docklands tunnel.

Electrification of the Kildare line to Hazelhatch is provided for in the Government's Transport 21 programme. The Maynooth line would also have to be electrified in order to make Dart Underground work.

Diesel engines would only be used in the tunnel section after hours for maintenance; otherwise all trains would be electric. Anyone travelling to or from Kildare would have to change at Hazelhatch or Heuston. Asked why no station was being provided to serve the Digital Hub in Thomas Street, project manager Peter Muldoon said this area was within walking distance of Heuston or the proposed station at Christ Church.

It is also intended to retain the relatively new station above ground in Docklands, probably as a terminus for the proposed Navan commuter line. This would be 100 metres from the entrance to the underground.

[dowlingm]

6m internal diameter, that's 19'8 - how much clearance from rail to wire/tunnel is that likely to be? The Mount Royal tunnel in Montreal has a 14'6" height limit but AMT are ordering the same reduced height multilevel coaches as New Jersey Transit - although they are locohaul push/pull not EMUs.

[Mark]

Are they planned on removing the TBMs in St. Stephen's Green?

[Colm Moore]

Thats really a matter for the contractor.

With Metro North the suggestion is that the TBM be parked in a stub tunnel and stripped, leaving the lining in place.

Interconnector is a bit more up in the air. (Not! - pun!)

[weehamster]

IÉ DART Underground Promo

[essoII]

It think that's quite a good promotional piece and certainly sets in stone the importance of this piece of infrastructure. Very well establishes the idea of the expanded dart network. Well done IE. But follow through with those expansion figures!

[Thomas Ralph]

Sunday Times today has a suggestion about increasing use of the Phoenix Park tunnel. Can't find it online though.

[Kilocharlie]

Here is the article
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle6806595.ece

Think tank: Radical departure for Dublin rail plan
Irish Rail loves to spend big, but there is a cheaper way to connect the capital Ruadhán MacEoin

An Bord Snip Nua has said €55m should be saved by closing about 240km of railway around the country. Irish Rail, however, has different plans. It is seeking to build a €100m office block on top of Tara Street station in central Dublin, in conjunction with a property developer. The problem is, of course, the capital has a glut of post-Celtic tiger office space lying empty and it’s hard to think of any developers with money to invest.

Irish Rail is also advancing a plan to build about 8km of underground railway in Dublin city centre, at a cost of up to €2 billion. Connecting Spencer Dock in east Dublin with Heuston station on the western outskirts, the interconnector certainly has merit. Once completed, suburban trains will be able to go from Balbriggan in north Dublin to Naas,

Co Kildare, via Spencer Dock, St Stephen’s Green and Heuston. Trains will also be able to travel from Maynooth via Connolly station to Wicklow. Pearse station would be the interchange.

My point is that most of these link-ups can be achieved using existing CIE lines. These include the so-called “secret” railway, which includes a tunnel under Phoenix Park, connecting Heuston to Connolly and Spencer Dock stations, forming an arc that hugs the North Circular Road. Twin-tracked all the way, this line meets safety standards and serves some of the most populated areas in the capital, including Phibsborough, Cabra and Croke Park, each of which could be served by a new station.

Five years ago, Joe Maher, then chief executive of Irish Rail, told the Dail’s transport committee: “We certainly intend to use the park tunnel in the short term to bring trains from the Kildare/Newbridge area into Spencer Dock because there is demand for that.” But it never happened.

While there might be additional engineering costs for works next to the Royal Canal at Phibsborough, developing what has become known as the “ghost line” would be far less expensive than building the interconnector, or Dart Underground, which was estimated in 2003 to cost €1.3 billion, but would undoubtedly be €2 billion now.

The interconnector’s new stations will be in areas already well served by public transport. St Stephen’s Green has Luas, and the proposed station at Christ Church will be within 300 metres of the Luas’s Four Courts station. These areas will be even better served when the two Luas lines are eventually connected.

The first step in my plan would be to run Arklow trains around to Kildare, connecting Connolly and Heuston in the process. There are no engineering impediments to this.

Within a few months, Spencer Dock station will be served by a Luas extension. A minor junction change there would allow direct access from the Heuston and Dundalk lines. This would mean Balbriggan-Kildare trains could enter Spencer Dock and proceed in the opposite direction to Phibsborough or the Clontarf Road. A similar arrangement exists on the Dublin-Waterford line at Kilkenny. Trains could go from Balbriggan to Naas, and Maynooth to Wicklow using existing stock and infrastructure.

Complementary to that would be the completion of the green Luas line from Stephen’s Green via O’Connell Street and Broadstone station to Phibsborough, connecting with the commuter trains. Based on Luas construction costs to date, this could probably be done for €120m.

Under my plans, Dublin could have an integrated rail and Luas network for less than €200m. Most of the population between the canals would be no more than 10 minutes from a railway station.

Irish Rail’s plans involving tunnelling under Dublin Castle, Wood Quay and Stephen’s Green; it is difficult to think of more environmentally sensitive areas in the city. Instead, using existing but idle assets offers a frugal yet realistic integration of its rail network.

These days Irish Rail seems more interested in projects other than its core business. Public transport users are entitled to the best possible use of existing infrastructure without having to wait for grandiose schemes that may take years to build and cause huge disruption.

To use the current rail infrastructure, it may be necessary to privatise the network and lease it to a company similar to Ryanair, whose operation is based on end-to-end demand-driven services. If don’t, we may end up with closed lines and another empty office block for the National Asset Management Agency to conjure with.

Ruadhán MacEoin is a journalist and chairman of the Mountjoy Square Society

[essoII]

someone on archiseek.com already destroyed this loopy journalist:


"one problem is: why in the name of all that's bad and unholy would anybody coming from the Kildare direction go on a 25 min magical mystery tour to a docklands timbucktoo station when they can get the Luas from Heuston to OCS taking 10 mins.
IE has surveyed this and 90% plus said they would get out at Heuston and get the Luas.

In reality you could walk to OCS quicker from Heuston than going via the PP tunnell (speed redtricted lines) to Docklands and then finding your way back to the CC.
IE has already scrapped the off peak Clonsilla trains to Docklands because the trains were arriving with no passengers.
Nobody wants to go there.
Neither does anybody other than the one passenger and his dog want to go to Phibsboro from Heuston.
If you knew anything about this part of the city this would be clear to you.
Nor can the PP trains get into Connolly which has no capacity for more services..

This author of this 'hold on I have the answer to everything' article could have saved making himself look like a fool if he'd made a phone call to IE for their take on it."

[weehamster]

Originally Posted by essoII

someone on archiseek.com already destroyed this loopy journalist:


"one problem is: why in the name of all that's bad and unholy would anybody coming from the Kildare direction go on a 25 min magical mystery tour to a docklands timbucktoo station when they can get the Luas from Heuston to OCS taking 10 mins.
IE has surveyed this and 90% plus said they would get out at Heuston and get the Luas.

In reality you could walk to OCS quicker from Heuston than going via the PP tunnell (speed redtricted lines) to Docklands and then finding your way back to the CC.
IE has already scrapped the off peak Clonsilla trains to Docklands because the trains were arriving with no passengers.
Nobody wants to go there.
Neither does anybody other than the one passenger and his dog want to go to Phibsboro from Heuston.
If you knew anything about this part of the city this would be clear to you.
Nor can the PP trains get into Connolly which has no capacity for more services..

This author of this 'hold on I have the answer to everything' article could have saved making himself look like a fool if he'd made a phone call to IE for their take on it."

You've seemd to have left out the very first part of his comment.

the platform11 anoraks have an absolute fetish for the 8th wonder of the world the PP tunnel.

www.archiseek.com

[Mark Gleeson]

This guy had spoken to us and we very clearly stated the Interconnector was the only show in town, Park Tunnel only really came into its own when the Interconnector was built

The numbers are interesting 2,000 per hour vs 30,000 per hour, its an easy choice

[Peter1966]

The lads on the www.archiseek.com forum were critical of Ruadhan Mac Eoin's article in the Sunday Times and he has (well it appears to be him) signed up and posted a reply:
http://archiseek.com/content/showthr...?t=6803&page=6

I'm just an average punter, but his plan seems hair-brained to me. I can't see how it would be much use. Would be very grateful if anyone here could shed more light on the subject...

[Mark Hennessy]

Hey Peter,

This page has a lot of information on the project:

http://www.railusers.ie/campaigns/extendthedart/

[Peter1966]

I had read the info on http://www.railusers.ie/campaigns/extendthedart/
It's all good stuff and a compelling case is made for the underground interconnector - which I am strongly in favour of.

I am worried about Ruadhan Mac Eoin's idea of using the Pheonix Park Tunnel instead of buliding the underground interconnector. It's strikes me that his scheme would be inadequate due to:

1. Lack of capacity
2. Slow train speeds
3. Lack of integration
4. No service to the Dublin 2 area.
5. Still a two track from Inchicore to Heuston

Can anybody provide some facts and figures to flesh it out ?

i.e. Under Mac Eoin's scheme:
What would the additional journey time be to get from Parkwest to Spencer Dock ?
How many less passengers and trains per hour could the line from Parkwest to Spencer Dock accomodate ? I noted that Mark says 2,000 vs. 30,000 - is that the PPT route (2,000) vs. the Underground Interconncetor (30,000) ?