Malahide Media Coverage

[Colm Moore]

http://www.herald.ie/national-news/c...e-1944816.html

Commuters back on track at last with new bridge
By Claire Murphy and Caitlin McBride
Monday November 16 2009

The Dublin-Belfast rail line reopened today -- three months after a bridge collapsed and the line was closed.

Hundreds of commuters arrived at Connolly Station this morning on the first trains following the completion of repair work on the Malahide viaduct.

Iarnrod Eireann said the line, which reopened this morning, was running to normal timetables and service was restored for Northern Commuter and Belfast Enterprise services.

Commuters arriving this morning welcomed the reopening of the line, despite the fact that one of the services was 10 minutes late.

Iarnrod Eireann carried out test train journeys over the weekend before the first passenger service today.

The group said that replacement bus services which had been put in place will no longer operate from today and the strengthened bus services on routes 33x and 33d will be scaled back from next Monday, November 16.

Some services will be retained for a short period only to facilitate customers with pre-paid bus tickets and rail tickets will no longer be valid on Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann services on the Northern line corridor.

Dublin Bus have agreed to keep the 33X and 33D replacement services operating for the next two weeks, but they will be scaled down gradually.

However, bus chiefs have not ruled out making the service a permanent feature as some passengers have reported showing preference for the bus because it gets them closer to their homes and they vehicles are less crowded.

It is estimated that passenger numbers dropped by 60pc since the collapse. In August, a major disaster was narrowly averted after part of the rail track in north Dublin began to give way and services were severely curtailed since then.

A 20-metre section of the viaduct collapsed dramatically into the estuary in Malahide just moments after a train driver spotted the signs of subsidence on the track.

A full investigation into the incident is expected to be completed in the New Year.

Repair

Speed over the line will be reduced to 25mph for the first two weeks, before being raised to 50mph for another fortnight and then eventually 90mph.

Some €4m has been spent on repair works to restore the viaduct included rebuilding the pier and strengthening foundations, strengthening all the piers along the viaduct and relaying the track.

The Enterprise service is jointly run by Northern Ireland Translink and the Republic of Ireland's Iarnrod Eireann.

Meanwhile, the rail line between Arklow and Gorey is closed due to instability of an embankment at the railway line after heavy rainfall.

hnews@herald.ie

- Claire Murphy and Caitlin McBride

There is an unflattering vox pop in the print edition (no, I didn't buy it ).