Maynooth line electrification plans - status update

[drouse]

http://www.davidrouse.com/index.php/...ta-information

[jacko]

Originally Posted by drouse

http://www.davidrouse.com/index.php/...ta-information

Did he tell his constituency td - Leo - that he is campaigning for major infrastructure investment in heavy rail !!!

[Inniskeen]

I am sure Leo is supportive of Maynooth electrification - after all didn't he find the money for the access road to Hansfield, also in his own constituency.

Not sure that DART will add much to the Maynooth line given the numerous speed restrictions and level crossings - look how slowly DART negotiates the Howth branch, the south eastern line from Lansdowne Road to Merrion, and Bray Head.

Anybody know the proposed DART journey time to Maynooth - is this published anywhere ?

[Traincustomer]

There doesn't seem to be any reference to the Clonsilla to M3 Parkway branch. Would this be electrified too or would it become a "diesel island"?

[Mark Gleeson]

We have been unable to get clarification on this for some time but I believe it will be included

DART would be significantly quicker especially as many level crossings will be closed

At least 5 minutes saving over current

[Jamie2k9]

Is there enough DART rolling stock?

Wouldn't it be better to buy new EMU units for the line?

Also just on the link extending the DART to Balbriggan wouldn't this have a worse impact on Commuter and Enterprise services? Like if your going that far then why not go to Dundalk with new EMU's to improve services.

[Inniskeen]

It might be hard to make a business case for stringing overhead wires between Clonsilla and M3 Parkway. On the other hand the busier section of the Maynooth line is from Clonsilla inwards and consequently additional capacity will be required on that section of line, a function that would be fulfilled by services to/from M3 Parkway. The other alternative would be a frequent diesel shuttle on the branch with or without a few through trains morning and evening.

While an electric suburban service should easily out-perform a diesel based service, the performance of the existing DART service suggests that this can not be taken for granted. Performance is particularly dependent on the quality, design and suitability of the control and protection systems. Other factors include station dwell times, door opening and closing cycle times, acceleration, braking, maximum speed and inter-station distance.

Given station spacing north of Malahide it is likely that the current DART fleet would struggle to match the performance of the existing diesel service due to lower maximum speed and door open/close cycle times. Would new more suitable DART rolling stock be acquired for a Balbriggan service. What would a turnback facily look like, hopefully something better than the notoriously inadequate layout at Malahide. Would there be additional running lines to avoid further journey time increases on Enterprise and longer distance commuter services resulting from DART induced congestion ?

Incidentally DART journey time from Bray to Connolly has increased from 36 minutes in 1984 to 44 minutes currently.

[James Shields]

I thought putting a turnabout facility in Balbriggan had been looked at previously, and found to be too difficult, which is why electrifying to Drogheda was being considered previously.

Although there might be some DART stock spare due to reduced train lengths, I don't think it would be anything like enough to run the Maynooth line. I would estimate approx 12-15 4-car sets would be needed for that line alone.

[ThomasJ]

Looks like we can forget it for a while!

Local Dublin 15 cllr Roderic o gorman has posted a reply he got from Leo varadkar in relation to dart underground work and the level crossings on the maynooth line

Taken from http://rodericogorman.com/?cat=25

(Link below will download PDF of letter sent from LV)
http://rodericogorman.com/wp-content...-June-2014.pdf