Malahide viaduct

[Mark Gleeson]

Totally rubbished by the most recent news

http://www.railusers.ie/forum/showpo...3&postcount=22

[irishsaint]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

Totally rubbished by the most recent news

http://www.railusers.ie/forum/showpo...3&postcount=22

well at least IE have commenced the repairs... hopefully it is only the three months they are sticking by.... suppose it wouldnt be hard to find keen construction companies in this cimate!

[roamling]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/n...nd/8222435.stm

"...A scout leader has said he warned an Irish train company about erosion on a rail viaduct several days before part of it collapsed.

Ivan Barratt takes scouts canoeing two to three times a week around the Broadmeadow Estuary Rail viaduct.

Mr Barrat said he had noticed serious erosion on the structure on 14 August and phoned to warn Iarnród Éireann.

However, on Friday 21 August a 20-metre section of the Dublin to Belfast railway line collapsed into the water.

The company said an inspection found the damage was cosmetic, rather than structural.

However, Mr Barratt, who said he had noticed worsening erosion on it over a period of several months, said it should have been evident there was a problem.

"I suspect if it was just looking down from the rails (the examination), looking down from above, everything would appear normal.

"But I think if it was a case of getting into a boat of some sort and going out to inspect the arch itself - and it would need to have been when the tide was at the correct height - then it would have been quite evident that there was a problem," he said.

"For somebody without any engineering qualifications it was evident there was a problem, I'm quite sure a qualified engineer inspecting should have recognised straight off."

Mr Barratt said swift action could have prevented the collapse. ..."

[ThomasJ]

Urgent tender out by irish rail for frequent coach service on the Northern line

http://www.etenders.gov.ie/search/sh...x?ID=AUG125976

Iarnród Éireann is seeking Expressions of interest for the provision of Coach Hire services for the duration of remedial works following the collapse of the Malahide Viaduct. It is envisaged that the services will be required for a minimum timeframe of 10 weeks. This could change substantially as more information becomes available regarding the extent of the remedial works required.The initial contract is for a frequent service for the various stations on the Dublin Drogheda line north of MalahideThe procurement is urgent and the anticipated timelines are as follows:Close Expressions of Interest 10th September;Despatch Tender Docs - 12th September;Negotiations 23nd / 24rd September;Contract commence - 2st October 2009;
CPV: 60100000.

[losexpectation]

well what about the rumour that the ~4 o'clock driver noticed something wrong and reported it?

[Mark Gleeson]

Good news is a platform with crane is currently being towed out of Dublin Port odds are its for Malahide

[Colm Moore]

Update: http://www.railusers.ie/forum/showth...8919#post48919

[Thomas Ralph]

Today the 1750 Pearse-Malahide is running all stations to Malahide, instead of non-stop from Connolly to Howth Junction. Running as a DMU (4-car 2800) means it'll be slower than the DART.

[Thomas Ralph]

And left 5 minutes late, packed to the gills. Nearly didn't leave at all after an apparent brake issue.

[Mark Gleeson]

Probably filling in for the broken DART

[Des]

I have not seen any comments about what would have happened had the train crashed over the estuary.The potential disaster would be of a scale where the National Emergency Plan would have to be invoked.
Fingal County Council are the lead organization according to the plan.Does anybody know how emergency services could access the disaster site when each side is covered in tidal water ?
None of the emergency agencies have amphibious vehicle.
I suspect we would have to rely on the Coastguard and the RNLI to help out with inflatable boats as road access is non existant.Thats a big ask for eight carraiges full of people .
Does anyone know what resources would be suitable and available for a rail disaster over a bridge in this country?
That is something to think about next time when you are travelling on Irish Rail over a viaduct !!

[Colm Moore]

Without wanting to distract from the sensationalism of your post.

1. A derailment on the Malahide Viaduct does not equate to the train ending up in the water - each track has 4 rails, so as to prevent a full derailment.

2. The deepest point of the Broadmeadow Estuary is about 2 metres. That isif the train ended up in the water, the water would come up to a bit above the table level.

Sure, such a derailment would be a very serious indicident, but rail travel is fundamentally safer than road travel. http://www.garda.ie/Controller.aspx?Page=138

[James Shields]

I'm no expert, but I'm inclined to agree with victor. If a train derailed at that point, I think the most likely consequence is that the ends of two coaches would end up stuck in the water, but that most of the train would remain more or less on the tracks. Passengers would most likely be able to evacuate to adjacent carriages.

However, if it happened to a packed commuter train, I think some injury would be inevitable, and wouldn't rule out loss of life.

[Mark Gleeson]

There has been a lot of talk, there are 4 scenarios

1. Train passes without incident, unlikely

2. Train derails and is contained by the derailment prevention measures. Train stays upright due to the couplers and the anti override devices

3. Train derails and is not contained and falls onto the adjacent track. major damage and injuries but no water

4. Train derails and falls into estuary, aka the doomsday scenario

Option 2 looks the most likely for a modern train

[Des]

My point was not highlighting the potential dangers in travelling by rail.
I was more concerned about the preparedness of agencies which are tasked with implimenting the emergency plan.No one has commented about what could have happened and who would deal with the rescue of a large number of people from damaged rail carraiges.
The point about carraiges falling or not into the water is surely a racing certainty if it was The Enterprise due to its speed at that point on the line doing exactly that.

[Mark Gleeson]

Unless you want to actually try it out, no one will ever be able to show what might have happened, the Enterprise has all modern safety features and would have stayed upright and in line, the Enterprise travels no faster than any other train on the viaduct

There are regular safety drills with the emergency services. The last one took place within one of the tunnels near Greystones which is a very inaccessible location.

The last passenger fatality was in 1983, 26 years ago. In the same period ballpark 9,000 died in road accidents

[Mark Hennessy]

Originally Posted by Des

My point was not highlighting the potential dangers in travelling by rail.
I was more concerned about the preparedness of agencies which are tasked with implimenting the emergency plan.No one has commented about what could have happened and who would deal with the rescue of a large number of people from damaged rail carraiges.
The point about carraiges falling or not into the water is surely a racing certainty if it was The Enterprise due to its speed at that point on the line doing exactly that.

I have to agree with your concerns actually.

One has to wonder how prepared all the emergency services (in terms of equipment / training etc) for all types of accidents that could have lots of casualties.

I guess we should never hope to find out.

Apologies for off topicness too.

[Des Gargan]

having read all the posts so far it is obvious that Irish rail haven't thought it through properly. For example, I work late in the city during the week, and finish at around 9.30. There are only two buses back to Drogheda, one at 9.00 and the last one at 11.20 p.m., therefore an almost two hour wait for the bus, which arrives in Drogheda train station after midnight. There are no buses, no links and no trains back to laytown station after 10.00, so making it impossible for me to get home using the arranged transport. I have contacted the customer service manager in Irish Rail, got a wonderful e-mail back about the wonderful arrangements they have in place, but didn't answer my question. "How to I get to Laytown late at night from Drogehda". To me it was obvious that the northern route is extensively used late into the night, with trains pretty well packed up to the 11.20 p.m. service to Drogheda, surely it didn't take a genius to see that people do go to Gormanston and laytown late at night, or are we not important enough to be concerned about.

[Mark Gleeson]

After a good start IE have put up the usual wall of silence.

[Mark Hennessy]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

After a good start IE have put up the usual wall of silence.

It is typical of them, consistency when the media spotlight isn't on has never been their thing