Government Four Year Plan - appears NOT to be end of world

[Colm Moore]

Public Transport Subventions to be cut.

More news to follow.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/1124/economy.html

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...reaking19.html

[Mark Gleeson]

Metro North and Interconnector are still in the plan

Further targeted investment in public transport has the potential to unlock productive capacity in the economy and enhance national competitiveness. Such investment will also offer alternatives to car transport, thereby reducing emissions and enabling the transport sector to cater for the demands associated with longer term population and employment growth in a sustainable manner. Key objectives of public transport investment will be to advance public transport projects like Metro North and Dart Underground, as well as rail safety and traffic management programmes and continued planning of future priorities.

Looking to save 10 million in a year on PSO grant to CIE, thats less than 5% of the PSO so not the end of the world, actually a very positive position situation compared to the alternatives

PSO for internal air routes removed in 2011 so that benefits Irish Rail in particular

[Colm Moore]

The National Recovery Plan 2011-2014 http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/eng/Gove...02011-2014.pdf

[weehamster]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

Interconnector are still in the plan

emm not according to the DoT.

Is DART Underground going ahead?

It will now not be possible to deliver the tunnel element of the programme in the immediate period. However, some of the re-signalling and associated works, which have capacity benefits in and of themselves, will proceed over the next four years and this will prepare the network for the delivery of the underground tunnel once financial resources permit.

An Bord Pleanala has commenced the oral hearing for DART Underground. It is likely that the railway order could be made by the end of 2011. The DART Underground project is an extensive programme involving the construction of an underground tunnel, to be delivered by public private partnership, and the delivery of various other resignalling and associated works to facilitate the integration of the Northern and Kildare Lines via the tunnel.

Well I give up. DART UG is far more important and effective project by a long shot while the Metro North was really just a bonus. It won't be built within my lifetime I am now certain of that. So I will now concentrate my efforts to eradicate Fianna Fáil from existence.

[Mickey H]

RTE Aertel reporting:

"Work on Dublin's Metro North is still scheduled to start in 2012 but the DART Interconnector has been postponed because of the cutbacks in the government's programme. Transport Minister Noel Dempsey said because the DART Underground project is still in its planning stage and is not ready to go ahead, there will be no money available to start before 2014.

LUAS City Centre and Luas Broombridge lines (Line BXD) , connecting the Green line, which terminates at St Stephen's Green, to the Red Line, which runs along Abbey Street, will not go ahead during the lifetime of the present programme.

LUAS extensions to Lucan and Bray are also on hold"

[Trampas]

maybe they want more people driving again to increase tax revenue with the extra petrol.

interconnector is more important than the metro

[essoII]

Originally Posted by Trampas

interconnector is more important than the metro

I do agree with you on the point that D.U. is of higher importance than the M.N. In reality though, for either project to work efficiently, both projects need to be built for them to both reach their true value and potential.

Perhaps the fact that no government capital will go towards the construction of M.N., until it's built, was the reason it's still (allegedly) going ahead.

Overall this is a sad day for investment for transport and planning in general*.

(*amongst other important services...)

[Colm Moore]

Originally Posted by Trampas

maybe they want more people driving again to increase tax revenue with the extra petrol.

No, it would be better to completely discourage car usage and take all the money in a variety of taxes and use it for general government services. Consider the motoring industry a tax by the car- and oil-producing countries on our economy, for which the benefits are questionable.

http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/...ew&news_id=963

DART Underground & Exchequer Four-Year Plan by Corporate Communications

Iarnród Éireann appreciates that, given the current economic situation, the Government requires to reduce capital spending on Transport and other areas.

In relation to DART Underground, while the tunnelling element will not proceed in the immediate period, we welcome the commitment to delivering resignalling and other associated works on the existing DART and Commuter routes. These works will of themselves yield significant benefits to commuters, by delivering capacity for a higher frequency of trains on all lines.

The Railway Order hearing for the core DART Underground tunnelling project is underway, and this will continue. This will ensure that, subject to An Bord Pleanála’s approval, we will be in a position to proceed with DART Underground as quickly as possible when the Exchequer funding environment improves, as part of a PPP, and deliver a project which will generate significant economic return for the Exchequer, and transform the Greater Dublin area’s rail network.

[eugene]

Does this mean electrification of the Maynooth line still? Jesus how depressing..

[Mark Gleeson]

Its hard to know, inquiries underway

Everybody would agree that, if the DART had been extended throughout the 1980’s as originally planned, we would now have a more compact and sustainable metropolitan area. It was a missed opportunity and the 1980’s economic recession was the excuse.

Prize if you guess who said that. If you guess right it will yet again validate the strange world we exist in. If you know when it was said even better.

[Grumpy Jack]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

Its hard to know, inquiries underway



Prize if you guess who said that. If you guess right it will yet again validate the strange world we exist in. If you know when it was said even better.

For irony factor alone it has to be either Garret FitzGerald or Bertie Ahern, but for totally different reasons.

Garrett, because his 82-87 govt killed the Dart project in the 1980s.

Bertie, because he and the Fianna Fail party he led were such well-known champions of controlled development in the capital.

Probably said at the opening of the Luas Green line in June 2004.

[Mark Gleeson]

None of the above

[Grumpy Jack]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

None of the above

Then the only others I can think of would be economists Colm McCarthy or Sean Barrett - seeing as they opposed Dart tooth and nail in the 1980s and are now at it again with Metro North. And it was probably said during a submission to An Bord Pleanala opposing Metro North.

[Mark Gleeson]

Man this is really going to scare people, no its not our favorite economists

But you are getting close on the date and context

[Grumpy Jack]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

Man this is really going to scare people, no its not our favorite economists

I'm going to keep at this until I get it. Bugging me know.

The late CJH?

[Mark Gleeson]

Nope wasn't a politician

[ACustomer]

Frank McDonald? (or he who is infallible )

[Grumpy Jack]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

Nope wasn't a politician

Frank McDonald on the launch of Transport 21

[eugene]

Its here lads, Dick Fearn, good man himself (last page)

http://www.irishrail.ie/dupdfs/proje...nderground.pdf

[Mark Gleeson]

Thats cheating, indeed thats the answer