Dublin-Cork road trip to drop to two hours and 15 minutes [Article]

[comcor]

Dublin-Cork trip to drop to two hours and 15 minutes
By Seán McCárthaigh

JOURNEY times between Dublin and Cork are set to drop to two-and-a-quarter hours when a number of major projects announced yesterday are completed.

The National Roads Authority is promising dramatic improvements in the time taken to travel between the country’s two main cities when the route will comprise motorways and dual carriageways by 2010.

The average journey time on the M7/N8 between Dublin and Cork is around three-and-a-half hours.

NRA chairman, Peter Malone, said there were already major improvements on the route with the opening of bypasses of Fermoy, Mitchelstown, Cashel and Monasterevin.

Construction is already in progress on another 77km of dual carriageway between Cullahill and Mitchelstown.

Transport Minister, Martin Cullen, also yesterday announced that a record €1.53 billion would be invested in the National Roads Programme in 2007.

Nine major schemes are due for completion this year including a 28km dual carriageway between Kinnegad and Kilbeggan on the N6 as well as bypasses of Ennis, Castleblayney and Gorey and the Kilkenny ring road.

Seven major road projects totalling 215km in length are also due to commence in 2007.

They include the last four public-private partnership projects which are due to open in 2010: They are:

* 60km of motorway on the N3 between Clonee and Kells

* 56km of dual carriageway between Galway and Ballinasloe on the N6

* 40km of motorway between Portlaoise and Cullahill/Castletown on M7/M8

* 25km of motorway as part of the M50 upgrade scheme

Speaking at the launch of the National Roads Programme, Mr Cullen rejected claims by locals in Fermoy that over 6,000 heavy goods vehicles were causing congestion in nearby villages because they were avoiding the recently opened toll road that bypasses the north Cork town.

The minister said he did not understand the logic of hauliers who believed they were saving money by avoiding the toll road. He claimed there were major savings to be made by using the toll in terms of faster journey and delivery times, “It makes no sense if people think they are saving money by avoiding the toll,” said Mr Cullen.

Source: http://www.examiner.ie/irishexaminer...119-qqqx=1.asp

If any more indication were needed about the disaster that is timetable padding and the state of the tracks.

Sure, the train will still beat the car on the run-in to both cities, but let's face it, neither Heuston nor Kent is exactly in the centre of either city.

[Mark Gleeson]

2:15 for 160 miles thats 71 mph average. Motorway speed limit 74 mph and the Naas Rd is still a 100 kph limit. Basically impossible

Bus time would still be in the bracket of 3 hours 20 miinutes.

IE have goofed up but 2010 the time should be 2:20

[comcor]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

2:15 for 160 miles thats 71 mph average. Motorway speed limit 74 mph and the Naas Rd is still a 100 kph limit. Basically impossible

Bus time would still be in the bracket of 3 hours 20 miinutes.

IE have goofed up but 2010 the time should be 2:20

There must be a point (presumably around the 2 hour mark) where they could free up 2 sets of rolling stock.

[Mark Gleeson]

At 2:20 Cork departures would switch to on the hour and you get a spare set

[IHIR]

interesting to find out what are the starting and finishing points for this trip, I dont think that magic martin, resident of the Cullen Transport Parallel Universe, doesnt include the time taken on the Cork to Dublin road to get into Dublin city itself once you reach the outer regions

[MrX]

It very much depends on where you're going too. If you're heading Cork to the outer suburbs of Dublin, any of the industrial estates. It's utter madness to take the train.

I think IE need to develop the CityGold product far more.

We need to have Cork-Dublin tickets that include car hire etc.

Should be possible to arrive in Heuston, pick up a car and return it to the station later that evening and hop on citygold.

It's one of the MAJOR advantages of flying. Car hire easily available at the airports and adequate, reasonably priced and very safe car parking for your own car at your departure point. I'd be a bit worried about parking long-term at Heuston and Kent's carpark's a total mess at the moment.

[Thomas J Stamp]

This time includes the waiting at toll booths?

[Colm Donoghue]

Rathcoole -> Kilbeheny times?

SNCF stations all do car hire.
well not all but a lot of major ones do.

[MrX]

IE desperately need to be more imaginative with their products though. They're very uninspiring.

[Derek Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Thomas J Stamp

This time includes the waiting at toll booths?

No waiting at M4/M1 toll booths. M7/M8 should be no different.

Calculating best road journey times ex city centre is unfair and perhaps inaccurate. A road journey can begin in the "burbs", just like the trek to Heuston or Connolly for that matter. In a country that is in love with the car, these potential road journey times are attractive.

If you don't drive, then you really can't appreciate any comparison.

I, for one, continue to predict the demise of inter city rail travel, due to IE taking the eye off the ball.

[comcor]

Originally Posted by Derek Wheeler

I, for one, continue to predict the demise of inter city rail travel, due to IE taking the eye off the ball.

I wouldn't go that far, but the time for Cork-Dublin will have to come to under 2 hours within the next 6 or 7 years and Irish Rail need to put a plan in place for that now. They probably won't be given the investment money, but at least then, when numbers on InterCity do start dropping they'll be able to go to the government with a plan that is in place.

Given that Cork-Dublin would produce major improvements in Limerick/Kerry-Dublin and the low passenger figures on most other lines, I don't know if the case is there for investment in anything but the Cork and Belfast lines.

And if anyone thinks 2 hours is unrealistic, just remember that it's only a touch above an average of 80mph.

[dowlingm]

I think the ultimate goal should be Belfast-Cork electric but there are a hell of a lot of ducks to get in a row (increased electricity grid supply without Kyoto fines or the dreaded nuclear, do you use interconnector or PPT, what about Connolly if PPT, what about interfering with DART if interconnector, the usual track issues, how do you persuade Translink to pay their share, etc. etc. etc. etc.....) and I therefore think it's pretty unlikely.

There are a lot of low or fairly low hanging fruit which need plucking first. For instance:

• Portarlington and Limerick Junction trackwork
• Finishing Cork commuter
• Cross-line linkage (or breaking the An Lar strangle) - what if you could get off a train at Leixlip and catch a IE or County Council run shuttle bus to Adamstown or Hazelhatch to get to Kildare? Metro West will bring that to some extent but given line curvature the Leixlip stations have the advantage of about the same distance and fewer stops travelled.
• Navan-Clonsilla and Navan-Drogheda (yes, both)
• Dundalk/Dunleer
• Athlone-Mullingar and doubling/looping Mullingar-Maynooth
• Galway commuter and doubling/looping Portarlington-Galway
• Limerick commuter from all four directions - Ennis, Adare, Roscrea, Cahir and a new rail spur from Cratloe to Shannon
• Waterford commuter - maybe even to New Ross
• Build the northeast curve towards Portlaoise, open Borris-on-Ossory station and close Ballybrophy station.

and in general infrastructure:

• dealing with erosion on the Wicklow line,
• dealing with all bridges with a speed limit of 30mph or less
• finding ways of removing at-grade crossings by closing/regrading/AutoLC, starting with any LCs on National Primary and then National Secondary and forcing NRA and county councils to pay 50:50 if they don't already
• aggressively developing stations as commercial spaces. No more 1-storey stations (like the new Midleton line stations) but 3-4 storey each side with integrated footbridges, shops, offices, daycare etc.
• Sell off all city centre freight yards and get the HGVs out of urban centres - instead build them at ports like Foynes and Rosslare and Balbriggan or at intersections between lines and orbital roads like the M50 or the Limerick Ring Road.