Phoenix park tunnel
 

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/envir...2017-1.1846101

NTA 1-0 Iarnród Éireann

NTA has never delivered on any project yet, so I'm still not convinced.

Nope, it doesn't

The whole thing seems pretty pointless to me. There is no capacity in Connolly right now and while the signalling project helps the loop-line throughput, increasing the traffic coming from the Maynooth line and crossing the Northern line is hardly going to help the already fragile timetable. Then they would still have to turn back the Kildare trains somewhere or else park them up near GCD.

It doesn't really make any sense unless they can somehow magic up a couple of extra platforms at Connolly or bugger up the Maynooth service by running more trains to Docklands.

Really?

We have a national journey planner, on street and online RTPI, new buses delivered, LEAP rollout and expansion, ongoing review of bus services across the country - they seem pretty tangible deliveries to me.

It will need a timetable recast to deliver it, but it is perfectly possible once the full city centre signalling project is completed as that will mean significant extra capacity through the city centre.

One key element of that is to bring the extra platform at Grand Canal Dock into use, as the main northbound line. That will mean that the middle platform (currently the main northbound platform) will become a turnback platform and that trains can terminate there without clashing with other northbound services.

All of which was well in progress before NTA came into being. LEAP is run by the RPA.

The widescale service reductions approved by the NTA are not something to celebrate

+1

Regarding the Phoenix Park Tunnel I wonder will the likes of the Athlone and Carlow commuter trains come across to Connolly too.

These trains could possibly run to Docklands assuming that Glasnevin Junction was re-oriented. Alternatively track re-alignments at Church Road would allow both the existing Drumcondra station to be served in addition to Docklands.

While there will be additional capacity between Connolly and Pearse/ Grand Canal Dock in the future this may might not result in the spectacular throughput improvement promised as capacity will be heavily influenced, as now, by station dwell times at Tara Street and Pearse.

Let's be realistic Mark - transport services were over provided and did need to be cut back - we've just gone through a massive recession. Buses were going around carrying thin air.

The national journey planner was an NTA initiative and was not under way before. The single point of contact for all transport information is continually building.

The NTA are responsible for the decisions about how LEAP is to be developed in terms of fares and ticketing. The RPA are responsible for the technical aspects.

We now have proper bus licensing procedures rather than the total inertia under the DoT.

The PSO bus and train timetables between Dublin and Mullingar are now integrated. Full scale bus network reviews are under way on the Bus Eireann PSO services.

We're getting proper rationale for all of the fare reviews.

There is far more transparency now than before - all of that is down to having the NTA in place.

My view is that many bus services could have been and can be made more useful if they are integrated better with other bus/rail services and in some instances retimed. For instance, there are several PSO routes operating M-F or M-S where first journeys don't reach major towns pre-09.00 and last journeys leave too early hence commuters can't avail of them. In other places well established links between towns within counties were broken with no apparent consultation whatsoever and were being used. Travel between Duleek and Navan comes to mind; in short a journey that took just over half an hour on a direct bus now involves two buses and the duration is doubled.

Progress has certainly been made from some years ago but there's still a lot of scope across the country for many improvements in integration, bus to rail and bus to bus.

Except that busses are uncomfortable.