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Unread 30-07-2009, 13:41   #16
PLUMB LOCO
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Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 146
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Yes, Dempsey will have his day in the sun but won't be seen when the crap hits the fan when the service proves to be a fiasco. Nice to see the media falling hook line and sinker for the PR spin about today being the first day in 46 years since the last train to Midleton. I could have sworn I travelled over the line quite often by passenger train in the 1980s - including MkII carriages hauled by 071 class locos. The whole reopening project has been ill thought out nonsense from the start. First proposed in the Cork Land Use & Transportation Study in 1978 (!) it has taken a staggering 31 years to reopen the line as far as Midleton at a cost of between €75-100 million. A study for
Iarnród Éireann 'A Strategic Review of the Cork Suburban Rail Network' by Ove Arup & Partners in 2000 estimated that restoration of the entire route to Youghal could be achieved for about €30million ! As it is, what has been created is the most high spec siding in history. Loco hauled trains will not be able to operate to Midleton as there is no run round facility, the stations are to be unmanned and there will be no attempt to generate additional revenue through Fastrack etc. The reopening of the complete line to Youghal would have made some sense but not this.
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