[Articles] DART Underground

[Colm Moore]

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...273706905.html

New East Wall site for launch of Dart tunnelling machine
TIM O'BRIEN

INCHICORE RESIDENTS have given a guarded welcome to a decision to drop plans to assemble and launch a tunnel boring machine for Dart Underground on a sports field in the historic Railway Estate.

According to an application for a Railway Order lodged with An Bord Pleanála yesterday, tunnelling for Dart Underground is now to take place from east to west, with the tunnel boring machine launch site now located at East Wall near Docklands station.

In addition, the Inchicore portal has been moved several hundred yards away from houses and is now to be located within the CIÉ engineering yards. Houses in the Railway Estate date from the mid-1800s and were built for railway workers, including those working in the yards.

The changes mean Dart Underground is set to have a much lower impact on the community of about 700 people in the Railway Estate. While an area of green space will be required for an “intercession and vent shaft” from the tunnel, Iarnród Eireann said yesterday this would be small and not located on the playing pitch.

The Railway Order is the rail equivalent of planning permission and if approved the €2.5 billion project will deliver a high-capacity rail line through the city centre.

The line is 8.6km, 7.6km of which will be in twin-bore tunnels. The tunnels will connect the Northern and Kildare rail lines with underground stations at Spencer Dock, Pearse Station, St Stephen’s Green, Christchurch and Heuston Station, as well as a surface Dart station at Inchicore.

Frequency and capacity on the Dart Northern, Maynooth and Kildare lines will be increased, while the Dart will be extended to Maynooth, Hazelhatch/Celbridge and the Northern line, with Pearse Station acting as a central hub connecting all lines.

Separately yesterday, the chief executive of the National Roads Authority (NRA), Fred Barry, defended its policy of charging taxis to use the Dublin Port Tunnel.

Mr Barry yesterday told the Oireachtas Committee on Transport that the tunnel was just paying its operating costs through toll revenue, and if taxis were allowed to use the tunnel free then taxi drivers may want free passage extended to the rest of the State’s toll roads, bridges and tunnels.

Mr Barry agreed to refer the issue to the NRA board after the chairman of the committee, Frank Fahey, appealed to him to consider it as a way of reducing congestion in the city.

[Mark Gleeson]

The website came online last night
http://www.dartundergroundrailwayorder.ie/

I'd wager that it is impossible to actually read everything included in the time available

There is a massive amount of background material provided, including the until now secret Arup report, Dublin Suburban Rail Strategic Review which is eye opening into the vast array of (at times ingenious) possibilities considered

[karlr42]

Went for a quick viewing of the documents on display in Pearse today during a break from work. Mark is right, there is a huge amount of documentation on display that would take a commitment to read through fully. Hopefully this bodes well as it shows a lot of effort has been put in by CIE for this to go ahead.

I note though that there seems to be a problem just west of the Inchicore tunnel mouth- the tracks suddenly revert back to 2-tracks. Am I right in saying that the extension of the DART to Hazelhatch is dependent on another railway order expanding the track westward from this area to connect with the 4-track KRP? Having a bottleneck from the end of the KRP to the tunnel mouth can't be the final plan unless DARTs are to terminate in Inchicore.

I also believe there is to be a separated-grade connection off the mainline to the tunnel so that Intercity trains can bypass the tunnel and get to Heuston- the railway order doesn't seem to take account of the interaction between traffic for Heuston and traffic to the tunnel.

On another note, I was the only person to view the documents today, according to the sign-in sheet.

[Mark Gleeson]

West of Inchicore the tunnel tracks drop below the current outbound track and surface in the centre with the current tracks either side. A fly under is proposed with the current outbound track being carried on a bridge to allow the two tunnel tracks to pass under.

By virtue of the design of the Inchicore the station it's slightly below ground level so this arrangement works

4 tracks will be provided between there and Cherry Orchard

This is all a separate project.

[karlr42]

Is it intended to have that separate project complete in time for the completion of DART Underground?

[Mark Gleeson]

Subject to funding...

With the move to Inchicore its a lot cheaper and easier to do. Its separate

Some of it can be done without planning permission

[ACustomer]

If the link between the 4-track KRP and the Underground is not done properly, then you will have 2 massively expensive projects with a huge reduction in capacity because of a bottleneck junction which will cost much more to rectify at a later date as opposed to doing it as part of what in reality should be one project.

Why is there no joined-up thinking? Reminds me of the city-centre DASH project where the most congested part of the system is neglacted.

You couldn't make it up.

[Colm Moore]

Originally Posted by karlr42

On another note, I was the only person to view the documents today, according to the sign-in sheet.

Where are the documents on display? They should be in a public area with no need to sign in.

[karlr42]

Originally Posted by Colm Moore

Where are the documents on display? They should be in a public area with no need to sign in.

In the conference room behind the stairs on platform 2. I got the impression from the attendant that signing-in was not essential and was just to track interest.