Dublin Metro

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Image:Metro o-connell.jpg
Photomontage of proposed metro tunneling on O' Connell Street (looking north).

The Dublin Metro (Irish: Metro Baile Átha Cliath) is a planned metro system for the city of Dublin. The first two lines were set out in the Irish Government's 2005 Transport 21 transport plan.

The lines planned so far will mainly serve the north of the city. (The Luas system serves the south and the DART system serves the East). However the west of the city (Blanchardstown) will still have no rapid link to the city.

One line is to go from St. Stephen's Green to the airport and on to Swords. The second line is to split off the first one just south of the airport, and from there pass through Blanchardstown, Liffey Valley, and Clondalkin before joining the Red Line of the Luas to continue towards Tallaght. However since the demand for transportation is for a link to the city rather than to routes around the city, the effectiveness of the links in the west of Dublin is in doubt. Some stations will be underground (mainly in the City Centre) while the rest will be either above ground or at ground level.

The line will connect at stations with the Luas and probably the DART and Dublin Suburban Rail network.

Contents

[edit] Proposed Timeline

[edit] The case for a Metro

Image:Metro o-connell 2.jpg
Cross-section photomontage of Dublin Metro station view on O' Connell Street (looking south).
The Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) identified a medium-capacity public-transport link to Dublin Airport as one of the most important gaps in the Dublin network. Dublin Airport carried over 21 million passengers in 2006 -- a figure which is projected to grow to 30 million by 2015 -- but the airport has no rail link to the city.

A metro system was chosen as the preferred option for airport access over a less costly alternative which is the Iarnród Éireann proposal for a new airport spur from the existing DART line. Although not confirmed, it is believed that the metro will be fully segregated from all other traffic, which means it will not disrupt traffic when in operation. Metro North will bring rail access to areas and institutions currently lacking it, such as the Mater Hospital, Drumcondra, Croke Park (an inter-city and suburban rail stop), Dublin City University, Ballymun and Swords.

The population of Greater Dublin, which was 1,661,185 at the time of the 2006 census, is projected to reach 2,100,000 by 2021.

According to the RPA, Metro North has the potential to eliminate up to 41,000 car journeys per day from Dublin's congested road network and will serve the airport with a 17-minute journey to the city centre and Swords with a 26-minute journey. It is projected that it will carry 95,000 passengers a day (approximately 34 million a year).

Metro West is expected to carry around 20 million passengers annually, or around 55,000 a day.

Trams will normally run every 4 minutes, though at peak times (rush hours), they will be able to run at 90-second intervals.[2]

The proposed Light Metro system will provide room for expansion. Stations are to be built to accommodate longer carriages and more frequent trains in the future.

[edit] Metro North

Metro North (Irish: An Metro Thuaidh) was originally envisaged as an extension of the DART.

After a study of the Metro North project, the Railway Procurement Agency selected a routing known as the 'East/Central Combined Route', running from St Stephen’s Green to Lissenhall, with stops at O’Connell Bridge, Parnell Square, Mater Hospital, Drumcondra, Griffith Avenue, Dublin City University, Ballymun, Santry Demense, Metropark, Dublin Airport, Nevinstown, Swords, and Seatown.

The route was officially announced on 19 October 2006. [3]

The metro line will begin at an underground station in St. Stephen’s Green in the city centre. It will continue north and run underground through a 7 km long tunnel (4.4 miles). It will emerge from this tunnel just south of Dublin City University. From there it will be cut and cover through Ballymun and under the M50. The route will travel through a 1.5 km-long deep bore tunnel north of Metropark, with an underground station at Dublin Airport. North of the airport, the route will emerge from the tunnel and travel on an elevated structure towards Swords, finally terminating at ground level at Lissenhall. The total route length will be 17 km (10.6 miles), of which 8.5km, or 5.3 miles (50℅), will be deep bore through two separate tunnels. On 22 March 2007 the Railway Procurement Agency began the procurement process for the Metro North project. The results were expected in summer 2007.[4]

Geotechnical investigations of the ground at O'Connell Bridge, Parnell Square and Griffith Avenue, where holes of up to 15 metres (50 feet) in depth were drilled, got underway in the middle of June 2007. The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is intended for publication in December 2007 or January 2008. Following this, an application for a Railway Order will be made to An Bord Pleanála in 2008. If the Order is granted, construction on METRO North could begin later in the year.

[edit] Concerns Over Location of Airport Station

The Dublin Chamber of Commerce has expressed its concern over the location of the Dublin Airport Station on the Metro North route [2]. According to the Chamber of Commerce, the RPA's favoured option is a station at the Radisson SAS Hotel, which is 700 metres from the Airport Terminal. This option was devised on the basis that it would be almost equidistant between the current terminal and the site of the planned Terminal 2. The RPA had proposed a covered travelator linking the station to the terminals. The Chamber of Commerce do not support this proposal. They said, "unless the more costly underground option [of tunnelling under the terminal] is developed, the massive economic and social benefits the project promises to deliver to the country over the coming decades will be put at risk." The location of the Metro stop may also pose a problem for users of the system who wish to access the proposed Terminal 3 to the west, which is part of the overall future development of the airport.

In the announcement of the proposed route on 19 October 2006, however, it was confirmed that the Light Metro station serving Dublin Airport will not be located at the Radisson SAS Hotel. The exact location has yet to be finalised, but it will be located much closer to Terminal 1 and the proposed Terminal 2 than previously planned. See this Public Consultation Newsletter.

[edit] DCU/Ballymun Track

On 20 April 2007 RTÉ News reported that the decision to have elevated tracks between DCU (where the underground track ends) and the airport (where it goes underground again) have been scrapped due to many complaints about noise and visual pollution that this would bring. The underground track will run the full distance from Stephen's Green to the northern side of the airport, and surface somewhere beyond.[5].

Residents associations in the Whitehall, Glasnevin and Ballymun areas had campaigned for the cut and cover option (which creates the least long-term obstruction) as the deep-bore tunnel had not been given as an option on the RPA public consultation open days. [6].

Other concerns over the Metro North are that bicycles will not be allowed in the carriages, and that the distances between some of the most central stations are too long.

[edit] METRO West

Metro West does not deal with the major transportation needs of Blanchardstown, as needs studies have shown that local people do not require public transportation to Swords or Tallaght, but need speedy transportation into the city centre. The Metro West will not address the major problems with transportation in Blanchardstown which are caused by traffic jams and very poor bus and rail services and the lack of a LUAS type service into town.

The route will use approximately 25 km (16 miles) of track.

[edit] Not Fully Segregated

Although the Metro West is currently in the early planning stages and can change at a later stage, it appears that the Metro West line will not be fully segregated from road traffic, unlike the Metro North proposal. Metro West will run overground, with some tunnels and bridges to avoid major road junctions. [7]

Maps of the planned line can be found here.

[edit] Integration

According to the various operators in Dublin, all transport modes will integrate though this is not clear from station plans published to date.

The RPA has failed to devise an integrated ticketing system for the current services [3]. It insists on the development of a universal smart card before the integrated ticketing system is implemented. To date, only Luas and private operator Morton's have introduced a Smart Card.

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ RTÉ News (July 10 2006), Warning on metro airport location
  3. ^ The Sunday Times (February 19 2006), Ticket plan stalled by transport feud

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

pl:Metro w Dublinie

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