M8 motorway (general thread)

BluntGuy

Will the traditional Urlingford rest be maintained?

Amtmann

BluntGuy wrote: »

Will the traditional Urlingford rest be maintained?

Good question. I don't know. That's kind of one of the reasons I started that thread on Josephine's. I'd imagine that when the service area gets built close to Junction 9 at some point in the future, the rest area for the non-stops will be there, while Urlingford will continue to be used for busses stopping at all the major towns. That's pure speculation on my part, however.

Blunt Guy, I notice that quite a few people record journeys on motorways with a camcorder and post them on YouTube. I'd do one for the M8, but I don't have the equipment. Do you?

BluntGuy

Furet wrote: »

Good question. I don't know. That's kind of one of the reasons I started that thread on Josephine's. I'd imagine that when the service area gets built close to Junction 9 at some point in the future, the rest area for the non-stops will be there, while Urlingford will continue to be used for busses stopping at all the major towns. That's pure speculation on my part, however.

Blunt Guy, I notice that quite a few people record journeys on motorways with a camcorder and post them on YouTube. I'd do one for the M8, but I don't have the equipment. Do you?

Well I have a camcorder. But I very rarely record journeys.

I've recorded parts of the M7, the M8 at Fermoy, the M50, the N20 approaching Cork and the Cashel-Mitchelstown M8 as it was under construction.

But I wouldn't record huge ten minute chunks like some of those youtube videos, only about one-to-two minutes.

Amtmann

No prob. It'll get done eventually no doubt!

marmurr1916

Furet wrote: »

Absolutely. I wonder what Bus Eireann's plans are in relation to the interurbans. Certainly during tourist season you could run a fully boarded non-stop service between Dublin and any of the cities several times a day without difficulty.

I have a feeling it'll be Aircoach, Citylink and the other private operators who'll take the lead on this one!

I think there would be year round demand for non-stop services from the main cities and towns to/from Dublin, especially if they can almost match the train journey times while being significantly (say at least 30%) cheaper than the off-peak trains on those routes.

G_R

i hope they dont make all their services non stop... people in between have to get places to... and we cant all use the brand new motorways

BluntGuy

dannym08 wrote: »

i hope they dont make all their services non stop... people in between have to get places to... and we can all use the brand new motorways

The buses don't generally use the motorways I don't think. The bus from Dublin to Cork avoids them except for the Fermoy Bypass.

G_R

BluntGuy wrote: »

The buses don't generally use the motorways I don't think. The bus from Dublin to Cork avoids them except for the Fermoy Bypass.

at the moment... but that could change when the whole route is complete

marmurr1916

dannym08 wrote: »

i hope they dont make all their services non stop... people in between have to get places to... and we cant all use the brand new motorways

I doubt they will but there'll be demand for non-stop services too especially at busier times.

Ideally there should be three levels of service:

express - non-stop from end to end
regional - serving the bigger towns en-route
local - serving all towns and villages

invincibleirish

BE are way ahead of you guys, obviously not many Bus users on here;), on Cork - Dublin there is an express & non express service on each of the timetabled services.

When the M8 is finished hopefully express services wont have to stop for a rest at Urlingford either, there is no need for a 20 minute break in what should be by then a 3hr journey.

Stark

invincibleirish wrote: »

BE are way ahead of you guys, obviously not many Bus users on here;), on Cork - Dublin there is an express & non express service on each of the timetabled services.

Really? I remember them running direct Dublin-Cork buses on a Friday evening but there was a never a guarantee that they would run. I ended up on a bus that stopped in every boghole before and it took me 6 and a half hours to reach Cork. Not an experience I'd care to repeat.

Is the direct service advertised somewhere?

invincibleirish

Stark wrote: »

Really? I remember them running direct Dublin-Cork buses on a Friday evening but there was a never a guarantee that they would run. I ended up on a bus that stopped in every boghole before and it took me 6 and a half hours to reach Cork. Not an experience I'd care to repeat.

Is the direct service advertised somewhere?

Well whenever i've went Cork-Dublin or vice versa over the past year or so there has been direct express buses put on at Busaras & Cork, ive been going at peak and off peak times across the week.

BluntGuy

I'm sure I've seen direct service buses before. They have 'express' on the front of them.

Stark

They definitely exist alright. But as far as I know, they're not officially timetabled services. I started a thread about them before: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055188045 . Apparently there's some licensing bull**** that prevents them from running an official direct service. Which will be a huge pity once the motorway is fully open.

marmurr1916

invincibleirish wrote: »

BE are way ahead of you guys, obviously not many Bus users on here;), on Cork - Dublin there is an express & non express service on each of the timetabled services.

When the M8 is finished hopefully express services wont have to stop for a rest at Urlingford either, there is no need for a 20 minute break in what should be by then a 3hr journey.

Not true. They only put on non-stop (in reality express because they always stop at Urlingford) services if there are enough passengers to fill two or more buses. One bus will be used for passengers travelling between Cork and towns en-route to Dublin; the other bus will be used for passengers travelling from Cork to Dublin.

But there are no officially timetabled non-stop services between Cork and Dublin run by BE.

The BE timetables for Expressway route 8 (Cork-Cahir-Dublin) is here:

http://www.buseireann.ie/pdf/1202289483-8Nov29.pdf

All BE Cork-Dublin services are timetabled to stop at Fermoy, Mitchelstown, Cahir, Cashel, Urlingford, Durrow, Abbeyleix and Portlaoise.

I was lucky the last time I used them because they put on a second non-stop (except Urlingford) bus because it was so busy. But that doesn't happen all the time and is never guaranteed.

Any non-stop service would be considered a new service by the Dept. of Transport and they'd have to give their approval first.

D.L.R.

Yes, I think the service isn't there because the infrastructure hasn't been there in the past. Not so long ago, the Cork-Dublin bus went through every town anyway, so might as well let people off and on. The new motorways will allow genuine express journeys if the bus companies are willing to take advantage.

I wonder what cie will do here, seeing as they own both bus and rail. Express bus routes will kill rail, being the same speed or faster, and half the price.

Colm R

I used to travel regurarly on the bus last year on Fridays between Cork and Dublin.

It was always fun waiting down in Parnell Station.

Generally you would have a BE Bus sitting in the pay with the digital sign saying Dublin and a big long queue outside it. Then a private bus would pull up outside. Generally the private bus would go express but not always. I use to ask the staff outside which one was going direct, and they wouldn't tell me. After a while, I got to know them as a regular travel and learned that they were not allowed to tell me as an express bus is not licenced.

Although from just pure luck, 9 times out of 10, the private bus would go express.

marmurr1916

I reckon BE won't run express services on this route or on the other routes with motorways. They only run a bus service every two hours from Cork, probably so as not to compete with the hourly train service.

Hopefully the private operators, Aercoach, Citylink etc. will make up for BE's inaction!

Chris_533976

Unlikely, Citylink run Galway to Dublin Airport and they dont go on the motorway till they get to Lucan. Its an absolute joke and the last time I used it several people missed their flight because they thought that three hours to get from Galway to Dublin airport was reasonable. It took four and a half.

Danno

I heard today that December 5th will be the opening date for Cullohill to Cashel.

Amtmann

Danno wrote: »

I heard today that December 5th will be the opening date for Cullohill to Cashel.

Where did you hear that? I had been hoping for a late October/early November opening. They're lining most of the southbound carriageway now, while they're applying the final asphalt coating to the northbound carriageway. Still a good bit of tidying to do, as well as signing. At least two overbridges still aren't open yet.

Amtmann

The Cashel Bypass now has a 120 km/h speed limit.

Construction of the Mitchelstown to Fermoy Scheme continues to proceed rapidly. Asphalt has now been applied to some sections.

E92

Furet wrote: »

The Cashel Bypass now has a 120 km/h speed limit.

I thought it was only supposed to be getting a limit of 100 km/h?

Though if it has a limit of 120 then I, for one won't be complaining:D!

Amtmann

E92 wrote: »

I thought it was only supposed to be getting a limit of 100 km/h?

Though if it has a limit of 120 then I, for one won't be complaining:D!

Definitely 120. I drove it yesterday. I don't think anyone's complaining!

BluntGuy

When will that Mitchelstown section be done would ya say?

I don't see it taking until Q1 2010. Maybe sometime around May or June next year?

Amtmann

BluntGuy wrote: »

When will that Mitchelstown section be done would ya say?

I don't see it taking until Q1 2010. Maybe sometime around May or June next year?

Would you believe me if I said April?

marmurr1916

Furet wrote: »

Would you believe me if I said April?

Sounds great!

What's your latest ETA for the Cashel-Cullahill section?

Stark

That December 5th date sounds like a sure thing at this stage given that it's so precise. I mean they could easily have the road finished a month or so before then, but delay opening it until all the relevant politicians have their diaries free. Like they did with the N(M)6 Kilbeggan-Athlone. I do remember hearing lots of mentions of December before mentions of September/October.

BluntGuy

Well, we'll know it's opening soon when they start erecting the signage...

xabi

Furet wrote: »

Definitely 120. I drove it yesterday. I don't think anyone's complaining!

does it have 120 signs? Maybe they just havent put up the 100 signs yet.

Amtmann

xabi wrote: »

does it have 120 signs? Maybe they just havent put up the 100 signs yet.

Plenty of 120 signs up.

BluntGuy

So it's December 5th for the Cullahill-Cashel stretch? Hm... I expected it to open a bit earliar. Suppose I'll have to do my Christmas shopping a bit later this year.

Anyway, I can't wait. When that scheme opens, about 2/3 of the M8 will be complete. I am eagerly awaiting the official opening date (even if it means that a bunch of politicians who contributed nothing to the project will be turning up to take the credit and giving long-winded speeches about how this fits in to the 'governments plan' etc.)

As for the Mitchelstown-Fermoy section. Is it really gonna be open as early as April?! That's great news!

That will be the one that really links the whole thing together. The gap in M between Fermoy and Mitchelstown is kinda annoying.

Anyway, I just hope they put up signs before Exit 14 warning people that they're entering a toll motorway.

Amtmann

BluntGuy wrote: »

So it's December 5th for the Cullahill-Cashel stretch? Hm... I expected it to open a bit earliar. Suppose I'll have to do my Christmas shopping a bit later this year.

Anyway, I can't wait. When that scheme opens, about 2/3 of the M8 will be complete. I am eagerly awaiting the official opening date (even if it means that a bunch of politicians who contributed nothing to the project will be turning up to take the credit and giving long-winded speeches about how this fits in to the 'governments plan' etc.)

As for the Mitchelstown-Fermoy section. Is it really gonna be open as early as April?! That's great news!

That will be the one that really links the whole thing together. The gap in M between Fermoy and Mitchelstown is kinda annoying.

Anyway, I just hope they put up signs before Exit 14 warning people that they're entering a toll motorway.

Well, one of the builders told me last July that Roadbridge wanted Mitchelstown to Fermoy finished by March. I'm after adding another month to that arbitrarily; these things never go according to the builders' plans. But the pace of construction is shockingly fast from what I've seen.

That stretch is super dangerous too. Too bendy, no hard shoulder at one side, and too many farm entrances, tractors, pub entrances in dangerous locations.

bawn79

"That will be the one that really links the whole thing together. The gap in M between Fermoy and Mitchelstown is kinda annoying."

The gap that really annoys me is from Cullahill to the existing M7, Abbeyleix is such a bottle neck and there is no way around it.
Im sure once Cashel Cullahill is finished it will only get worse as traffic gets to the bottle neck from the south quicker.
What is the news on this piece of the road being completed, it must be well into 2009?

Steviemak

Abbeyleix will be hell for another year and a half by the looks of it. That stretch should have been one of the first completed as it is so vital to the M8 and M7.

And as bad as that stretch is now it will be worse when the Cashel Cullahill section is finished in Dec as I expect Durrow may become an extra bottle neck. Currently Urlingford Johnstown etc stretch the traffic out before it hits Durrow. Soon it'll motorway traffic all converging on Cullahill and Durrow.

Amtmann

The NRA has applied to have Watergrasshill to 400m north of Dunkettle redesignated as motorway in Tranche Two of their redesignation agenda.

Thumbs up, except what's the point in having motorway restrictions in operation to only 400m north of Dunkettle?

serfboard

Furet wrote: »

The NRA has applied to have Watergrasshill to 400m north of Dunkettle redesignated as motorway in Tranche Two of their redesignation agenda.

Thumbs up, except what's the point in having motorway restrictions in operation to only 400m north of Dunkettle?

Would it be something to do with not wanting traffic going from 120km/h to a dead stop at the interchange?

Stark

Nah, it's the norm to have motorway restrictions right up to the terminal interchange. I imagine it's to do with traffic coming from Glounthane being able to enter onto the road going southbound at this point.

xabi

Stark wrote: »

Nah, it's the norm to have motorway restrictions right up to the terminal interchange. I imagine it's to do with traffic coming from Glounthane being able to enter onto the road going southbound at this point.

Probably right, but going north it should start at the roundabout, or should both lanes start and stop at the same point.

X.

Irish and Proud

Furet wrote: »

The NRA has applied to have Watergrasshill to 400m north of Dunkettle redesignated as motorway in Tranche Two of their redesignation agenda.

Thumbs up, except what's the point in having motorway restrictions in operation to only 400m north of Dunkettle?

I think there's an on-ramp to the N8 SB just before the roundabout - maybe it's essential access for non-motorway traffic.

Regards!

D.L.R.

It probably has something to do with the future upgrade of the N8/N25 interchange. Little bit of headroom.

Amtmann

I'm just thinking that traffic coming out of the Jack Lynch tunnel heading north for Dublin will find that they can enter the N8 - for 400m - before motorway restrictions come into force. This means (technically) that a tractor or JCB can come out of the tunnel, take the Dublin road and then will find itself on a motorway with no way off until the Glanmire sliproad some 5km later.

Surely this is a ridiculous proposition? Signing at the Dunkettle roundabout will be...interesting, to say the least.

Stark

I'm sure the N8 northbound from Dunkettle will implicitly inherit motorway restrictions if it leads inescapably to motorway.

marmurr1916

Furet wrote: »

I'm just thinking that traffic coming out of the Jack Lynch tunnel heading north for Dublin will find that they can enter the N8 - for 400m - before motorway restrictions come into force. This means (technically) that a tractor or JCB can come out of the tunnel, take the Dublin road and then will find itself on a motorway with no way off until the Glanmire sliproad some 5km later.

Surely this is a ridiculous proposition? Signing at the Dunkettle roundabout will be...interesting, to say the least.

I'm pretty sure that motorway regulations will apply from the roundabout on the northbound carriageway.

It'll just mean that the southbound M8 will be 400 metres shorter than the northbound M8!

BluntGuy

Wanna know what's gonna be happening at Cullahill temporary terminus of the M8? Well here's an extract from the Portlaoise-Cullahill EIS (bare in mind that when this was written, it was expected that the Portaloise-Cullahill M8 would have been completed before the Cashel-Cullahill M8 - but the idea is still clear):

The motorway [The M8 Cullahill-Portlaoise] commences on the Cullahill to the M7/M8 Motorway-Motorway Interchange section of the M7/M8 Scheme at the Oldtown Roundabout [Cullahill roundabout]. The Oldtown Roundabout is designed so as to temporarily link the proposed M8 to the existing N8 in both the direction of Cullahill and Cashel. It is intended that the Oldtown Roundabout will be removed on completion of the N8 Cullahill to Cashel Scheme as a link to the existing N8 will no longer be required at this point.

You can read it yourself on page 31 of this EIS:

http://www.m7m8scheme.ie/eis/pdfs/EIS_M7M8_Volume2_Introduction_and_Scheme_Description.pdf


Basically, what they're saying is that once both schemes are complete, the roundabout will be removed.

It explains why 11 km of the Cullahill-Cashel scheme (up to junction 4) had a motorway order attached to it from the beginning.

However, I have a big problem with this. If the roundabout being constructed is ultimately removed, it will mean that the toll section of motorway is (in effect) being extended 11 km to Urlingford. I think it's very devious the way they're trapping people into using a toll road.

Hopefully the roundabout at Cullahill will be maintained so that people who wish not to use the toll route do not have to exit 11 km before its commencement at Urlingford. It's very unfair.

Chris_533976

Yup, that was the plan from the start. Didnt know they were going to do it with a roundabout though. Its a bit devious indeed.

marmurr1916

Hopefully local pressure will mean it's kept. It would be much better to allow people the option of exiting the M8 at Cullahill and following the soon-to-be old N8 to Portlaoise.

Stark

Can it actually be kept though? I remember the Cashel bypass being terminated by roundabouts with the old N8 at both ends but they had to be removed to make way for sliproads and dumbbell roundabouts and to allow it to continue seamlessly into the new M8 sections.

Amtmann

The Cork Roads Office tell me they'll have the webpage for the Mitchelstown to Fermoy scheme updated comprehensively within three weeks.

The crowd up at the other end in Laois were characteristically unhelpful and clueless (the "national roads office" at Laois Co Co).

serfboard

Chris_533976 wrote: »

Yup, that was the plan from the start. Didnt know they were going to do it with a roundabout though. Its a bit devious indeed.

And it also represents a public subsidy to a private company, giving "them" (the toll operator) 11km of "our" road.:mad: