GLUAS for Galway

Steyr

Been reading up on the new light rail proposal for Galway City and looked at their proposed routes and thats all grand but why oh why is the GLUAS not going to connect to Galway Airport? ?:eek: They would really clean up if they went out to Carnmore..Bus Eireann dont even go out to the Airport.

See for yourself:
http://gluas.com/technical-details/

ronnie3585

Steyr wrote: »

why oh why is the GLUAS not going to connect to Galway Airport? ?:eek:

It's Galway...duh.

Sherifu

The other routes look good anyway.

homerjay540

supposedly the taxis have some agreement (with somebody) that they get sole use of the airport so to speak.
i know this sounds unrealistic but maybe this is why there are no busses going to the airport.
i agree though that a light rail taking in the airport and oranmore is essential

Because the airport mightn't be there in the near future, also because these are random lines drawn on a map by a company trying to sell a tram system.

The reason there is no bus to the airport, and only about 3 waiting taxis after each flight is because there is no demand for it.

Robbo

You propose a monorail and you get laughed down but then some academics take a crayon to a map of town and suddenly it's viable...

civis_liberalis

I'd hate to live in Carnmore.

You've no choice but to drive if you want to go anywhere.

It's scandalous that there is no bus.

If I lived out there I'd have chained myself up in city hall by now.

randylonghorn

Deleted User wrote: »

... these are random lines drawn on a map by a company trying to sell a tram system.

Agree with them or disagree with them, they're hardly random.

Robbo wrote: »

You propose a monorail and you get laughed down but then some academics take a crayon to a map of town and suddenly it's viable...

"Well, sir, there's nothing on earth
Like a genuine,
Bona fide,
Electrified,
Six-car
Monorail!
What'd I say?"

Krieg

randylonghorn wrote: »

"Well, sir, there's nothing on earth
Like a genuine,
Bona fide,
Electrified,
Six-car
Monorail!
What'd I say?"

MONO- doh!


Cheers for the link, I was wondering about the proposed route it would take. In any case, if this does go ahead, im betting it the construction will start in about 10 years and another 3 years to build it.

Mrs OBumble

Sherifu wrote: »

The other routes look good anyway.

It's too hard to tell if they're any good or not: a GLUAS stop (or bus stop) on the other side of the (dual-carriageway + dangerous-roundabout) from where you want to go is simply useless, and won't get people out of their cars.

For this thing to succeed, it will actually need to stop at the places people travel to/from, not just close by. And I have a feeling that the road-design here is going to make that mightily complex.

Sherifu

JustMary wrote: »

It's too hard to tell if they're any good or not: a GLUAS stop (or bus stop) on the other side of the (dual-carriageway + dangerous-roundabout) from where you want to go is simply useless, and won't get people out of their cars.

For this thing to succeed, it will actually need to stop at the places people travel to/from, not just close by. And I have a feeling that the road-design here is going to make that mightily complex.

I meant the areas the routes cover look good.

biko

Gluas? *Groins* Would have been nicer with less stupid name than "G-speed".

Mars Bar

You typed the words from my fingertips!

It's hidious...

Amazotheamazing

The same crowd are proposing something similar for Limerick, strikes me as a nice mixture of pie in the sky and all out dreaming tbh. Neither city has the population to support a tram system (though obviously one would be welcome in both).

Robbo

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

The same crowd are proposing something similar for Limerick, strikes me as a nice mixture of pie in the sky and all out dreaming tbh. Neither city has the population to support a tram system (though obviously one would be welcome in both).

Bingo.

Look at the route and try to imagine how they're going to lay tramlines down the Moycullen road at Bushypark. The clear-as-mud map proposes crossing the river at the Quincentennial Bridge and at some other point that may be the Salmon Weir Bridge, how can this be done without losing lanes to road traffic?

Moreover, to cost the thing at 1/3 of the rate per kilometer of the Luas is pure fantasy.

ronnie3585

biko wrote: »

Gluas? *Groins* Would have been nicer with less stupid name than "G-speed".

How about G-wizz?

Krieg

My sister was telling me that they will be closing off college road from cars. Just for buses and Taxi's and the G-luas. May just be a rumour but she sounded pretty sure

snubbleste

Krieg wrote: »

My sister was telling me that they will be closing off college road from cars. Just for buses and Taxi's and the G-luas. May just be a rumour but she sounded pretty sure

That was news some months back, they are planning to have it as a one-way system and to give buses priority. I'm guessing it will be outbound only.

Galway does not have the critical mass for a tram system, people are too in love with their cars for it to work anyway.

randylonghorn

JustMary wrote: »

It's too hard to tell if they're any good or not: a GLUAS stop (or bus stop) on the other side of the (dual-carriageway + dangerous-roundabout) from where you want to go is simply useless, and won't get people out of their cars.

For this thing to succeed, it will actually need to stop at the places people travel to/from, not just close by. And I have a feeling that the road-design here is going to make that mightily complex.

You make good points. What I like about this proposal is that it has put something out there for discusssion / debate, gets people thinking. Even this thread is a small example.

biko wrote: »

Gluas? *Groins* Would have been nicer with less stupid name than "G-speed".

GNEAS? >_>

snubbleste wrote: »

Galway does not have the critical mass for a tram system, people are too in love with their cars for it to work anyway.

People may not be so in love with their cars if the price of fuel continues to rise. And listening to friends of mine who have to battle the traffic in and out of the city every day, I'm not so sure that they are in love with the experience as that currently they have little choice.

galwayrush

Biggest obstacle will be our useless county and City Planners.One example springs to mind:
The City Council proposes a park and Ride and the County Council refuse permission for their part of it.:(

pencil

Steyr wrote: »

Been reading up on the new light rail proposal for Galway City and looked at their proposed routes and thats all grand but why oh why is the GLUAS not going to connect to Galway Airport? ?:eek: They would really clean up if they went out to Carnmore..Bus Eireann dont even go out to the Airport.

See for yourself:
http://gluas.com/technical-details/

I wouldn't get to excited about this.... they 'announce' this every 2 years... guest what nothing happens.

The sycophantic Galway Councillors/Politicians, couldn't organise this in a fit.

Fey!

A couple of local business people have put a huge amount of work into the Gluas over the past couple of years. This includes getting engineers reports and market research surveys to determine the most suitable routes.

As far as I am aware, the main stumbling block is land acquisition They reckon that the Gluas would be profitable in a very short period of time, and that the Gluas itself would essentially cost the city nothing.

If I am not mistaken, their preperation was done seperately to the city council, and was presented to the corporation essentially as a package, saying "this is what is possible, what do you think?".

The use of the name Gluas would make it an easier sell to people, as people will immediatly think of the Luas.

As for the lower cost of laying track, a lot of the saving comes from them not having to dig huge trenches like they did in Dublin, as the ground is more suitable as it is.

The people behind this plan are very successful in their own right, and are working on this as they want to see the city develop rather than becoming stagnant. They are also very much in favour of a Galway Park'n'Ride facility, and have gone to great lengths to see how these systems work in other cities similar to Galway.

Up to now they have had a lot of support. Unfortunately, there is never any way to please everybody, and the idea/project will get a lot of flak.

As for the taxies having an agreement with the airport, I thought that there was one bus a day to the airport by a private company, except that it just doesn't run at any times nearing flights. Or is that an urban legend?

Shinto

It's a great idea. But i fear that it will be decades before something like that is done. And i feel powerless in showing my support....

Is there a petition that one can sign to show their support?

Victor

Fey! wrote: »

As for the lower cost of laying track, a lot of the saving comes from them not having to dig huge trenches like they did in Dublin, as the ground is more suitable as it is.

Explain that one.

by the way - the rest of your post was made up on the spot, wasn't it?

JohnCleary

Fey - What business people are behind it? Building people who just want to profit from it (I know is what business is all about...) or actualy shop owners in Galway that want a better infrastructure?

pointofnoreturn

homerjay540 wrote: »

supposedly the taxis have some agreement (with somebody) that they get sole use of the airport so to speak.
i know this sounds unrealistic but maybe this is why there are no busses going to the airport.
i agree though that a light rail taking in the airport and oranmore is essential

Apparently the Airport authorities take up to €5 per trip, to and from the airport, also they have one of the most expensive landing fees in the country!

Also their is a bus to and from the airport, about 12.30, 1pm, but still regardless of the airport authorities or any excess, their should be a bus service for every! plane in and out of that Airport! it's a insult! for someone to fly to this country and have to pay €20+ just to get the centre. and I've heard my fair share of complaints

This initive is interesting and good, but Please NOT LUAS SYSTEM!! go with French, Swiss or German! they have far more spectacular Metro's also they would have far better ideas in modelling best routes etc...

One of the links i found on the website GLuas, http://www.trampower.co.uk/
Refering to these guys: Alstom Rail Transport

pointofnoreturn

civis_liberalis wrote: »

I'd hate to live in Carnmore.

You've no choice but to drive if you want to go anywhere.

It's scandalous that there is no bus.

If I lived out there I'd have chained myself up in city hall by now.

I did! grew up their!, about the best thing i did as regards transport was, flu home from London to Galway and walked home! still the road was deadly! and we had no traffic lights then!

Had a car before, but still it was a bollox to do anything!
Now where i live, i can happly have a few drinks, get the late night metro home and enjoy like

randylonghorn

Victor wrote: »

Explain that one.

According to their site, Victor ...

The LUAS light rail system in Dublin has shown that this is practical but that costs can be very high (approx. €770 million for 25 km for red and green LUAS line which were completed in 2004; approx. 31 million per kilometre). GLUAS is estimated to cost in the region of €200 million, less than €10 million per kilometre ...

... GLUAS will be designed to have low floor tramcars (300mm / 12in above the rails/road) and platforms will be little higher than existing pavements and footways, to give level entry to GLUAS trams, for passengers in wheelchairs, and especially parents with young children in prams and buggies. Such low platforms can be installed with very little alteration to the existing street structure. In some places the rails for the GLUAS will be laid in the existing road carriageway, and the space shared with other road vehicles, albeit with traffic management to ensure that GLUAS is not congested. In other places where space permits, GLUAS tracks will be laid separately from the carriageway to permit even faster GLUAS service ...

... All European tramways run on two steel rails, either set flush into the road, or where off road with rails fixed to sleepers. This makes the quality of the ride very comfortable for passengers, without bumps and swerves associated with buses on normal roads. More importantly, new tramway technology such as the ‘glue in the road’ LR55 track system developed by TRAM Power Limited have resulted in reduced cost, speedy installation and minimal disruption to existing structures (e.g. utilities remain largely undisturbed by tramway construction). LR55 has been used successfully in Sheffield since 1996 (see also Figure 2 below).

Accurate or not, I personally have no idea at this moment in time, but that's what they claim.

JohnCleary wrote: »

Fey - What business people are behind it? Building people who just want to profit from it (I know is what business is all about...) or actualy shop owners in Galway that want a better infrastructure?

There seem to be a fair few business people (of the latter variety) involved, John ... whether they are fully committed to the current project as outlined, or primarily in exploratory mode, I don't know. For example, the Galway City Business Assoc. and the Chamber of Commerce are involved, I'm fairly sure Brendan Holland was / is the chairman, and I heard some other fairly well-known centre city names mentioned. Oh, I'm sure there are probably a few people involved, including Trampower Ltd. itself, who have their eye to getting some business out of the construction as well.

I honestly don't have the technical knowledge to form an opinion as to whether this is viable or not; what I like about it is that at least someone is showing the interest to propose SOMETHING, and as far as I am concerned anything which gets people discussing / thinking / arguing about public transport options for Galway (and elsewhere) is a good thing.

The one thing I'm absolutely sure about is that Galway, and indeed the whole country, needs a major improvement in public transport infrastructure.

Amazotheamazing

Here's an article on them coming to Limerick, have to say I'm a loss as to how a tram will use the train line between Limerick and Galway (when that line is finished)? Like I said, I'd like to see it in both cities, but just don't buy these guys story.

LUAS set to come to Limerick?



Luas set for Limerick?

ADVERTISEMENT

A LIGHT rail network running through Limerick city centre and its environs could become a reality in years to come, according to one of the key figures behind similar plans for a Luas-style network in Galway City.
Speaking to the Limerick Chronicle, chairman of GLUAS, Brendan Holland, said that the new light rail system proposed for Galway could also happen in Limerick.

"We're much further along with our plans for the light rail network in Galway but the chances of having one in Limerick have also been discussed. Prof Lewis Lesley, a light rail expert from the UK who researched the viability of the network in Galway, has also done a study on the possibility of expanding it to Limerick and very preliminary discussions have taken place with some business figures in Limerick," said Mr Holland.

"The system we are hoping to develop in Galway would be capable of using the existing line between Galway and Limerick. The train would be able to travel to Limerick where it could connect up with a similar light rail network there. Michael D. Higgins recently suggested that we should also consider the idea of expanding the network beyond Galway and its hinterlands."

Mr Holland added that members of the Limerick City Business Association attended a presentation in NUI Galway last week on the economic benefits of having a light rail system in place in the town.

"It's not rocket science to see the benefits, it's just common sense. Oil isn't going to get any cheaper and people are becoming increasingly aware of the problems with our environment. A light rail system is the Rolls Royce solution to both of these problems. It has been proven that a light rail system would be physically possible and financially viable in Galway and seeing as Limerick is a bigger city, it would stand to reason that it would make equal sense to also have one there."

pointofnoreturn

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

A LIGHT rail network running through Limerick city centre and its environs could become a reality in years to come, according to one of the key figures behind similar plans for a Luas-style network in Galway City.....

Should be seen as the plan! not a vision, that this is what is required to have now! or at least the beginning sustainable infrastructure and the basis to build competitive cities, with a European approach,

Think! Less cars, more trains!! European Lifestyles, NOT! big roads and everyone having their own car!
I dont' think Public infrastructure should be seen as "Profit service" like what public service is profitable? it is a service to support the people and private services

So yes that artical is a bit lame, just printed to get readers

civis_liberalis

civis_liberalis wrote: »

I'd hate to live in Carnmore.

You've no choice but to drive if you want to go anywhere.

It's scandalous that there is no bus.

If I lived out there I'd have chained myself up in city hall by now.

If you chose to buy / build there knowing that it was out in the country and not served by any bus then it would be your own fault if you expected it to be provided.

Also you would look like a bit silly when you realised you were chained up outside the wrong council.