Dublin - Metrolink (Swords to Charlemont only)

What I meant, is that in my view, the builder should have been granted permission to build there, with 2 conditions: A) mandatory to build the underground metro box at builder's expense (so no need to knock down new buildings at a later stage, etc.) B) be reimbursed of such metro box construction, only if the metro project is completed; so public funds are preserved in the interim and spent only when there is a tangible result.

Considering that it's central area, relatively close to Grand Canal and with the Luas station right next to it, it is an appealing location to build on my opinion. I'm confident that a builder company with deep pockets, could have afforded the risk of spending 12.5M € for the box, with a view of being reimbursed in a number of years (ideally). However, if one consider that the metro project is in the making from decades to date, the risk of not being reimbursed is obviously very high, and that would have probably put off most builders.

I'm unsure as well whether it was a full station box there as well; my point is that the money spent few years ago, is again 12M € ... which are wasted money due to the new ML route alignment (which I won't comment further, as I think there are many previous posts about it {like for Tara and Glasnevin, to mention a couple}, and we're now at a stage well beyond the ML route alignment, and what it was with MN).

In one of the latest tweet from Dublin Commuter Coalition, they say Gov will likely approve ML in about two weeks, and go to ABP in two months; wonder where they got that timeline from, we shall anyway see, as the latest update from ML was indeed that the project should go to ABP by Q2 2022.

Not sure which public spending rules the Gov used, to decide to reimburse the metro box at Charlemont before the relevant ML approvals (at least with the box at the Mater Hospital, MN was approval by ABP), but that considered, then why not compensate those affected by CPO in due course as well? It should help increase the chances of ML being successfully built. Gov mentioned about the need of being careful with spending for this project, that ML won't be like the Children's Hospital... we shall see

Does anyone have an update on the Preliminary Business Case approval? I though it was supposed to be done by Q1 2022 but that only leaves less than a week.

This would be an unconstitutional impingement on property rights so no, that's never going to happen

It's also an utterly insane idea.

But doing that work now while a construction is happening on a new building overhead is to minimise public expenditure.

Really there were only two options available to the NTA and DCC with this enabling work.

1. The NTA pay the developer to cover the costs of the enabling work in advance of the metro application
2. The NTA asks DCC to reject the planning application and sterilise the land for future metro development. Something like this is done all of the time for roads projects across the country

The NTA seem to have opted for the approach of paying the developer. I suspect because their plans for this area are far enough advanced that they have a good understanding for what they need. Delaying the development is probably the best for the public purse. I'm not sure why they picked that option though.

What like 100 years...lol

The benefits of an interchange at Glasnevin over one at Drumcondra are marginal, but I guess finding a justification to ditch the well developed plans for Metro North in order to extend the timeline for completion necessitated it.

It is most likely that trains via Drumcondra will be able to terminate at the new Spencer Dock station when it is built, given that the track configuration in that part of town to facilitate such a service was already part of NTA consultations on Dart Plus. Serving the Newcomen line wasn't worth the the delay to delivering a Metro for north Dublin, or the sunk cost created by sacrificing the need for the retaining wall at the Mater in my opinion. Newcomen will remain an underutilised line even after all the railway projects are completed because there's no additional stations planned for it and it has a much smaller catchment area compared to the Drumcondra line.

Frankly, the superior option is the one we'd be riding on today rather than waiting on until 2035+. The marginal benefits of the current metro are not worth the much larger lead times on this project - it was a mistake not to proceed with MN and the city is suffering for it today. There was no attempt to salvage any of the work that went into that project or to tweak it so that we weren't left with this current state of affairs.

There was never any need to re-invent the wheel with a Metro for Dublin - god knows the city's planners have done that enough already and that's why we've been talking about a metro for the city for 35+ years instead of building it. And to say that Metrolink offers far more interchange options is a complete fallacy, the location of MN's O'Connell Bridge stop would put it as a de-facto interchange with Tara Street, in addition to the interchange at Drumcondra (which, whether the NTA wanted it or not, was part of the final plans). There isn't going to be any more of a network effect as a result of the changes brought about in the Metrolink plans, not that the demand model for MN required any network effect to justify it - point to point journeys would more than deliver on the business case.

If I am correct there was a group years ago called Platform Something who lobbied for the PPT open for commuters and were the first group I can recalled to state that Glasnevin Junction was the natural Metro/DART interchange.

The residents who live near the Charlemont terminus for Metrolink have been moaning to the IT about the Enabling Works at the new upcoming station outside their doorstep.

They don't really understand that these enabling works are a precursor to the actual station that is being built at Charlemont.

It's there to actually provide a stable stepping stone to try & get on with building the Metrolink station at Charlemont while not interfering with the significant structure of the INBS building that is currently present above the site of the new station in where the enabling works are taking place.

They're are talking about stopping the works at Charlemont because the residents from the area say the works already contributes to have large building hoardings near their homes for several years.

The residents who live there have also set up a website to talk about the new station at Charlemont. The link for it is below. It doesn't contain very much information about the project itself. However it does have letters or submissions published on the site that were made to local politicians who the serve the area.

It's also been reported in Dublin Live that these works at Charlemont are being investigated by the PAC whether they complied with official spending procedures under the public spending code.

These NIMBYS are as comical as they are utterly detestable.

Who recalls the wagon with the art gallery on Harcourt Street who stopped the trams on opening day after a two year long campaign claiming the tram was something akin to a Nazi deportation train taking her to a death camp!

The next day this creature was forgotten about and no doubt someone or something else was the new target of her personality disorders. Same will happen with the current freak show on Charlemont.