DART+ (DART Expansion)

Yes, it's a great site, with plenty of potential.

It would have been close to the earlier proposed station at the Mater, on which a few million was wasted building a station box.

Unfortunately the apparently primal fear of causing disruption means that the new metro proposal takes a detour to Glasnevin, where it will then cannibalise the Green Line, and where it will take decades to achieve the kind of population densities that already exist at Drumcondra, which was on the originally planned metro route.

The population density at Drumcondra is currently about 40% higher than at Glasnevin.

Glasnevin may be only 400m from the Green LUAS, but it is well off-street, and thus will cause only the tiniest disruption during construction.

I would like to deal with your points individually, but the new boards.ie arrangement doesn't seem to allow that.

I would be most in favour of a Drumcondra metro station built under the road between the two rail lines at that location. The only reasons given by posters 'knocking it down' were that it would involve people having to walk too far (100 metres or so) to make the metro/DART change, and that it would cause disruption.

The metro work at the Mater was preparatory to construction of a station box for metronorth. 5 Million Euro, down the swanny.

With the phrase 'out of action' it appears that you are saying that the three rail lines currently going through Glasnevin (Maynooth, Dunboyne and the PPT) will not be in operation for months, and possibly years, during construction. No rail connection with Dublin for all of that time? Surely you can't mean this?

Glasnevin provides a very sensible option for interchange between those two overground rail lines. A connection between Hazelhatch and Dunboyne, for example, or an easy change between a train going to Grand Canal Dock and a train going to Spencer Dock.

There is no need for the metro to be in that mix.

You say that 'much of the population density will still be able to avail of the service', and that is undoubtedly true. But all of that 40% higher population density in Drumcondra would be readily able to avail of these services if the metro were built through Drumcondra and an underground metro station was built with a view to a eventual connection with both overground rail lines, potentially involving a new station on the Midland line beside the canal.

When we know the eventual transport patterns along the Dunboyne, Maynooth and PPT lines, a station on the Midland line could surely be readily developed at Drumcondra with a very good connection to the metro.

Much of the hype about Glasnevin has been that you can make all sorts of choices there. Metro, DART, Hazelhatch, Dunboyne, Maynooth, the Airport, Swords, The City, etc. But you can't. If you are in a supermarket to buy milk, you realise you can also buy eggs there, and then maybe broccoli. And whaddaya know, you're still there in the supermarket, so you can still get, maybe, some kitchen towels, or some turnips. Chices, in one location.

It doesn't work this way with transport interchanges: once you make a choice you are no longer at the place where you made the choice.

I think what would make most sense is this: a passenger would change between overground rail lines at Glasnevin; a passenger would change between the metro and overground rail lines at Drumcondra; there would be minimal cannabilisation of the Green Line; and Dublin would have a much better 'spread' of rail transport across the northside.

Fear of disruption seems to be a major factor in planning, in Dublin. I'm sorry, but I believe this to be to the detriment of the city.