Dublin - Metrolink (Swords to Charlemont only)

You're missing their point in all fairness. The country was broke for 3 of those 6 decades, and will be building an underground for 1 of them.

100% agree.

Although I'm not certain about Metro West. We can see the orbital bus data and see the demand I guess.

I'm still hoping the Green line upgrade can happen soon. I still can't believe a few well heeled residents managed to block such a vital piece of infrastructure.

I still think it's possible to just expand the Metro to Donabate.

We should start planning the second Metro line ASAP. Once the first line gets the go ahead.

Dublins traffic seems to have got worse in last year. Buses can only do so much.

Well canada yes they have almost as many murders per capita as the USA. The Netherlands has a terminally backward approach to fare evasion they've crippled their capacity with reidiculous single door tram operation and on board ticket offices. They've got it wrong quite simply

From the link: "Edmonton city council passed two motions Wednesday related to transit safety, including one to get more information on possibly piloting fare gates." - this is supposed to be convincing proof that ticket barriers decrease anti-social behaviour? Some councillors want to get more information on possibly starting a pilot? That's not evidence or proof of anything - maybe you weren't expecting anyone to read the link?

And not it isn't just a few nordics, nearly all German and Austrian metros and S-Bahns and all of Switzerland operate PT without ticket barriers. Nearly every tram system in the world operates without them as do BRTs buses and many intercity rail systems. The UK is the odd-man-out when it comes to their fetish for ticket barriers for all rail transport where they are very rare across the rest of Europe - I doubt even 10% of rail stations on the continent have them.

I've use both types of systems extensively (i.e. for years) - one nice difference I've noticed in barrier-less systems is that the stations often provide multiple functions to the public because they're open - often serving as convenient short-cuts, have shops or cafes and the like - they're far more integrated into the surrounding environment.

Yes again, well done. The Nordics and Central Europe.

Places we are far removed from culturally although we look longingly (rightfully) at how they do things.

THEY are in the minority, no matter how many lovely YouTube videos you watch on their transit systems.

I am responding to basic gaslighting by people on this thread who got away with nonsense on “the buses being just as bad as the LUAS” before they were actually called out on it with data.

I honestly don’t care that you’ve lived in Central Europe. You aren’t unique - many of us have lived throughout the world and experienced different systems. I have never questioned the efficiency- again this is train model stuff. But this goes a bit beyond the headphones around the ears stuff, this is real life. We know in Dublin that the LUAS is a bigger issue than other transport modes (again the data shows this) and lumping a load of underground stations with no fare gates is going to require a lot of money to police correctly. That’s just reality, not some expat swooning over the S Bahn.

It will be a step in the right direction, but it will not impact the majority of commuters.

Only a network will do this.

I hope you are right that it will lay foundation and precedent for future lines, but why arent we seeing that ambition now?

Where is out network plan.

I admire your optimism. But I would consider it somewhat spurious at this stage.

We are so far away from even the ML aspect being delivered that speculation about next steps is almost fantasy talk.

Lets deliver on what was promised decades ago first. The first hurdle is yet to be cleared.

How are we so far away? It’s in the system and likely will start in the next 18 months.

Yet an underground was first mooted 50 plus years ago.

So the reason we didn’t build an underground (even though we’ve been talking about building one since the 70s) is because we built motorways?

So we can’t do both or even some motorways and an underground?

So what have we been talking about it since the 70s.

This is why people (the vast majority) aren't getting engaged with ML- 50+ years of talk without anything being delivered.