Dublin - Metrolink (Swords to Charlemont only)

I've never heard of a brand new metro station having a detrimental impact on a residential area anywhere in the world. The opposite is always the case

McDowell doesn’t care about any potential benefits, and such benefits would be available to everyone so don’t really fit with his worldview.

All he cares about are his property interests in Ranelagh and nothing of consequence changing near them.

McDowell and his ilk are monied enough that they never need use Public Transport. McCarthy similarly. They cannot imagine what a regular commute via PT actually looks like given they havent had to take one in decades.

Hardly a cut and cover to a tie in past Beechwood ? In fact the plan for the line is for it to terminate to the north of the good Senators house. AFAiK it is almost in line with it. I presume there would be a more sophisticated solution?

Was there ever any consideration given to diverting the sewer or doing some sort of work on it to allow the metro to emerge north of Ranelagh as initially envisaged? I know this would not be trivial at all. But the benefits of a simpler, less disruptive tie-in and being able to simply upgrade Ranalagh and Beechwood to metro stations without having to construct underground metro stations, sound compelling to me.

This would also mean diverting and continuing the green Luas south of Harcourt as an on street system would be viable - e.g. down Adelaide rd or toward Rathmines - instead of having a terminus among low density suburban houses around Beechwood.

Just to be clear, the plan we have now is the plan and I'm not in anyway suggesting changing it.

How long is it estimated that the TBM will be in the ground for? I couldn't easily find the timeline in the planning docs, and since many people have said some variation of "once the TBM is in the ground, plans will be revised", so interested to ponder those timeframes

Is that saying 10 years to complete the project? Or is it worst case?

The section about a snail being faster than Metro was humorous. Hopefully we can get this thing started next year and dispel the (completely justified) weariness and cynicism the article references.

The dates are surely massively padded and all worst case.

I'm no engineer but surely for a 2025 construction start we can get a basic metro line finished by the early 2030's. There's no integration with any existing stations to worry about, they've simplified the design etc.

The proposed timeline would see trains running closer to 2040 than 2030 - abysmal given we were promised fresh new Metro trains would be zipping us to the airport by 2027.

I don't think the tbm will take 4 years to get from Ballymun to Charlemont The ground conditions at that depth are still largely unknown so certain worse case scenarios are built into the programme, it could easily be half that or somewhere in between.

There's engineering complexity at Glasnevin Station with the canal, live railway lines and multi level interchange station but all other stations are straight up cut and cover with little interaction with existing underground utilities. any earthworks contractor worth their salt will fly through that.

Assuming that the Green Line is upgraded to Metrolink in the future, if bridging at St Raephaella's Road, surely you also grade separate at Burton Hall Rd/Blackthorn Ave. junction to add the Central Park stop and possibly a terminus stop on the far side of the M50?

If not continuing south of Sandyford, just terminate Metrolink before St Raephaella's Road. I don't see how it would be worth the cost just to have a stop slightly further south. The terminus north of it would serve the area just as well and would be approx. 850m from the Kilmacud stop so fine spacing-wise. You wouldn't have two Metro stations a la Stillorgan and Sandyford Luas stops, they would be too close.

If the Sandyford depot was given over to Metrolink, then a new Luas depot would be needed for whatever Luas line remains (and a Luas line would definitely remain because there is a lot of track in the area which is not suitable for upgrade to Metrolink). It would be very difficult to find a plot for an alternative Luas depot.

Great thread over here for all things Mertrolink south of Charlemont

Hint. Sandyford is well south of Charlemont.

Hard to say that they haven't made every effort to account for every cent in this project, nor future proofed it either.

Should the opw not get on with building their memorial gardens - Phoenix Park Bridge? They've been promising this every year for 6 years now.