LUAS light rail construction updates

[odlum833]

Luas link up plans being finalised
Tuesday, 22 June 2010 10:29

Plans are being finalised for the long-awaited link up between the two Luas lines in Dublin city centre.

The Rail Procurement Agency is due to make an application to An Bord Pleanála for the BXD line running from St Stephen's Green to Parnell St.

The LUAS link line is planned to run from St Stephen's Green by Trinity College and up O'Connell St before doubling back down Marlborough st and and across a specially built new bridge over the Liffey.
Advertisement

It would connect the Green line which terminates at St Stephen's Green to the Red Line which runs along Abbey St and would also form part of a new Line D that will connect Luas services with a suburban rail station at Broombridge near Cabra.

However, business leaders in the city are anxious that work on the BXD line is completed at the same time as work on Metro North which is due to start in 2012.

It is understood that the RPA wants to build them separately but the Dublin Chamber of Commerce says this would add two years construction and consequent disruption in the city centre.

The RPA advertised its plans in the national press this morningand is due to deliver its Railway Order on 30 June.

The cost is estimated at up to €170 million.

..

RTE

[Catmalojin]

Excellent news!

Although it would be nice, what would the chances of it being finished before Metro North's construction starts in 2012? :\

Here's a map showing the entire line, in brown and purple.

[saoró...]

How does this arrangement manage traffic? Is there some degree of pedestrianisation/rerouting involved?

[Catmalojin]

Originally Posted by saoró...

How does this arrangement manage traffic? Is there some degree of pedestrianisation/rerouting involved?

Well, the line "D" section of it is mostly on an old railway to Broadstone Station, so no worries there.

Line "BX" is the more complex section, and I can imagine the argument that College Green should be made into a pedestrianised square will be strengthened now. Dawson Street also seems like it will become "tram only", or maybe something like Abbey Street.

The "Line & Stop Design" section of the RPA's site is quite useful.

Between this and Metro North, the city centre will be like hell for a few years for drivers, and probably bus users who'll see major routes diverted, if not re-routed altogether.

All for the greater good, though!

[Viking74]

Great news and long overdue. I hope they upgrade Broombridge station too while they're at it. That station is a hell hole

[Catmalojin]

From the PRA, image of the new Belgard Luas stop when complete (with the Citywest Luas branch):

Image 1

Image 2

Cheeverstown stop:

Image 1

Image 2

Citywest Campus stop:

Image

Fortunestown stop:

Image

[odlum833]

Capital braced for five years of traffic chaos from Luas and Metro



By Treacy Hogan

Wednesday June 23 2010

DUBLIN city centre is braced for five years of traffic and business chaos from major road works needed to build the Metro and Luas link-up line.

Luas chiefs have decided to dig up the city alongside excavation works on the Metro to Dublin Airport, starting at the end of next year.

Transport Minister Noel Dempsey said last night "it made sense" to have overlapping construction works to be carried out at the same time.

Luas chiefs admitted yesterday that construction work on the €170m link-up will cause disruption throughout the city centre.

The Railway Procurement Agency (RPA ) yesterday formally applied for planning permission for the long-overdue line linking the two unconnected Luas lines.

However, Mr Dempsey has insisted that the Metro must be built before the Luas link-up can proceed, but has agreed for the excavation and utilities work to be done earlier.

The route of the underground Metro and overground Luas link follow very similar paths.

By applying for the railway order yesterday, Luas chiefs plan to carry out the digging work in tandem with the Metro excavations.

The alternative is to dig up the city centre, build the Metro, and then come back and dig up the city in the exact same locations for the Luas link-up line.

Both projects are being carried out by the RPA.

Under the current plan, the Metro is due to be up and running by 2016, followed by the Luas line in 2018, according to the rail agency.

Tom Manning, RPA spokesperson, said yesterday that business interests in the city centre had been pushing for both projects to be built in tandem to minimise the expected disruption.

By seeking the railway order it was hoped that where parts of the Metro and Luas works overlapped it would be possible to carry out the works at the same time.

Mr Dempsey has insisted, however, that the cross-city Luas link line would not be built until Metro north is completed. The two big priorities for the Government are the Dart underground interconnector and the Metro.

The RPA is dependent on the Government for funding both projects, and it is clear that the Metro will get any cash allocations first.

The Luas line linking the St Stephen's Green and Tallaght services was due to be finished in 2012.

The new line will run from St Stephen's Green, down Dawson Street and down past Trinity College.

It will then travel down Westmoreland Street and O'Connell Street, before turning on to Parnell Street and then along Marlborough Street.

The route will cross the Luas Red Line at Abbey Street and then travel across the River Liffey via a new Marlborough Street public transport bridge. There will also be stops at Hawkins Street and College Street.

The project also includes a connection from the city out to Broombridge via Broadstone.

- Treacy Hogan

Irish Independent

[thebig C]

Originally Posted by Catmalojin

From the PRA, image of the new Belgard Luas stop when complete (with the Citywest Luas branch):

Image 1

Image 2

Cheeverstown stop:

Image 1

Image 2

Citywest Campus stop:

Image

Fortunestown stop:

Image

I live 2 mins from the Belgard stop. The canopy is complete, and actually looks very good. At least now I won't get soaked anymore waiting for the tram!!;P

The one misleading aspect of the pic is the road running alongside the platform. That is a long planned route will will link the Naas Rd, Citywest etc with the M50 via the Belgard Rd. Some sections, such as the Embankment Rd for the M50 to Belgard and the Citywest section are complete. The Belgard/Fortunstown section has FPP.....but I can't see construction starting any time soon!

[thebig C]

As a frequent user and fan of Luas, I think its great that the lines will finally link. However, I do wonder will this route have a dreadful effect on Dublins traffic given the ammount of vehicles that use College Green, Nassau St, Dawson St and Westmorland St!!??

[PeteC]

Who cares about traffic, we should be discouraging from the city centre anyway. We should be moving towards a situation where there is no traffic in the core of the city. With all the rail/light rail projects planned for the city centre (Luas, Metro North, Interconnector) there will be less demand for buses and the remaining buses could be accommodated on streets surronding the OC/Westmoreland/Dolier axis but not on it. Improved public transport means less private motorists in the city centre, they should be discouraged anyway, especially those who drive through the city centre to avoid paying the M50 toll.

This would allow the creation of a pedestrian corridor stretching from Parnel Street end of O'Connell Street via Westmoreland Street and down Grafton Street to Stephens Green with a plaza in the middle at College Green. This would be fantastic for the city and make it more attractive. This corridor would be served by Luas above ground and Metro North and Dart via Interconnector underground.

[thebig C]

Originally Posted by PeteC

Who cares about traffic, we should be discouraging from the city centre anyway. We should be moving towards a situation where there is no traffic in the core of the city. With all the rail/light rail projects planned for the city centre (Luas, Metro North, Interconnector) there will be less demand for buses and the remaining buses could be accommodated on streets surronding the OC/Westmoreland/Dolier axis but not on it. Improved public transport means less private motorists in the city centre, they should be discouraged anyway, especially those who drive through the city centre to avoid paying the M50 toll.

This would allow the creation of a pedestrian corridor stretching from Parnel Street end of O'Connell Street via Westmoreland Street and down Grafton Street to Stephens Green with a plaza in the middle at College Green. This would be fantastic for the city and make it more attractive. This corridor would be served by Luas above ground and Metro North and Dart via Interconnector underground.

Hey Pete

I tend to agree with you regarding cars in the City Core. Afterall, I love Amsterdam where there are almost no vehicles in the central area....although the bikes can be almost as dangerous)

However, given that the main City Centre artery for years has been College Green, there will be very significant disruption. And, its no use pretending that even with Luas connecting that our public transport system will be excellent...because it wont!

[PeteC]

Originally Posted by thebig C

However, given that the main City Centre artery for years has been College Green, there will be very significant disruption. And, its no use pretending that even with Luas connecting that our public transport system will be excellent...because it wont!

Our public transport system will probably never be excellent because with the speed project progress at in this country by the time one issue is dealt with a new one emmerges, usually as a result of poor planning when dealing with the first issue. However we should be striving towards excellence in everything we do. When Luas link up is completed and Metro North and Interconnector are built we will have something resembling a good public transport system. I accept your point that things wont be perfect after these projects, but that is no reason to settle for less.

When Luas, Metro North and Interconnector are completed that will be the rail/light rail sorted, or at least as good as we can get it, for the foreseeable future. The only other issue then is to sort out the buses which clog up the city, and the O'Connell Street/Westmoreland/College Green axis in particular. Improved public transport means less private motorists in the city centre, they should be discouraged anyway, especially those who drive through the city centre to avoid paying the M50 toll. Less private motorists means more space for buses on other streets and we could build grade separated BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) corridors. Proper bus corridors avoiding O'Connell Street/Westmoreland/College Green would allow for a pedestrian corridor here and turn Dublin into the beautiful city it could be.

[Thefancydanhimself]

+1 for all of the above.
I'd like to see some of these BRT lines introduced so that they could work as interconnecting and orbital links.

I think though with the interconnector, the two metro lines, the BDX line, the planned F line and about five or six of those BRT lines Dublin's transport system could potentially be excellent.

I'd like to hear if everyone else would be as optimistic about it as i am?
Planning is terrible in Ireland... Although the LUAS is an excellent system why the hell was it allowed to be built as two non-connecting lines?
I understand they dropped the 3 line the had planned in favour of metro north but what madness posessed them to have two isolated lines..

[Catmalojin]

I have to say I agree with everything you guys are saying. Dublin should aim to be as car-free as possible, in particular in between the canals and ESPECIALLY the O'Connell Street to Stephen's Green corridor (with College Green becoming a plaza). This should involve close integration of Luas, Metro, DART and BRT (and Dublin Bus) services, and I'd love to see one company take over responsibility for the entire thing (instead of this "National Transport Agency" which has done nothing so far), something like Amsterdam's GVB.

Originally Posted by Thefancydanhimself

Although the LUAS is an excellent system why the hell was it allowed to be built as two non-connecting lines?
I understand they dropped the 3 line the had planned in favour of metro north but what madness posessed them to have two isolated lines..

The original plan was a line running from Tallaght to Connolly Station, with future spurs to Clondalkin and the Docklands, and a line running from Sandyford to the Airport with future spurs to Finglas, Cabinteely and Swords. The N/S line would run underground from Stephen's Green to Broadstone. This was what the outoing government in 1997 had committed to. Here's a snap of the proposal from an old textbook I found not long ago (from 1999):



Instead it was decided by Fianna Fáil, when they got into power, to not have the system go through the city centre as the city traders (those fools now desperate for the link-up to be built) thought the construction period would impact on their trade and ability of people to get to suburban shopping centres would do the same when complete (and loss of road space for cars, etc.). So instead the two lines were built separately, and the link to the Airport cancelled and replaced with the Metro which, 13 years later, still hasn't even got the railway order yet!

[oneborneveryminute]

Originally Posted by Catmalojin

I have to say I agree with everything you guys are saying. Dublin should aim to be as car-free as possible, in particular in between the canals and ESPECIALLY the O'Connell Street to Stephen's Green corridor (with College Green becoming a plaza). This should involve close integration of Luas, Metro, DART and BRT (and Dublin Bus) services, and I'd love to see one company take over responsibility for the entire thing (instead of this "National Transport Agency" which has done nothing so far), something like Amsterdam's GVB.



The original plan was a line running from Tallaght to Connolly Station, with future spurs to Clondalkin and the Docklands, and a line running from Sandyford to the Airport with future spurs to Finglas, Cabinteely and Swords. The N/S line would run underground from Stephen's Green to Broadstone. This was what the outoing government in 1997 had committed to. Here's a snap of the proposal from an old textbook I found not long ago (from 1999):



Instead it was decided by Fianna Fáil, when they got into power, to not have the system go through the city centre as the city traders (those fools now desperate for the link-up to be built) thought the construction period would impact on their trade and ability of people to get to suburban shopping centres would do the same when complete (and loss of road space for cars, etc.). So instead the two lines were built separately, and the link to the Airport cancelled and replaced with the Metro which, 13 years later, still hasn't even got the railway order yet!

Jolly wheeze an' all as it is to blame everything from public transport to the famine and the Mexican Gulf oil disaster on Fianna Fail........I don't think it happened that way.
IIRC, Mary O'Rourke was planning a tunnel from St Stephen's Green to OCS for the Green Line link up but wiser counsel prevailed regarding the unsuitability of a LUAS line to the airport - given the long term development of Dublin Airport plus the potential for other growth in the Swords area.
So the question of a Metro Line was raised.
Rather than wait for more final plans to emerge from that study, and given the likely delays in getting PP for any link up line, it was decided to go ahead with the 2 lines as now stand rather than delay any longer.
You might not have noticed, but we don't live in China where the authority can decide to build anything one day and virtually the next day the diggers will be out. Anybody stupid enough to be living there, in the way, can just sling their hook and **** off.
We tend to regard any new development as the end of the world and will fight it to the last appeal in the high court.
Re PP for MN - it is close now, only about 4 weeks away.

[Catmalojin]

Originally Posted by oneborneveryminute

Jolly wheeze an' all as it is to blame everything from public transport to the famine and the Mexican Gulf oil disaster on Fianna Fail........I don't think it happened that way.
IIRC, Mary O'Rourke was planning a tunnel from St Stephen's Green to OCS for the Green Line link up but wiser counsel prevailed regarding the unsuitability of a LUAS line to the airport - given the long term development of Dublin Airport plus the potential for other growth in the Swords area.
So the question of a Metro Line was raised.
Rather than wait for more final plans to emerge from that study, and given the likely delays in getting PP for any link up line, it was decided to go ahead with the 2 lines as now stand rather than delay any longer.
You might not have noticed, but we don't live in China where the authority can decide to build anything one day and virtually the next day the diggers will be out. Anybody stupid enough to be living there, in the way, can just sling their hook and **** off.
We tend to regard any new development as the end of the world and will fight it to the last appeal in the high court.
Re PP for MN - it is close now, only about 4 weeks away.

And the "delay" has been 13 years so far.

Though the permission is within reach, as you said. At last.

[Thefancydanhimself]

Originally Posted by oneborneveryminute

Jolly wheeze an' all as it is to blame everything from public transport to the famine and the Mexican Gulf oil disaster on Fianna Fail........I don't think it happened that way.
IIRC, Mary O'Rourke was planning a tunnel from St Stephen's Green to OCS for the Green Line link up but wiser counsel prevailed regarding the unsuitability of a LUAS line to the airport - given the long term development of Dublin Airport plus the potential for other growth in the Swords area.
So the question of a Metro Line was raised.
Rather than wait for more final plans to emerge from that study, and given the likely delays in getting PP for any link up line, it was decided to go ahead with the 2 lines as now stand rather than delay any longer.
You might not have noticed, but we don't live in China where the authority can decide to build anything one day and virtually the next day the diggers will be out. Anybody stupid enough to be living there, in the way, can just sling their hook and **** off.
We tend to regard any new development as the end of the world and will fight it to the last appeal in the high court.
Re PP for MN - it is close now, only about 4 weeks away.

Ok i get what you're saying, and it's a good thing we don't have a LUAS to the airport as heavier rail is probably needed. But the fundementals of my question is that when the connection was dropped why didn't it become a priority to start planning the link which is only going for PP now? Or even simpler only cancel it from O'connel street up?
That seems crazy to me, systematic of short-sightedness in government

[Thefancydanhimself]

Originally Posted by Catmalojin

This should involve close integration of Luas, Metro, DART and BRT (and Dublin Bus) services, and I'd love to see one company take over responsibility for the entire thing

I'd agree, it'd be much better and less confusing for tourists if everything was all under the one name.
Think i've heard rumours on this site about it before, possibly being called DTA for Dublin transport authority. I could have just made that up too.
Either way it should happen, because it is intended to function as one system therefore it should be treated as one system.

Don't know if it'd be possible though
Veolia might not like some else's name on their trams.
Even if the Dart and Metro (plus possible BRT) were given the same branding it would fantastic

[hovis]

Is Dublin trying to break the world record for the amount of different types of public transport going? :p

[Thefancydanhimself]

Well no, It's effectively going to be all the same system but because it's been brought in piece by piece it seems a bit disjointed.
Better that then no real transport to speak of....

(Sorry, just trolling)