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Why is the planned Dublin Metro not using the 1,600 mm Standard Irish Rail Gauge?
Plans for both the Dublin Metro lines (North and West) say that a gauge of 1,435 mm will be used rather than the standard Irish Gauge of 1,600 mm that is used in all other rail lines in Ireland (apart from the Luas). Surely this limits any future potential interoperability between the metro and the existing rail services (commuter, DART etc).
Also what is the sense in introducing yet another public transport operator into the city? Would it not make more sense to have the metro operated by DART rather than have two heavy rail passenger services with different ticketing systems?
As it stands we'll have to deal with four ticketing systems with Dublin Bus, Luas, Dart and now Metro.
Herc, I don't want to get into a pedantic arguement here but I say 'heavy rail passenger service' thats to distinguish the likes of Metro and Dart from the Luas. As you say the luas is a light metro service, but the Metro North (like the Dart) will have four times the capacity and almost double the speed so you can't really put the two in the same league.
Secondly I am aware that the Luas will use the same gauge as the Metro but there won't be any Luas's on the Metro line, since the Metro line will be I imagine 50 metres below the luas tracks and a luas on the metro line would be a massive waste of potential capacity.
I agree that having different operators in the city is a good idea, but in other cities overall public transport is controled by one body and is franchised by them eg Transport for London. We don't have anything like that in Dublin.
The RPA has been tasked with integrated ticketing but they still haven't managed to produce a ticket that covers Bus, Rail and Tram together.
Herc;
right now you can get bus&rail and bus&luas tickets but nothing with all of them together. They are also very expensive. When you compare that to the likes of the top up style oyster card in London which gets you access to the Underground, Docklands Light Rail, Overground, Tramlink, London Bus, Thames River Services and some of the national rail commuter services it really makes the RPA effort look like a piss take espicially considering that RPA has had since 2001 to figure this out.
The Metro is expected to cost €4.8 billion, thats a pessimestic view from Platform 1;
http://www.railusers.ie/reports/2005/metro_eng_eva...
The Channel Tunnel cost £5.2 billion (about €6billion); http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/may/27/transport
So I don't know what you're on about there. Also what are you talking about with that 'engines not working in airless tunnels'?
2 Answers
- 1 decade agoFavourite answer
Yeah it doesn't seem to make any sense. The only thing I can think of is that maybe there is some scale economies by purchasing standard gauge rolling stock.
It seems to me that if the Metro was built to Irish gauge then it could be connected with the northern line somewhere north of swords. Considering that the northern line is being electrified as part of transport 21 and that the Dart is being extended to Drogheda. If they did that then surely you'd be able to hope on a dart as far as drogheda and be able to go all the way to the airport in one journey.
I don't know what your man is one about comparing the Luas to the metro, the Luas is a glorified bendy bus and has no place on the metro line.
Personally I think they should re-gauge the red line and turn it into a rapid transit service slap a compulsory purchase order on the Odean and turn it back into a train station where the green line would go underground and continue on the metro on Irish gauge. So there'd be one line with no need to change services and with minimal disruption above ground.
Then you'd also be able to connect to the southern line near shankill allowing for a seemless transit from bray to the airport.
- 1 decade ago
you're very confused.
(1) Metro North is NOT heavy rail. It is defined as Light Metro - i.e. like the Luas but with more capacity (X4 times)
(2) It is the same guage as the Luas so the Luas can interact with it.
(3)IE has many critics and plenty of people against giving them more control. They were open to tender for the running of MN - it was an open tender process.
(4)Having competition between different operators has generally worked well around the world in terms of value and service.
(5) Integrated ticketing is being rolled out at the moment and MN will be part of that system when it opens, so there won't be different ticketing systems.
Other than those minor details a well informed question.
I think the only thing you missed out was why it is costing more than the space shuttle and channel tunnel together and you don't believe it can work 'cos the engines will not run in the airless tunnels.