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Unread 24-07-2010, 06:23   #7
EMD
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Join Date: Dec 2005
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson View Post
Despite some hype the numbers are broadly in line with the 100,000 per annum pre opening estimate.

In comparison Dublin Cork services carry 3-4 million per annum at 4 times lower cost to the taxpayer
Apples and oranges. How much has been spent on the Dublin-Cork corridor for decades? It was always the GSR's most important corridor, and of course should have seen the level of care it has seen (save being afflicted by Mark 4s). Is it fair to compare LGVs to traditional railway corridors in France?

Also, "too many corners" is not an excuse, unless there is no super-elevation on them, and that's not even safe for freight operations to be excluded. Grades are not a good excuse either, since DMUs have multiple driving axles and can surmount them far better than loco with trailer cars. The track is not the limiting factor in speed, especially when the track is brand new (and, presumably, does not have gauge variation problems through being under-maintained); signalling is.

In spite of the limitations, I still see promising useage of this line, even when one cuts through the (unspecified) "hype". The only buses that could beat it are express buses, and even with the reputedly low city populations (which do not reflect metropolitan area populations), there's a fantastic amount of roads traffic that you just cannot drive through, whereas the train even travelling at a relatively pokey average speed of 58 km/h will by-pass those jams.
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