[Colm Moore]

http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/news.asp?action=view&news_id=824

DART Underground - Railway Order application submitted by DART Underground

The DART Underground rail project takes another significant step towards delivery today (Wednesday, 30th June) when the formal application is lodged with An Bord Pleanála for the Railway Order granting planning approval for the construction of this key public transport infrastructure scheme.

The application by CIÉ represents a further milestone in the progress of the project which is considered the most important piece of rail infrastructure to be constructed under the Government’s Transport 21 investment programme.

DART Underground will transform public transport services into and throughout Dublin and will be an enduring transport legacy benefiting generations into the future.

DART Underground will deliver a second high capacity DART line which will run underground through the heart of Dublin City Centre. The twin bore tunnels will be approximately 7.6 Km in length and will connect the Northern and Kildare rail lines, with underground stations strategically located at Spencer Dock, Pearse, St. Stephen’s Green, Christchurch and Heuston Station, as well as a new surface DART station at Inchicore.

Crucially, DART Underground will link all rail systems- DART, Commuter, InterCity, Luas and Metro- to form an integrated and seamless transport network that will treble the numbers travelling on the Greater Dublin rail system to over 100 million passengers journeys annually.


Minister welcomes application

The Minister for Transport, Mr. Noel Dempsey, T.D. today welcomed the news of the submission of the Railway Order application. He stated: "Today marks an important stepping stone in our efforts to increase and improve public transport in Ireland. The submission of the Railway Order for the DART Underground brings closer the vision of a mass transit system outlined in Transport 21, and in tandem with Metro North will transform public transportation in the Greater Dublin Area”.

Minister Dempsey added: “I particularly welcome the fact that this project will strengthen Iarnród Éireann's routes in the Greater Dublin Area into a network by the introduction of a second DART line. Not only will this project connect Iarnród Éireann's routes it will also provide links with the Luas and Metro at St. Stephens Green, Spencer Dock and Heuston stations. It will also provide for new stations at Inchicore and Christchurch thus opening up new areas for travel by train. This Government is committed to investment in important infrastructure that will serve us for many generations to come.''

The Railway Order is the equivalent of a planning permission for new rail schemes and, if granted, will authorise CIÉ to construct, maintain, improve and operate the DART Underground.

The project will involve the construction and operation of approximately 8.6 Km of new rail (7.6 Km of which will be in tunnels) from the CIÉ Inchicore Works to tie into the Northern mainline south of East Wall Road and north of the Docklands area. The project will be managed on behalf of CIÉ by Iarnród Éireann, supported by expert advisers with international experience of similar major infrastructure projects.

Subject to the granting of the Railway Order it is anticipated that construction will commence in 2012 and that the system will be operational in 2018.

The tunnels will be constructed using two Tunnel Boring Machines, launching from the Docklands, at an average depth of 24 metres, or some 80 feet, below ground level. The underground stations will be constructed using techniques that will minimize the effect for the local residents, communities and environment. There is potential for more than 75% of the spoil from the construction of the project to be removed by rail. This in turn has the potential to reduce the traffic impacts during the construction phase.

Advertisements have appeared today (30th June) in national newspapers detailing the display of the Railway Order plans, and inviting submissions from interested parties ahead of An Bord Pleanala’s adjudication on the project.


Major economic impetus

DART Underground will provide a major economic impetus, bringing jobs to people and people to jobs and will have a central role to play as a driver of economic growth. It will create significant employment, up to 7,000 jobs during each year of construction and thousands more indirectly as a result of the significantly improved access that the project will deliver to retail, commercial, leisure and tourist destinations in Dublin.


DART Underground to transform rail service

DART Underground is set to be developed with a capacity for up to 20 trains each direction per hour, allowing up to 64,000 commuters to use the line hourly.

With capacity for DART services to operate up to every 3 minutes, the line will complete the transformation of Iarnród Éireann’s Greater Dublin area’s rail service capacity from up to 33 million passenger journeys annually now to over 100 million passenger journeys.

The new line will dramatically increase frequency and capacity for commuters on DART Northern, Maynooth and Kildare lines - the three fastest growing population corridors in the country - and relieve the current congestion at Connolly Station. Development plans also include the extension of the DART network to Maynooth, Hazelhatch/Celbridge and the Northern line.

DART Underground provides the missing link that that will deliver a fully integrated rail network for the Greater Dublin Area , linking all modes and ensuring that suburb to suburb, as well as suburb to city centre, journey’s can be made by a frequent, high capacity public transport network.

DART Underground will open up a web of new rail connections, including-
· Spencer Dock Station with the expanded Luas Red Line
· Pearse Station will become a central transport hub as both DART lines interchange there, opening up a variety of new rail connections and options. Pearse will also link with outer Commuter services.
· St. Stephen’s Green will have convenient access to the Luas Green Line and the proposed Metro North to the Airport and Swords.
· Christchurch with future Luas City Centre-Lucan line.
· Heuston Station links to Intercity services from the South and the West, outer Commuter trains and the Luas Red Line.
· Inchicore with the Kildare DART line and the planned Luas City Centre-Lucan line.

As the project progresses to the formal Railway Order planning approval stage, there are a number of other significant developments taking place:
Ø The project is being developed as a Public Private Partnership (PPP). The formal procurement process commenced on 12th May with the publication of the Contract Notice in the Official Journal of the EU. The deadline for the submission of the pre-qualification questionnaire is set for the 20th July.
Ø The business case for the project was recently completed by Colin Buchanan & Partners Ltd, a leading international transport planning and economics consultancy, and it concluded that the economic case for DART Underground is very strong and that overall the completion of the system is crucial to the future economic development of Dublin. It forecasts that the DART Underground programme will generate 2.4 times more benefit than it will cost to build and will deliver significant wider economic benefits. This statistic demonstrates that DART Underground will be a major factor in the future economic development of the country.
Ø With average tunnelling depths of 24 metres the project is not expected to significantly impact on the vast majority of properties along the route. However, in order to allay any concerns residents and property owners may have, a Property Protection Scheme has been put in place so that they have a record of the condition of their property prior to the commencement of the construction of DART Underground. This record will be a benchmark against which any deterioration in a property can be measured.


Display of documents

Under the Railway Order, CIÉ will be displaying the full plans for the Project at various different locations for a period of six weeks.

The full Railway Order documentation, including:
- The draft Railway Order
- Plans of the proposed railway works
- A Book of Reference to the plan, indicating owners and occupiers of lands described in the plans
- Environmental Impact Statement will be on display from 7th July until 18th August 2010 at the following locations:
· An Bord Pleanála, 64 Marlborough Street, Dublin 1
· Dublin City Council, Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8
· Heuston Station, Dublin 8
· Pearse Station, Dublin 2
· CIÉ Inchicore Works (Inchicore Parade Entrance), Dublin 8.

These documents may also be viewed from 7th July until 18th August 2010 on www.dartundergroundrailwayorder.ie

The display is to allow all interested parties to view the plans. Any interested party then has the opportunity up to the end of the display period to submit any views they have on the project to An Bord Pleanála. All submissions, including the original plans, are then considered by an Inspector appointed by An Bord Pleanála.


...